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Premier League Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers - Arsenal
Will hungry Wolves have the appetite to curb free-scoring Gunners?
06-Nov-2009 9:24:31 PM
Saturday, 7 November 2009, Kick-off: 17:30 GMT
Molineux, Wolverhampton
Molineux, Wolverhampton
Tag of underdogs will suit Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have been encouraged by their team's recent battling performances - enough to believe they can avoid dropping back into the Championship, which they left as champions last May, after only one top-flight campaign.
Although Wolves have won just two of their 11 Premier League games this season, and gone five games without a win, they have drawn their last three, and came back from two down at Stoke last weekend to share the spoils thanks to a couple of rare goals from veteran central defender Jody Craddock.
That creditable point in a 2-2 draw followed draws at Everton and at home to Aston Villa.
Although Mick McCarthy’s side have scored only four times at Molineux so far this season - the lowest total in the League - they have conceded just six home goals, which is one fewer than Manchester United. That defensive record will give them confidence as they welcome the League's leading scorers, Arsenal, for this Saturday evening fixture.
Wolves winger Michael Kightly, recently returned from injury, told local newspaper The Express & Star ahead of the game against the in-form Gunners: "I don't think we need to fear anyone in this league and we've shown that over the last three games. If everyone thinks we're not going to get anything from the games, that will suit us. When we're the underdogs, we're a dangerous animal and we can cause teams problems."
The underdogs tag may indeed sit comfortably on 17th-placed Wolves, who have shown huge desire, commitment and not a little skill in recent games; but their biggest challenge on Saturday will be to stop Arsenal dominating possession, because the Gunners have repeatedly shown they are masters at keeping the ball - and using it to devastating efffect in the final third.
However, McCarthy will also have noted a continued vulnerability in the London side's defensive play, and will no doubt have been working with his players on ways to exploit this. His key exhortation, though, will probably be to make sure Wolves don't give the ball away cheaply.
An opportunity not to be missed
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal boss, is well aware that with table-topping Chelsea hosting second-placed Manchester United the following day, this visit to the Black Country gives his third-placed outfit an ideal opportunity to make up ground on at least one of their title rivals.
The Gunners are currently five points behind Chelsea and two behind United, but will still have a game in hand on both those clubs after this weekend, and victory at Molineux will guarantee that they close the gap on of the two teams above them. Nevertheless, Arsenal's sole objective will be to win their own game, as Wenger acknowledged this week when talking to the club's official website.
"I'm focused on us winning the game; after [that] I take any result [at Stamford Bridge]," he said. "For us you know that a successful season is to grab opportunities when you have them and we have a good opportunity to gain some ground on one of the two teams. That is what we will try to do."
His side are unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions (eight in the League), and indeed top the Premier League's form table with 16 points rom the last 18 available (Wolves are joint 16th with six out of 18).
Arsenal have scored 32 goals in their 10 Premier League games to date, and 51 in 18 matches in all competitions, with 17 different players contributing to the overall total. Samir Nasri became the latest to add his name to the scoresheet this season when he claimed the second in Arsenal's emphatic 4-1 victory over AZ in
Wednesday's Champions League clash. That followed a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend that blew a hole in the top-four aspirations of their arch-rivals from north London.
The Gunners have scored 22 goals in their last eight confrontations with Wolves, who have only hosted them once before in a Premier League clash. That was in Arsenal's last title-winning campaign, when their unbeaten 2003-04 record included a 3-1 win at Molineux and a 3-0 win in the Highbury return.
In fact Arsenal and Wolves have met six times during Wenger's reign as manager, and the Frenchman has emerged triumphant on each occasion. Apart from those two Premier League meetings in 2003-04, Arsenal have beaten Wolves three times in FA Cup ties under Wenger (1-0 in the 1997-98 semi-final, 2-1 in the 1998-99
fourth round, 2-0 in the 2004-05 fourth round) and once in the League Cup (5-1in the 2003-04 fourth round). Wolves’ last home win over Arsenal (1-0) was in October 1978, though they also won 3-2 at Highbury in September 1979 in the old First Division - their most recent victory over the Gunners.
