Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Arsenal F.C. [Pre-Match Thread]

Lost_Bid4099 · 2021-02-02T11:41:58+00:00

We need the points

We need a performance

We need revenge

Let’s smash the yam yams, COYG.

sixteenlions · 2021-02-02T12:05:06+00:00

With not much else happening in lockdown I feel so much more emotionally invested in the Arsenal games - let’s get it

xCooom · 2021-02-02T11:58:34+00:00

Dying to see Odegaard play just for my own personal excitement, a game we should win and could really see us stake a claim for top 4 if we keep this run going through what looked like a very tough run of fixtures.

Expect Pepe to start again, would also love to see him bag a goal for all his efforts the last couple weeks.

COYG

lastjedi23 · 2021-02-02T12:02:07+00:00

The time is ripe for Pepe to kick into form right now. Exactly even we need him. Let's gooooo coyg

AlexTheRockstar · 2021-02-02T12:03:51+00:00

[removed]

Communism-didnt-fall · 2021-02-02T11:53:14+00:00

Think it’ll need to be a brave line up from Arteta tonight if he wants to break wolves down. They sit with 9 men behind the ball and ping it to Adama first chance they get on the break. Not to worried about the defence but the attack will struggle tonight

LilWickJohn · 2021-02-02T11:55:00+00:00

Please win

PLEASE

Fagetr0n · 2021-02-02T12:16:54+00:00

Has anyone noticed that since our poor run of form, we've barely seen aerial crosses?

Arteta seems to have changed tack to more cutbacks and low crosses hammered across the box which has been, admittedly, a lot more enjoyable to watch!

ManiacalComet40 · 2021-02-02T12:09:00+00:00

Literally can’t predict the lineup today. Gabriel could start, so could Ødegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Aubameyang, ESR (obviously not all of them).

2021-02-02T12:13:37+00:00

All about how we attack their wingbacks who are pretty suspect defensively.

And how we deal with podence and neto on the break.

Huhwtfbleh · 2021-02-02T14:17:53+00:00

Losing this would not be ideal.

Winning this would be ideal.

Hanboy4 · 2021-02-02T13:04:04+00:00

I have a strange feeling Ødegaard gets the start. COYG

robustostrich · 2021-02-02T12:03:16+00:00

We need to try and score early because Wolves are going to make this the most boring 90 minutes of football.

okcomput3r · 2021-02-02T12:44:17+00:00

Pepe needs a goal today want to see this run continue. Come on lad let's have it!!!!

Kolosalsnatch · 2021-02-02T12:45:19+00:00

I think ESR needs to be rested, he looked cooked on Saturday.

Midnight_Maverick · 2021-02-02T15:22:20+00:00

Wolves are in a bad way at the moment, hope it doesn't come together for them against us today.

EdwardSandwichHands · 2021-02-02T16:32:49+00:00

mikel, i’ve played a lot of fifa. an odegaard, ESR, partey midfield will annihilate their low block i can confirm it man

basedsims · 2021-02-02T12:04:02+00:00

Saka playing would be massive. Absolutely key to breaking down these teams

MotherGooseBro · 2021-02-02T16:19:01+00:00

My Saka kit has been on since I woke up. I captained him in FPL. It’s a beautiful morning in Lakeland, Fl. Come On You Gunners.

mcives · 2021-02-02T17:37:06+00:00

Pre-COVID I hated midweek games because I could never watch at work in the US. Now they’re the highlight of my monotonous work week. COYG!

cocoabutterprince · 2021-02-02T12:27:16+00:00

Need Pepe or Saka to go at Semedo. He’s an absolute slut

tms12345 · 2021-02-02T12:27:06+00:00

I hadn't been paying attention but Wolves have only won 1 out of their 11 in the prem since they beat us at the end of November. Anyone have any insight on why they went to shit?

