By Walter Broeckx
The most important news is that Aubameyang stayed in London with a sinus problem. Arsenal revert to a back 4 with Monreal, Sokratis and Maitland-Niles partnering Koscielny.
Arsenal starting with : Leno, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal, Torreira, Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Özil, Iwobi, Lacazette
On the beach: Cech, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Elneny, Guendouzi, Willock, Nketiah
Not much to report in the opening 5 minutes with neither team being dominant. Arsenal with a spell in the half of Wolves but apart from a corner no real danger. Arsenal having an enourmous amount of possession and Wolves just leaning back a bit but for the moment we can’t create real openings. Still 0-0 after 15 minutes.
Doherty stops a promising attack by pulling Monreal back and he gets a yellow card for his foul just outside the penalty area. Torreira kicks the free kick against the wall. A combination inside the penalty area from Arsenal but Iwobi just couldn’t get a shot in as he was slightly off balance. Moutinho had a shot for Wolves but his ball curled one meter off target. A Stoke like far throw causes some trouble in the Arsenal penalty area but the ball goes over from some 6 meters out. Monreal gets a yellow card for stopping a dangerous Wolves attack. Neves takes the free kick and the ball goes in goal. 1-0 for Wolverhampton after 27 minutes.
Arsenal having the ball (75%) but Wolverhampton create the most dangerous attacks on the counter so still 1-0 after 30 minutes.
Xhaka gets a yellow card for dissent when the ref gives another free kick for Wolves. This time Neves hits the wall. The corner results in a harmless header that goes well wide. Arsenal now not being able to set up any good looking attack. Lacazette goes past a few defenders but then he blasts his shot completely off target from a difficult angle. Maybe an attempt of a cross would have been better? Leno with a difficult stop on a low cross. The corner is taken in two times and the ball is headed in by Doherty. 2-0 after 37 minutes.
Iwobi with a cross but a defender gets a foot in and diverts it for a corner. But Arsenal can’t really create anything so far. We will have to improve massively if we want to get something from this match. But for the moment it looks like that. Torreira gets a yellow card for showing his studs but he cleanly won the ball and his feet were on the floor. A bit soft. Lacazette standing on an island most of the time surrounded by 4 or 5 Wolves defenders so he can’t create anything. Arsenal give the ball away in their own half and Wolves go on goal and Leno can’t stop the ball. 3-0 right at the end of the disastrous first half.
Backwards passing, slow build up, this has been the image of Arsenal so far this match. On a personal note the last Wolves won against Arsenal (at Arsenal) in 1979… I was in the stand for my first ever Arsenal match.
Wolves counter and have a good chance to score but luckily the control lets him down. Lacazette goes down in the penalty area but the ref gives nothing. After 57 minutes Kolasinac comes on for Mkhitaryan and Guendouzi comes on for Torreira. Still 3-0 after 60 minutes. Do miracles exist?
No movement in the team, lots of bad passes… this must be the worst match of the season so far. Wolves break away but the shot goes wide. A rare good attack from Arsenal but nobody at the end of the cross from Özil. After 70 minutes Iwobi comes off and Nketiah comes on. Nketiah goes past his man and his cross finds Lacazette but his shot is blocked. Still 3-0 after 75 minutes.
The ref doesn’t give a yellow card when Coady stops Lacazette by pulling him clearly. Not that it really matters for the final score but a yellow card is a yellow card and not just for Arsenal players. That is what we want to see when cards are shown: consistency. Lacazette almost has an effort after Wolves make a mistake. The corner is headed in by Sokratis. GOAL! 3-1 after 79 minutes. I think this is what they call a consolation goal.
Bennet gets a yellow card for stopping Nketiah. The free kick is headed out for a corner. Koscielny falls bad on his back but he can continue. Xhaka with a free kick but the keeper stops the ball. 4 minutes of extra time. Nketiah with some good movement but his shot is blocked. Well one could say he was the only highlight of the day from an Arsenal point of view.
Arsenal lose but the performance really was terrible. No real drive going forward, too many backpassing that went wrong for the 3rd goal, Leno having a not so good match today.
As long as we can’t perform away from home we should not talk or dream of CL football.
Come on Gunners, get that goal back!
