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by Bulldog Drummond
Making Arsenal play again so soon after the Palace match seems a little unfair, but that is how the games come out and so that is the game we must play no matter how much we were wobbling in the game against the almighty Crystal Palace at the weekend.
We know our home record took a bit of a battering at the weekend but here it is the away record that is of concern
Away games only
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 31 | 10 | 21 | 41 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 10 | 21 | 35 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 33 | 22 | 11 | 33 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 18 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 28 | 3 | 29 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 28 |
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 26 |
| 7 | Leicester City | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 25 |
| 8 | Watford | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 23 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 28 | -1 | 22 |
So we now have a middle-of-the-road away record, having won as many as we have lost, and within one goal, scored as many as we have conceded.
In terms of home form Wolverhampton are also mid-table, but with more wins than defeats, and slightly fewer goals scored than conceded.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Everton | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 31 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 28 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 28 |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 26 |
| 11 | Watford | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 26 |
If we want to find something to clutch at then it is the mid-range scoring ability of Wolverhampton that might give us a little encouragement.
And if we wanted a little more to grab hold of, the failure of Wolverhampton to get the better of Watford and thus reach the cup final, might be playing on their minds. Defeated semi-finalists can have very moderate runs after losing out.
But we really do need to be winning this match, to compensate for the defeat against Palace. So taking a look at Wolverhampton’s last five games we find…
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 30 Mar 2019 | Burnley v Wolverhampton W | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 02 Apr 2019 | Wolverhampton W v Manchester Utd | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 07 Apr 2019 | Watford v Wolverhampton W | L | 3-2 | FA Cup |
| 13 Apr 2019 | Southampton v Wolverhampton W | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
| 20 Apr 2019 | Wolverhampton W v Brighton and H | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
Three defeats in the last five, and just one draw in the last three. Scored five, conceded nine. Arsenal’s last five give us six goals scored, four goals conceded.
| 07 Apr 2019 | Everton v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 11 Apr 2019 | Arsenal v Napoli | W | 2-0 | Europa League |
| 15 Apr 2019 | Watford v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 18 Apr 2019 | Napoli v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Europa League |
| 21 Apr 2019 | Arsenal v Crystal Palace | L | 2-3 | Premier League |
All of which suggests that avoiding the pratfalls that happened against Palace could see us through.
But there is a problem. Because with Palace we noted how rarely they beat us and how long it was since they beat us, and then they go and … well, beat us. And here we find the same with Wolverhampton
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 16 May 1980 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Division One |
| 06 Dec 1980 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | Division One |
| 25 Apr 1981 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Division One |
| 02 Feb 1982 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 2-1 | Division One |
| 03 Apr 1982 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Division One |
| 29 Aug 1983 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | Division One |
| 24 Mar 1984 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 4-1 | Division One |
| 05 Apr 1998 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 1-0 | FA Cup |
| 24 Jan 1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 02 Dec 2003 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 5-1 | League Cup |
| 26 Dec 2003 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 07 Feb 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 29 Jan 2005 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 07 Nov 2009 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-4 | Premier League |
| 03 Apr 2010 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 10 Nov 2010 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 12 Feb 2011 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 27 Dec 2011 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 11 Apr 2012 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 0-3 | Premier League |
| 11 Nov 2018 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
20 games and not a Wolverhampton win in sight. And a look at their trophy cabinet across the last 30 or so years shows us just why so many matches have been missed out…
| Competition | Achievement | Season |
| Football League Trophy | Winner | 1987-88 |
| League Division Four | Champion | 1987-88 |
| League Division Three | Champion | 1988-89 |
| League Championship | Champion | 2008-09 |
| League One | Champion | 2013-14 |
| League Championship | Champion | 2017-18 |
Yes six trophies including winning the fourth division, the third division (twice), and the second division (twice).
But they held us to a draw earlier in the season, and we do need to pick up some points if we are going to make the “not a trophy” position of fourth.
Sportsmole give the team prediction as
Leno
Sokratis Koscielny Monreal
Maitland Niles Kolasinac
Xhaka Torreira
Mkhitaryan Iwobi
Aubameyang
If we were to lose it would be the first back-to-back league defeats the opening two fixtures of the season. And we don’t want that do we?
It’s worth noting that Arsenal have 3rd best attack in the league and 6th best defence. The only issue is, one of those five teams that have better defensive record than ours are Wolves.
Wolves have been on my black list for the simple reason they have assembled a superb squad for the club of their stature thanks to close connections with Jorge Mendes.
A draw tonight wouldn’t be a bad result given that we have a superior goal-difference to Chelsea and they are yet to play against Man United away. Of course, that means we would have to get at least seven points from the remaining three games.
I fear that St Totteringham’s Day will wait for at least one more season though.
The way man U are playing these days, there is every chance for Chelsea to pick up points away to Old Traford. We better pick up all the points we can tonight.
Crunch time this season for the manager. How to deal with the pressure of the fight for the fourth place (not a trophy.)?
Mr Wenger was a magician who kept pulling rabbits out of the hat until the audience got bored. Now the audience are stuck with a manager who has never had to deal with the intensity of the end-of-season battle for place that gives you something even when it is not a trophy.
To win something that does not exist as a trophy, that cannot be held in the arms like a trophy? How to motivate players? How to pick a team with the same chance of wining the game as the teams he picks for the European Thursday night?
My thought the other week was that Wolves would implode after their FA Cup loss. I’m still sticking to that.
Would love to hear from you Walter on this.
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/bguo47/police_raid_at_anderlecht_offices_and_belgian_fa/
Wolves 3 – Arsenal 0. Halftime.
A shit show sandwich perfectly prepared for the patrons who were bored with twenty years of European football, their taste buds so riddled with entitlement they believed winning the Premiership was the only trophy that mattered, and they had paid for it.
How many years will it take Mr Emery to learn how to deal with the end of season run in?