AlGunner · 2021-02-02T12:37:38+00:00

I'll be disappointed with any less than a win by at least 2 with us playing some good attacking football.

suparteta · 2021-02-02T12:46:26+00:00

I fucking hate wolves games. So boring.

vidul7498 · 2021-02-02T17:04:38+00:00

Wow our bench actually looks decent for once

ultraleft68 · 2021-02-02T17:06:42+00:00

If Willian is subbed in again, before Martinelli, Auba and Odegaard, I’m gonna scream.

GeraldJimes_ · 2021-02-02T13:13:25+00:00

Last season we beat Wolves 2-0 comfortably and I got excited because I felt Mikel had really arrived and we were just solidly outclassing a good team.

Earlier this season it was the game that really made me start to think we were regressing dangerously.

Hoping tonight is a nice positive continuation of our up trend and much closer to that first Wolves game than the second.

2021-02-02T17:02:45+00:00

Not an awful lineup. Good list of subs when we need them.

22goblins · 2021-02-02T17:16:48+00:00

Glad to see Auba make the bench, I dig giving Pepe another start given his recent form and I like the flexibility of bringing PE on as a sub for either him or Laca. Hope we get to see more of Ødergaard too, at least 25 minutes or so to get ESR more rest

Masonati · 2021-02-02T17:19:52+00:00

I like this lineup today. Hopefully Auba and Odegaard come on to feast on some cheeks and finish the job.

Kevin_De_Willian · 2021-02-02T11:42:54+00:00

Can see a 0-0 tbh. Watched Wolves against Chelsea and all they did was defend with 9 men behind the ball.

thefrenchduke · 2021-02-02T12:03:24+00:00

I’m so excited to see this team kick on now we’ve dealt with the bloated squad. Might be tough without a LB (Cedric vs Adama definitely a bit scary), but whatever - I’m hopeful.

Steven_hmj · 2021-02-02T14:05:57+00:00

Pepe has looked good last few games, could see him continue his monentum and get a cheeky wee goal/winner.

avijitarya64 · 2021-02-02T17:13:45+00:00

Waiting for Robbo to demolish the brick shithouse today.

jmcmizzle · 2021-02-02T12:00:40+00:00

I absolutely hate playing Wolves. They just nullify teams completely. They play how Emery wished we could.

Think we absolutely need Saka and Auba today, otherwise probably going to be another 0-0.

2021-02-02T12:32:04+00:00

We just need to take things game by game and keep winning

endeavour90 · 2021-02-02T12:55:43+00:00

Ødegaard to unlock stubborn defense, you love to see it.

a_stopped_clock · 2021-02-02T16:30:32+00:00

This is an absolute must winto keep slim European hopes alive. I don’t care how.

ShiroiMaou · 2021-02-02T12:18:07+00:00

Saka's back, things are looking up! They don't have Jimenez back yet, so they lack some offence strength, also they're in a proper bad form, so we won't get any better chance of defeating them than now! COYG

longlivejahvro · 2021-02-02T12:58:03+00:00

can’t wait for us to wear the away kit even though the home kit is fine.

i’m joking but it wouldn’t surprise me

DarkKirby14 · 2021-02-02T13:03:05+00:00

hopefully we can continue to play well and get another 3 points

marylandkid44 · 2021-02-02T13:53:13+00:00

I think Arteta should return to playing Pepe on the left. I personally saw a better partnership with Cedric and I didn’t understand the reversal to play him on the right against United

ArsenalGuner · 2021-02-02T14:12:35+00:00

Could see another draw coming, it depends on how we move the ball, if it's moving slowly forget the 3 points then... they could counter us and win the game.

bangtobang · 2021-02-02T14:20:52+00:00

Really want to see odegaard starting today. Can't wait!

sweatygrandad · 2021-02-02T15:26:51+00:00

Big game from Pépé inbound?

An Ødegaard start?

A return from Gabriel?

Or am I just getting my hopes up? COYG!!

serminole · 2021-02-02T15:53:40+00:00

It will be interesting with the big game last weekend how we rotate. A lot of players are in good form so will be harsh to sit them, but also rotation is important when we have 3 games in a week. Tahe game at Villa is a potential 6 pointer for a European spot with their games in hand.