FORM GUIDE
Wolves
31 Oct (Premier League) v Stoke City (A) DREW 2-2
24 Oct (Premier League) v Aston Villa (H) DREW 1-1
17 Oct (Premier League) v Everton (A) DREW 1-1
03 Oct (Premier League) v Portsmouth (H) LOST 0-1
27 Sept (Premier League) v Sunderland (A) LOST 2-5
23 Sept (League Cup) v Man Utd (A) LOST 0-1
Arsenal
04 Nov (Champions League) v AZ (H) WON 4-1
31 Oct (Premier League) v Tottenham Hotspur (H) WON 3-0
28 Oct (League Cup) v Liverpool (H) WON 2-1
25 Oct (Premier League) v West Ham United (A) DREW 2-2
20 Oct (Champions League) v AZ (A) DREW 1-1
17 Oct (Premier League) v Birmingham City (H) WON 3-1
TEAM NEWS
Wolves
Scotland striker Chris Iwelumo is out for several weeks after injuring the same metatarsal he fractured in pre-season. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake will start in attack along with in-form Kevin Doyle, Mick McCarthy insisting he would have played Ebanks-Blake even if Iwelumo had been fit.
Nenad Milijas could well be recalled after setting up two goals for Jody Craddock when coming on as a half-time substitute against Stoke.
Kevin Foley (knee), David Jones and Stephen Ward (both knee) are also ruled out, while McCarthy may also be tempted to rest the popular George Elokobi, who has been struggling lately - or give him the opportunity to rediscover his form against the rampant Gunners.
Last starting XI (v Stoke): Hennessey, Zubar, Berra, Craddock, Elokobi (Stearman 59), Edwards, Castillo (Milijas 46), Henry, Kightly, Iwelumo (Maierhofer 73), Doyle.
Subs not used: Hahnemann, Ebanks-Blake, Halford, Jarvis.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger is having to cope with one of the Premier League's longest injury lists at present, though the way his team have been performing suggests that the squad depth at the Emirates is stronger than critics had implied.
Nicklas Bendtner, Armand Traore and Carlos Vela (all groin), Gael Clichy and Denilson (both back), Lukasz Fabianski (thigh), Johan Djourou and Theo Walcott (both knee) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) are all unavailable.
But Tomas Rosicky made an appearance from the bench against AZ following a knee inury, while Samir Nasri continued his return from a broken leg with a sparkling performance and goal in the same match.
Last starting XI (v AZ): Almunia, Eboue, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Fabregas (Ramsey 66), Song, Diaby, Nasri, Van Persie (Eduardo 67), Arshavin (Rosicky 74).
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Sagna, Senderos, Silvestre.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves
Central defender Jody Craddock, 34, enjoyed something of a red-letter day last weekend when he netted a remarkable brace at the Britannia Stadium as Wolves staged a stirring comeback from 0-2 down against Stoke City. The former Cambridge United and Sunderland centre-half, who joined Wolves in 2003, had managed to score just two Premier League goals in seven years prior to the clash against the Potters (whom he had briefly played for on loan in 2007); but he doubled his total within a 17-minute spell in the second-half to salvage a point for his team. Both goals came from set-pieces, both delivered by classy Serbian midfielder Nenad Milijas, and given the occasional susceptibility of Arsenal's defence at set-plays, this could be a tactic Wolves will try to extract full value from on Saturday.
Arsenal
Spanish international Cesc Fabregas is in electrifying form at the moment. His two goals against AZ on Wednesday confirmed how much he is relishing the modified role Wenger has given his young captain this season. The Catalan midfielder now has eight goals to his name this season - and is also leading the Premier League's assists table with nine. Against AZ his second was set up by another astute pass from Andrey Arshavin, and the little Russian - who supplied three assists in that game alone - has struck up a formidable understanding with Fabregas at the creative heart of the Gunners' team. Arshavin also has five goals to his credit in the current campaign, but hasn't found the net since scoring Arsenal's third against Birmingham on 17 October.
PREDICTION
Arsene Wenger’s side have won only one of their last four away games in the Premier League, and on their last trip beyond the Emirates surrendered a two-goal lead at West Ham United. With Wolves having clawed back a similar deficit at Stoke last week, the Black Country club will go into this fixture in good heart, unburdened by expectation as just about everyone will be predicting an away win. However, that is just the kind of scenario from which upsets emerge, so Wenger - determined to close the gap on the top two - will be urging his players to give total concentration on Saturday. Arsenal haven't failed to find the net in any game this season, so Wolves will probably be pinning their hopes on breaching the Gunners' rearguard at some stage. But it would be a big shock - and a costly missed opportunity - if the north London side didn't wrap up three more points.
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-3 Arsenal
Graham Lister, Goal.com UK
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