Two goals down?
COYG!
Three goals down? This is crazy.
COYG!
Arsenal seriosly need to sell their whole defence. They cant create anything. Monreal always passes the ball backwards and the CBs plays it sideways.
Arsenal are not ready for Champions League until a new defence and Wingers are brougt in.
Emery id bevoming too predictae like
Wenger with his psdsing game.
Too mamy passes.
The gunners are going to lose and i am
going to sleep
Boys have packed it up for summer. Why cant the boys grab it by the balls and go get it?? With Arsenal, always needing others to lose.
Agree with Mr K. However much I want to see us back in Champs League we are nowhere near ready
Another season of Europa which will put us further adrift of the top 3 😳, but we will need a complete rebuild and my fear is that is gonna take a few years still
How *$¥! frustrating
Come on Eddie! If you happen to have 4 goals in those feet, that would be wonderful!
COYG!
That’s a start, more goals please!
COYG!
I was just not looking forward to an Arsenal win and well, proven right. Better luck next time guys. A drubbing from Wolves is not a disaster, others have suffered similar fate. Even 4th position on the league table is still doubtful. Emery still has time to catch up for the next season when he will have no excuses for poor performance as the whole team will be all his to shape the way he wants.
I really don’t think the players have booked off for the summer. I do think most of the “fans” who come here and bitch, have booked off for the summer.
I think the issue of the Champions League is twofold. If we are in the Europa with this type of team, we have a chance of doing quite well. If we are in the Champs League we might not get very far, but at least we get more money – if the owner will allow us to invest it in the team, and not take it as his profit.
Is it my imagination or are these guys totally worn out? Could it be the high tempo Emre training sessions through the season have taken their toll?
Really cant see this team getting even a draw from any of the remaining games except perhaps the one against Brighton.
Haven’t seen the match but followed the commentary on Arsenal.com. Watched the Manchester derby& was once again not disappointed by the PGMOL selective blindness. I have no doubt Arsenal had it’s share at Molineux.
All’s not lost as there are still opportunities to get CL next season.
One aspect that seems to be missing is our shooting from outside the box —on target. Missing the goal by a distance is not what I expect from players being paid obscene amounts.
Good to see that we are not alone.
One of our very poor matches , without any real chances being created , nor creativity of any sort . We were totally bereft of ideas . We ever hardly got into their box.
I was always worried of us not getting any points in this particular game , but did not see us capitulate in such a dismal fashion .
Come on guys , buck up . Please give your loyal fans the joy of St.Totteringham’s Day.
Up the Gunners !
OT: Who touched it last?
NPR has an article about studies at Arizona State for basketball. Easily translatable to football.
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/24/716763309/scientists-explain-a-common-fight-in-basketball
How is it possible to have more than 70% possession and manage 1 shot on target?
One can be sympathetic to the players for having a long season, but they are paid hundreds of thousands and millions, so they should be concentrating on ensuring that they are fit and able throughout the season.
That the players let the fans down seems to be allowed. What about letting themselves down?
Let the forget about kissing the badge. Just concentrate properly on what they are being paid to do.
I agree with Tony in that, apart from the money, there seems to be little benefit in being the Champions league as opposed to the Europa until such time as we can afford to pay for the very best players. I doubt if the receipts from playing a few games in the Champions Leaf=gue will bring in enough to do that. It certainly didn’t over the 19 years.
Wow all the records we had all tima long broken in one season that is promising. Can not believe that someone Is saying that this Is the best season we have ever had.
Surely is it not really that all the records against us are being broken, so both Crystal Palace and Wolves, who had not beaten us either at all or forever, have now done so.
I hate it when commentators say that it is a certain number of years since this or that team has beaten us as you know for sure that that record will be immediately broken.
The CL income (if we get there) will now be availabe for matters other than stadium debt repayment. Player purchase may not be a priority as Stan might want to see more ‘0s’ on his bank balance.
The performance is due to lack of hunger from players. The players are all super quality but seem to have a level of laziness spoil their momentum. If the players are challenged to win by staking their income (towards a charity) for the week if unsuccessful, there will be a minor miracle. These guys are too damned comfortable with their lifestyle. The team ethic will get them working for themselves initially an for each other eventually.