by Bulldog Drummond
Kolasinac is said by Football.London to have been injured in the match against Liverpool, and was noted limping out of the stadium “with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock also struggling.”
As for past matches between Arsenal and Wolverhampton we have played them 114 times, winning 57, losing 30, and drawing 27.
The defeat in April at the end of last season was the first defeat in 20 meetings – and indeed the first defeat since 1979 when we lost 2-3 at home to the club.
Since that defeat, the results have been quite jolly much of the time – until that game at the end of last season…
| 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 |
| 24 Apr 2019 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | L | 3-1 | Premier League |
So we need to bounce back from that final game and Mr Emery’s first game against them which ended as a 1-1 draw. Hopefully the manager has learned what the club are all about following those two games and is now ready to beat them.
As for Wolverhampton they have been doing rather well of late, at least until their local derby league cup match, at the same time as we lost on penalties to Liverpool!
| Date | Game | Res |
Score | Competition |
| 03 Oct 2019 | Beşiktaş v Wolverhampton W | W | 0-1 | Europa League |
| 06 Oct 2019 | Manchester City v Wolverhampton W | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 19 Oct 2019 | Wolverhampton W v Southampton | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 24 Oct 2019 | Slovan Bratislava v Wolverhampton W | W | 1-2 | Europa League |
| 27 Oct 2019 | Newcastle United v Wolverhampton W | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 30 Oct 2019 | Aston Villa v Wolverhampton W | L | 2-1 | League Cup |
In the league they are pretty Tottenham ish, being a specialist club when it comes to drawing, and indeed a draw might have been their initial hope when coming to Arsenal stadium, but seeing the negativity among the Arsenal anti-fans they might well now fancy their chances. Here’s the league table…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 9 | 23 | 22 |
| 3 | Leicester City | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 20 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 20 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 15 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 13 |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 13 |
| 11 | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 12 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 12 |
Two wins, two defeats and six draws for Wolverhampton, leaving them just one goal behind Tottenham and indeed just one point behind Manchester United.
In the Europa League, after three games they may well see themselves as likely to proceed to the knock out round….
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
SC Braga | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 |
ŠK Slovan Bratislava | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 |
Beşiktaş JK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 0 |
Wolverhampton have Rúben Neves on four yellow cards thus far. Arsenal have Xhaka on four, but of course he might not play given the way the media and some “fans” have turned on him.
But let us turn to goal scoring, because something remarkable is happening here. So far this season, Arsenal goalscorers are…
| No | Player | Position | Starts | Sub | Goals | Pens | Yellows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Aubameyang | Forward | 11 | 1 | 8 | 2 | |
| 35 | Martinelli | Forward | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |
| 28 | Willock | Midfielder | 9 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 19 | Pépé | Midfielder/Forward | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Luiz | Defender/Midfielder | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 9 | Lacazette | Forward | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 11 | Torreira | Midfielder | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Martinelli is looking an absolute sensation with seven goals from four starts. Pépé’s total of three is almost certainly misleadingly low because he has been adjusting to an utterly alien form of playing, refereeing and crowd reaction. The fact that Martinelli has adjusted at once is amazing, but also very unusual. Pépé is, in my view, doing well and will prove to be an excellent buy.
Lacazette like Martinelli has only started four games, and been a sub twice, but he is not back to his expected top form as yet. Clearly he needs more time, but that will eventually run out especially if the crowd turn on him as they have turned on others. After all, why put Lacazette on the pitch, when at the moment at least, Martinelli always looks likely to score?
But let us not get sidetracked. We have two mega goalscorers available, and both have the ability to play centre forward or on the wing. Indeed Martinelli has said he prefers the wing.
Of course seven of Aubameyang’s eight goals have come in the league, which is not the case for Martinelli but given the games, Martinelli will catch him up soon, I am absolutely certain.
For this game I’d play Aubameyang at centre forward with Pépé on one side and Martinelli on the other. But then, what do I know?
More anon…
Emery is struggling. He needs a win against Wolves and a draw or win against Leicester.
If not, Mourinho as arsenal manager is starting to look very likely.
Who would have thought that?
Not me that’s for sure. I’m finding myself warming to the idea though.
Perish the thought! We have had so many fallouts with the Moaning One that it would be futile spelling them out here. Arsene Wenger is still very much a part of AFC and, to me, it smells of a complete betrayal of one of our greatest managers to install, so very soon after his departure, an opposing manager that thoroughly enjoyed winding up the Club during his tenure with us.
Arsene is bound to feel hard done by his erstwhile employers, and that his departure was only contrived to bring in the fellow to take his job. Arsenal has more class than that, the least they could do is remain loyal to our iconic manager and never soil his memory with such an appointment. Yes the Club wants to win trophies but it should do so keeping in mind such very noble stuff like loyalty, steadfastness in the face of adversity and humane behavior with all sundry no matter their status.
For me let us perish the thought of appointing a perpetual moaner. By the way, Unai Emery’s contract with the a Club will still run for another year more, at least; do contracts have no value or worth again? Why are we even talking about changing him and his replacement by a cheque book manager?
Cannot see Mourinho at all Alexander Henry, he wouldn’t fit the clubs brand, or self proclaimed aim of developing young players. Plus Kroenke might not be so keen on a chequebook manager.
IF Emery was to really mess up mid season, wouldn’t look beyond Freddie.
If he were to leave in the summer, may open the door to someone like Luis Enrique, or other managers currently employed and not available mid season
Let’s just hope Emery can turn things around, although as Tony has pointed out, some of his numbers compare favourably with previous Arsenal managers, having said that, do share your concerns with some recent form, appalling refereeing notwithstanding
Wolves will win this easy. No other result.
There is nothing for Emery to turn around.
The players need to be a little ruthless in their finishing. The possession football needs a little more forward momentum and quicker transition out of defence. The squad is sufficiently strong and well drilled.
In the EPL, victory in any game is a bonus because we start with a PGMOL slant that needs to be overcome with pace and non contact tactics. Slightest contact allows the devil access to an adverse result. In fact even a foul against Arsenal will be turned into a benefit for our opponent. The whole shambles starts with the appointment of a cheat in the middle with another in Stockley Park with pre planned instruction.
As for a change in coach, it will not happen this season. Our squad is playing well.
Mourinho would be a disastrous appointment for reasons too numerous to mention here.
Apart from his personal arrogance and his awful style of football, his record is notthe one of consistent success that he pretends (of course the various failures were the fault of others, not down to him… )
He would ruin Arsenal on so many levels. – I’d rather have Neil Warnock as manager!