In defense, I think the fullbacks are set due to injuries and general lack of depth. Holding probably stays in as CBs generally don't rotate a ton. At LCB Gabriel might be the better option vs Adama just for his athleticism. But, that's harsh on Luiz who is coming off a great game.

In the midfield Xhaka is in good form and if anyone can play every game it's him, but Wolves will just sit back and counter so maybe Ødegaard/ESR makes sense to both break down their low block and again add athleticism to track back vs their counters. I also wouldn't rule out resting Partey given his injury woes so far, which changes that entire midfield shape.

In attack, I'm not sure if Lacazette will be ready to go but if not it'll be interesting if it's the obvious Nketiah replacement or Auba/Martinelli getting a shot in the middle. On the wings Pepe is in good form and Saka is back so that seems like the obvious pairing but with our depth there, especially with Nelson staying and Willian showing signs of life, rotation makes a lot of sense.

TL;DR, lots of choices for Arteta.

bounderboy · 2021-02-02T16:02:09+00:00

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/formtabelle/wettbewerb/GB1?saison_id=2020&min=15&max=22

With this type of Form from Wolves we really need to beat them...

dhiaizk · 2021-02-02T17:11:56+00:00

Hopefully Ø replaces Saka around 60/70 minutes so that Saka doesn’t play a full 90 mins after coming back from injury

CatfishNev · 2021-02-02T17:13:27+00:00

Why has Gabriel lost his place? Still recovering? Thought he was our best defender before he got covid

PeteyMcGillicuddy · 2021-02-02T17:15:38+00:00

Glad Laca is doing well after Saturday. Auba back on the bench too. Let’s go get 3 points today boys!

BanMutsang · 2021-02-02T17:20:45+00:00

Anyone know when Tierney is gonna be back?😞

The_Wolves10 · 2021-02-02T14:52:57+00:00

Anybody else eager to see a midfield 3 with Ceballos, Odegaard & Partey?

I know that Smith Rowe & Xhaka deserve and will start this game, but I’m only just curious to see that La Liga Midfield in action, it would be an interesting sight.

billym32 · 2021-02-02T12:59:01+00:00

What's up with Tierney? When will he be fit?

R_SenuulefSEE · 2021-02-02T17:01:21+00:00

I'm expecting another Rob Holding masterclass today.

Glad to see the haters are starting to stfu.

What a player he is!

arsenaloflies · 2021-02-02T16:36:35+00:00

A lot of people in here wanting to drop Xhaka despite the fact that he's been our best midfielder this season, has made considerable progressive passes, and has actually created several chances in the last few games.

Partey was wank against United and doesn't look 100% match fit either. We can ill afford to gamble on team selection at the moment. We need to play our best 11 available, and unfortunately for those of you who have an agenda, Xhaka is in that team.

TrailerParkBoy2 · 2021-02-02T12:41:51+00:00

I have no idea how this game will play out. W, L or draw, nothing would surprise me.

TomJHIggins · 2021-02-02T13:43:00+00:00

I really want to see Odegaard start

juhcobis · 2021-02-02T15:55:16+00:00

PEPE

TAKE. MY. ENERGY.

I feel like it could be a big day for him.

SplitAPineapple · 2021-02-02T17:17:02+00:00

What I wouldn’t give for a day where Xhaka is no longer a starter. If he’s looked competent beside Partey the last few games just imagine how great a good midfielder would look.

Neeq17 · 2021-02-02T13:36:10+00:00

Am i the only one who would like to see Chambers play alongside Partey in the DM role for once? Pretty interesting to see how he would do there

Vrty33 · 2021-02-02T11:52:11+00:00

This might be the first game(in all competitions) that I miss this season and it fucking sucks.

appletesla4728 · 2021-02-02T11:48:33+00:00

I want a front 4 of Ode, Martinelli, Pepe and ESR.

