The midweek victory over Lens in the European Cup brought inspiration to play football for Arsenal. The Gunners played confidently in the match against Wolverhampton in round 14 of the Premier League. After the opening whistle, Arsenal immediately pushed their offensive line up and soon got what they needed.
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In the 6th minute, from Takehiro Tomiyasu’s delicate pass, Bukayo Saka eliminated the opponent’s defender before scoring a dangerous shot to open the score for Arsenal. Having an advantage in terms of score, the home team at Emirates Stadium played sublimely.
In the 13th minute, Zinchenko escaped down the left wing after a very good combination with Gabriel Jesus. He crossed the ball smoothly for Martin Odegaard to double the gap for Arsenal.
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Luck continued to turn against Wolverhampton when goalkeeper Jose Sa had to leave the field in the 20th minute due to injury.
The away team faced many difficulties in organizing the attack. They could not overcome Arsenal’s high defense. With Odegaard’s good organization, Arsenal created countless opportunities, notably Martinelli’s shot that bounced off the post. The first half ended without any more goals scored.
Entering the second half, Arsenal continued to maintain a strong attack rhythm. However, there weren’t too many dangerous opportunities created like in the first half. In return, Arsenal did not waste too much effort when pillars like Jesus and Martinelli were taken off.
Saka, Trossard or Odegaard continuously launched remarkable shots from distance but the goal was still turned away from Arsenal. In particular, Trossard launched 5 shots, including 2 situations facing the goalkeeper.
Arsenal star Takehiro Tomiyasu was clutching his calf as he was replaced by Ben White with just over 10 minutes to play against Wolves.
Due to injury issues for Ben White, Tomiyasu had started the last five games in all competitions and if it is a severe injury for the versatile defender, it will be a huge blow for both the player and Mikel Arteta. The Gunners will play five games between now and Christmas Day and Tomiyasu being absent for a number of weeks will give Arteta quite the selection headache.
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In the 86th minute, Zinchenko lost concentration and let Semedo steal the ball right in the home team’s penalty area. Matheus Cunha took advantage of the dangerous shot to shorten the score to 1-2 for Wolverhampton. The “Wolves” tried but could not get another goal to regain 1 point away from home.
Defeating Wolves 2-1 thanks to early goals from Saka and Odegaard, Arsenal continued to sit at the top of the table, 4 points ahead of Man City.