- Wolverhampton v Arsenal; the referee; PGMO launches a fight back
- Wolves v Arsenal: the interesting twist that others don’t want to repeat
By Tony Attwood
So we come to that point before a match where it is time to shut up, save for looking at predictions of the team, and any last minute comments emerging from the media.
Thinking of the media in general, there is an interesting headline from the Telegraph to the effect that, “Tottenham face ‘catastrophic’ cost of relegation and no European football”. This is followed by an “Exclusive” which says, “Commercial partners are already reviewing contracts with the club, whose failure to secure a sponsor for the stadium could prove crippling.”
And actually, I think that is something we have touched upon in the past, not least considering why no one wants to sponsor the home of the tiny totts. Are they asking too much, is it built in a not very nice part of town, or really is it just that no one wants to be connected with Tottingham, or is the sponsor’s bar not big enough?
Certainly, most sponsors have control clauses in their contracts to the effect that if specific issues arise (ranging from accusations of rape by a player, through to relegation, then contracts are null and void. But whether Tottenham’s current position of changing their manager every few weeks makes paying them money a bit of a nn-no or it is just that they seem to have had nine of the chaps (including occasionals) since José Mourinho, is not known. Whatever the cause, they were banking on having a sponsor and always being in Europe, and now neither is going to be the case. Bit of a shame really.
However, sponsors can be prickly beasts, and keeping them passive is a task in itself, and it may be a task that the Tottenham board, whose main activity seems to be sacking and replacing managers every other week, may not be up to.
Anyway, they have to keep going on, because they owe the builders so much money, and I think it does make interesting reading when one contrasts it with how Arsenal proceed. But now we must turn back to proper things: the match today.
AISA, the supporters club of which I am a member, is reporting on changes that Arsenal are planning for next season, which is a reminder that if you wish to keep yourself close to Arsenal, joining AISA could be a good idea although of course I leave that to you.
Meanwhile, si.com has a rather fascinating headline Why Wolves vs. Arsenal Is the Premier League’s Only Wednesday Night Game and helpfully they provide the answer, “The Gunners’ trip to Molineux wasn’t supposed to take place on Wednesday.” So now we know.
But on Wednesday, it is, and Kai Havertz is now rated with a 50/50 chance of being back in the squad. Merino is out, so are Odegaard, and Dowman. Calafiori is fine, however, although Sports Mole tells us that he is for sale
There is also a curious headline: Arsenal hold advantage over Tottenham in race to sign serial winner this summer. “Curious” in that clubs that are doing well always hold an advantage over everyone else when it comes to buying players. I mean, if you had the choice of going to Arsenal or Tottenham, which would you choose?
As for the lineup PremierLeague.com offers…
Raya
Tiomber Saliba Gabriel Hincapie
Eze Zubemendi Rice
Madueke Gyokeres Trossard
Sports Mole offers
Raya;
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie;
Rice, Zubimendi, Eze;
Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard
which of course brings in the handy reminder that Saka has not only signed a new contract, reports of which suggest he earns more in a week than I do in a lifetime, and that he is fit to play.
Sporting News goes with exactly the same team as above.
And so, just to round everything up, here are the comparative league tables.
| Team | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal away | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 25 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wands home | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 28 | -17 | 5 |
That would seem to suggest that Arsenal should win 2-1 in terms of their past scores, while Wolverhampton should lose 1-2. Add those two predictions together, and it is Wolverhampton 2 Arsenal 4. A win puts up seven points clear at the top of the league. Scoring four or more makes Arsenal the top scorers in the league.
Mind you, that isn’t a very scientific way of doing things. But then nor is supporting a club just because your father and grandfather did, and because one was brought up close to the ground. But that’s football.