ESR 10, Martinelli ST, Pepe Left and Ode Right.

Can swap martinelli for lac

Also, no win tonight and we have to focus solely on the EL to get any sort of European football

Britton120 · 2021-02-02T14:30:16+00:00

I don't expect Odegaard to start today, but hopefully we see more of him in the second half and in anticipation for his first start this weekend.

With Wolves we could be free to have ESR and Odegaard in the midfield together, and it would help us break them down by offering both outside and inside creation potential.

2021-02-02T16:26:37+00:00

[deleted]

90degreeturnsbtw · 2021-02-02T17:08:11+00:00

odegaard vs Villa then 😍

ultraleft68 · 2021-02-02T17:05:32+00:00

Why doesn’t Odegaard start? Is Arteta unaware of how good he actually is? We need him. Pepe is too uneven. And Auba should start too.

2021-02-02T16:59:35+00:00

immediately downvoting anyone who suggests odegaard might not start

2021-02-02T13:00:04+00:00

If we play Partey and Xhaka in midfield then we’re playing for a draw. Wolves are always very defensive but at the moment their form is awful. If we don’t play attacking football we won’t break them down. Partey - Ceballos with ESR/Ødegaard in front would be attacking enough imo.

2021-02-02T13:04:27+00:00

Things will be looking bright if we can win this.

gibbs2724 · 2021-02-02T13:14:11+00:00

Any US gooners know a free trial service to watch the game today? I'm at work and can't access the less than reputable streams I usually use.

AutoModerator · 2021-02-02T14:32:33+00:00

[removed]

comengetitrmm · 2021-02-02T14:43:09+00:00

put 5 on arsenal win, arsenal most corners and wolves most cards at 16/1 for a little extra fun this afternoon, COYG!

Butch_Meat_Hook · 2021-02-02T14:52:37+00:00

Just had a look at the form chart and there is only 2 teams in better form than us in the last 5 - City and West Ham. I hope Arsenal can keep it going. It will be a very hard game because Wolves have dropped off in the last few games and are lower in the table than their quality and will be looking for that win to turn things back around, but we really need to win this kind of game if we are serious about solidifying our spot in the upper end of the table. If we lose games like this, we'll finish mid table.

GoldenEagleAnimation · 2021-02-02T17:07:31+00:00

Can Odegaard play as a CM paired up with Partey or does he only do well as CAM/RM?

etobs13 · 2021-02-02T17:25:05+00:00

today with a win we could temporarily move up to 6th. Even if we drop down after tomorrow i think its important to the mentality of the team that they see how close it is to reach top 4. They would only be 1 point behind 5th with spurs and chelsea facing off against eachother

chaboispaghetti · 2021-02-02T17:37:02+00:00

Only took NBC 30 minutes before they got to Ian Wright in their history of black footballers bit.

flexwaffl · 2021-02-02T17:46:53+00:00

In my mind this is a big game psychologically. It was our loss to wolves earlier in the season that really set us into the downward spiral

Nuggetface · 2021-02-02T17:48:18+00:00

Wolves starting with 4 at the back. Maybe they’re not gonna sit back as much as people have predicted?

dart00790 · 2021-02-02T17:52:18+00:00

Lets go 6th Today!!! Up and forward Arsenal.. COYG

ItalianNotJewish · 2021-02-02T17:54:28+00:00

Damn this is a cool ass intro with the Kanye song.

dart00790 · 2021-02-02T17:55:43+00:00

if we win 8-0 and Chelsea-Spurs draw, we will be above both of them end of GW... Lets go Arsenal...

Seluseho · 2021-02-02T17:56:30+00:00

Dude what was that light show for?

ProjectZues · 2021-02-02T18:29:53+00:00

Where’s the match thread?

