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TEAM NEWS
Jurrien Timber is set to join the matchday squad despite missing Arsenal’s last three pre-season matches due to a foot injury. Riccardo Calafiori is prepared to make his debut, and Fabio Vieira is expected to be fit, but Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney remain unavailable.
Wolves’ full-back Nelson Semedo will sit out a three-match ban after receiving a red card against Liverpool on the season’s final day. Matheus Cunha, Mario Lemina, and summer addition Jorgen Strand Larsen are all ready to play despite some minor fitness concerns.
GARY O'NEIL
On being ready for the new season: “We’ve had a really good pre-season, the boys are in very good spirits with an understanding of what we are trying to do. Matheus Cunha is back fit so he’s back with the group. Nelson [Semedo] is missing, obviously with his red card of the last game of last season. We are in a good spot and ready to go to give a good account of ourselves.”
On Cunha’s fitness: “He’s fine and raring to go. He’s worked really hard to get back as quickly as he has. He’s feeling very, very good. He’s had a good week of work, he’s trained every day on the grass. I have no concerns around him and it’s a big boost for us.”
O’Neil spoke about the new four-year contract he signed last week: “The new contract and the commitment to the club was a no-brainer for me. I love being here and I’ve loved every moment of my year here. I’m looking forward to doing the best I can with everything that we have here.”
Speaking about Wolves’ summer transfer business, O’Neil said: “We knew fairly early that Max [Kilman] and Pedro [Neto] would leave in this window. We’ve worked really hard in identifying what happens from there, and that’s currently being worked on. As far as I’m aware, things are still moving forward, we are doing our best to enhance what we already have.”
He continued: “My focus is solely on the players that I have, building and working my socks off to get the most out of them and give them the best opportunity to show what they are. I have identified targets I think can help us and hopefully we can get deals done before the end of the window.”
On playing probable title contenders Arsenal in their first match of the season: “They’re a good side, they’ve had a good pre-season. They look equally as good, if not better than last year. These early fixtures can be misleading but it’s a tough fixture nevertheless.”
He added: “You go to the Emirates, you know what to expect, it’s going to be full throttle, they’re going to be in your face, they’re going to be desperate to go one step further than they did last season. They start with a home game for them that will be very important but from our side, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do, what problems we can cause them and how well we can cope with the issues they’ll impose on us.”
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Head-to-head
Arsenal have won each of the past six Premier League meetings.
Wolves’ only victory in their last 13 top-flight away games against the Gunners was by 2-1 in November 2020.
Arsenal have scored in each of the last 33 meetings. It is their longest scoring streak against an opponent and Wolves’ longest run without a clean sheet against a particular side.
Arsenal
This is their 99th consecutive season in the top flight, by far the longest active run of any club.
The Gunners have won 16 of 18 Premier League games in 2024 (D1, L1), a win rate of 89% – comfortably the highest across a calendar year in their league history.
They have scored 54 goals in those 18 fixtures, conceding just nine.
The Londoners have won their opening game in four of the past five seasons, with the exception a 2-0 defeat at Brentford in 2021.
William Saliba has been on the winning side in 49 of his 65 Premier League appearances for Arsenal. Should he play and win this game, it would be the fastest a Gunners player has reached 50 victories in the division, breaking Nacho Monreal’s record of 70.
Martin Odegaard has scored four Premier League goals versus Wolves, more than against any other opponent.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves are in danger of losing their opening league fixture in four consecutive seasons for the first time.
This will be the sixth successive year they have started away from home.
Wolves were the only team in the five major European leagues who didn’t score a top-flight goal from outside the penalty area in 2023-24.
Each of their past three Premier League away wins have come in London – at Brentford, Chelsea and Tottenham. They have never won four consecutive top-flight matches in the capital.
Gary O’Neil’s side lost five of their final six top-flight fixtures in 2023-24, including each of the last three.
Matheus Cunha scored nine Premier League away goals last term, a tally bettered only by Erling Haaland (12) and Ollie Watkins (10).
head to head
most recent games
10th February 2022 Wolves 0 Arsenal 1 at Molineux
24th February 2022 Arsenal 2 Wolves 1 at Emirates Stadium
12th November 2022 Wolves 0 Arsenal 2 at Molineux
28th May 2023 Arsenal 5 Wolves 0 at Emirates Stadium
2nd December 2023 Arsenal 2 Wolves 1 at Emirates Stadium
20th April 2024 Wolves 0 Arsenal 2 at Molineux
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jarred Gillett. Assistants: Darren Cann, Nick Greenhalgh. Fourth Official: Gavin Ward. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall.
MATCH INFO
This one is a 3pm kick off on Saturday 17th August 2024 so will not be shown live on TV in the UK. Head over to YouTube and join our watch along to chat with other fans during the game.
