By Bulldog Drummond
One good bit of news is that we can’t sink any lower down the league between now and the end of Sunday, but on the other hand a win could see us shuffle up a few places, depending on others. Here is the rather alarming league table as of Sunday morning (UK time of course).
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 21 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 20 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 18 |
| 4 | Leicester City | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| 5 | Southampton | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 17 |
| 6 | Everton | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 16 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 15 |
| 8 | Manchester City | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 14 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 14 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 14 |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 14 |
| 13 | Manchester United | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 13 |
| 14 | Arsenal | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 13 |
A 4-0 win could take us above Everton, who were the superstar team of the early days. Indeed exactly one month ago on 29 October Everton were still top. Tricky thing this consistency lark.
As we saw in our earlier commentary we now have more injuries than any other team in the League – something we were always accused of having (but didn’t always have) under Mr Wenger. It was all his fault then. Is it all Mr Arteta’s fault now?
Here are the injuries although I should add that Physioroom do include all players unavailable for a game – which means our numbers (like all other teams of course) are inflated by one in terms of a suspension.
| Player | Reason | Further Detail | Potential Return | Condition | Status |
| Nicolas Pepe | Suspended | Sending Off – Red Card | 14/12/2020 | None | Ruled Out |
| Thomas Partey | Thigh Injury | Nov 20: “Sustained a strain to his left thigh. Continues to be assessed, will not be available for this weekend’s match and will continue his rehabilitation.” | 06/12/2020 | None | 25% |
| Pablo Mari Villar | Ankle/Foot Injury | Oct 28: “Aiming to integrate into full training after the November international period.” | 03/12/2020 | None | Ruled Out |
| Bukayo Saka | Thigh Injury | Nov 25: “It’s very doubtful [that he’ll be back for Sunday]. He’s been in a lot of pain for the last few days so I cannot say today that he’s going to be fit.” | 29/11/2020 | Late Fitness Test | 25% |
| Willian Borges Da Silva | Calf/Shin/Heel Injury | Nov 25: “Slight calf issue. Will continue to be assessed and aiming to be available for Sunday’s match against Wolves.” | 29/11/2020 | Late Fitness Test | 50% |
| David Luiz Moreira Marinho | Other | Nov 26: “We hope that he is OK. These surfaces bring different challenges to some players that have issues in their bodies, so we want to take zero risk.” | 29/11/2020 | Late Fitness Test | 50% |
| Gabriel Martinelli | Knee Injury | Aug 25: “Will step up his rehab with the aim of a return to full training by the end of the calendar year.” | No Return Date | None | Ruled Out |
| Calum Chambers | Other | Lacking Match Fitness | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | 25% |
| Mohamed Elneny | Exposure to coronavirus | Nov 25: “Mo is asymptomatic and following protocols ahead of returning to training. | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
| Sead Kolasinac | Exposure to coronavirus | Nov 25: “Sead is currently asymptomatic and following protocols ahead of returning to training.” | No Return Date | Currently Being Assessed | Ruled Out |
As for Wolverhampton Doubleyou, we have played them 116 times, winning 58, drawing 28 and losing 30.
Since 16 May 1980, which was 40 years and five months ago, (but who’s counting?) and was in days so ancient the League was called League Division One, we have played them 23 times (the seasons when we have not played them being because they have, for reasons best known to themselves, decided to play in other leagues). In these 23 matches in 40 years we have won 17, there have been five draws, and we have lost just the one.
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 16 May 1980 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | League Division One |
| 6 Dec 1980 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | League Division One |
| 25 Apr 1981 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | League Division One |
| 2 Feb 1982 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 2-1 | League Division One |
| 3 Apr 1982 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | League Division One |
| 29 Aug 1983 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | League Division One |
| 24 Mar 1984 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 4-1 | League Division One |
| 5 Apr 1998 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 1-0 | FA Cup |
| 24 Jan 1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | FA Cup |
| 2 Dec 2003 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 5-1 | League Cup |
| 26 Dec 2003 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 3-0 | Premier League |
| 7 Feb 2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 29 Jan 2005 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | W | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 7 Nov 2009 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 1-4 | Premier League |
| 3 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 |
| 2 Nov 2019 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 4 Jul 2020 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal | W | 0-2 | Premier League |
| 29 Nov 2020 | Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League |
Not a bad run but we do need to wipe out the memory of that 24 April 2019 defeat.
More bits and pieces including the team, anon.
- Arsenal v Wolverhampton: the tactics and why Arsenal are still getting injuries
- Arsenal reduced to the level of wolves
- The emergence of brilliance, the idiocy of the media