PrinceEmirate · 2021-02-02T18:33:07+00:00

What a fucking goal! Pepe

Date	Result/Time	Opponent
Sep 20	4 - 0	(H)
Sep 24	2 - 2	(H)
Sep 27	0 - 1	(A)

Sep 30	15:00	(A)
Oct 3	20:00	(A)
Oct 8	16:30	(H)

Player			Total
Bukayo Saka	11	0	11
Martin Ødegaard	8	0	8
Leandro Trossard	8	0	8
Granit Xhaka	7	0	7
Gabriel Jesus	6	1	7

#	Player	Injury	Estimated Return
25	Mohamed Elneny	Knee	Unknown
12	Jürrien Timber	ACL	Unknown
5	Thomas Partey	Hamstring	6 weeks

#	Player	Injury	Estimated Return
6	Leah Williamson	ACL	9 months
9	Beth Mead	ACL	9 months
10	Kim Little	Hamstring	June
26	Laura Wienroither	ACL	9 months

#	Name	Club	Transfer Sum
29	Kai Havertz	Chelsea	£65m
12	Jurriën Timber	Ajax	£34m
41	Declan Rice	West Ham United	£105m
22	David Raya	Brentford	Loan

Gunners

Arsenal 4 - 1 Crystal Palace

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Player					Total
Martin Ødegaard	15	0	0	0	15
Gabriel Martinelli	15	0	0	0	15
Bukayo Saka	13	1	0	0	14
Gabriel Jesus	10	0	0	0	10
Eddie Nketiah	4	2	2	1	9

#	Name	Club
28	Amanda Ilestedt	Paris Saint-Germain Féminine
24	Cloé Lacasse	SL Benfica
23	Alessia Russo	Manchester United
27	Laia Codina	FC Barcelona
32	Kyra Cooney-Cross	Hammarby IF

#	Name	Club	Transfer Sum
15	Ainsley Maitland-Niles	Lyon	Free
22	Pablo Marí	A.C. Monza	£6.5m
72	Matthew Smith	Wigan Athletic	Released
62	Nikolaj Möller	FC St. Gallen	£257,000
43	Cătălin Cîrjan	Rapid Bucharest	Loan
65	Mazeed Ogungbo	Barrow AFC	£150,000
88	Kaleel Green	Colchester United	Free
34	Granit Xhaka	Bayer Leverkusen	£21.5m
40	Mauro Bandeira	Colchester United	Loan
73	Tom Smith	Colchester United	Free
44	Ben Cottrell	NS Mura	Undisclosed
32	Auston Trusty	Sheffield United	£5m
64	Mika Biereth	Motherwell	Loan
30	Matt Turner	Nottingham Forest	£10m
67	Charlie Patino	Swansea City	Loan
62	Brooke Norton-Cuffy	Milwall	Loan
27	Marquinhos	Nantes	Loan
13	Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson	Cardiff City	Loan
57	Tyreece John-Jules	Derby County	Loan
3	Kieran Tierney	Real Sociedad	Loan
26	Folarian Balogun	AS Monaco	£34m
65	Salah-Eddine Oulad M'Hand	Den Bosch	Loan
42	Nathan Butler-Oyedeji	Cheltnham Town	Loan
58	Henry Jeffcott	Derby County	Loan
69	Omar Rekik	Wigan Athletic	Loan
20	Nuno Tavares	Nottingham Forest	Loan
33	Arthur Okonkwo	Wrexham AFC	Loan
90	Brian Okonkwo	Leatherhead	Loan
16	Rob Holding	Crystal Palace	£4m
23	Albert Sambi Lokonga	Luton Town	Loan
—	Nicolas Pépé	Trabzonspor	Free

#	Name	Club
2	Rafaelle Souza	Orlando Pride
24	Fran Stenson	N/A
56	Freya Godfrey	Charlton Athletic (Loan)
23	Mana Iwabuchi	Retired
18	Kaylan Marckese	Bristol City (Loan)
4	Anna Patten	Aston Villa

#	GD	Points
3	15	15
4	14	14
5	14	14
6	12	12
7	10	10

Arsenal 4 - 1 Crystal Palace

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