WATCH FOR OUR THOUGHTS AHEAD OF WOLVES V ARSENAL
TEAM NEWS
Wolves defender Toti Gomes might play his first game since Boxing Day after recovering from a thigh injury and returning to training although he will not be able to complete 90 minutes. Midfielder Mario Lemina, who looks set to leave, is unlikely to feature in any matchday squads until after the transfer window closes.
Arsenal defender William Saliba could miss his third game in a row due to a hamstring issue. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who injured his knee during last Saturday’s draw with Aston Villa, was unavailable in midweek but will be checked. Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori might be back in action after being included in the squad on Wednesday.
VITOR PEREIRA
Pereira could not confirm if there had been any bids for striker Matheus Cunha: “I don’t know. That is a question for the club. He is my player – I think he is not for sale. This is the information from the club.”
However, he did say he had spoken with Cunha after criticising his captain for his performance against Chelsea on Monday: “He knows what I want from him as a captain. We had a conversation and everything is sorted. He is ready for the game, committed to us and ready to help the team. What we need from him is that he plays at his high level. He is very important.”
Previous captain Mario Lemina will not be involved against Arsenal but could still stay at Molineux beyond January: “I am waiting for the end of the market and we will decide what we do. If he stays here, he will be a very good player for us. He has lots of quality.”
Centre-back Toti Gomes should be available to boost Pereira’s options.
Pereira wants to return to the form that saw Wolves take seven points from his first three games in charge: “I believe in my players and our work. We are facing strong teams but we are still together, still believing and ready to play at our best level.”
Therefore, he hopes to put the defeat at Stamford Bridge behind him: “The last game was not good because we changed a lot of behaviours and that is not what I want. I want us to have identity and to play in our way – not to react to the other team.”
On how he works with different personalities to get the best out of them: “This is my job. I need to pass the confidence and hunger to them – to understand the fire in their eyes. Football is about people and we need to create good energy together with our supporters to be at our best.”
He also accepted this process takes time but is actually easier to do when in a difficult spell of results: “You can know about a person in bad moments. I’m trying to understand who are the fighters – the leaders – while in the middle of the storm.”
On title-chasing Arsenal: “Arsenal are a strong team but we need to worry about ourselves.”
MATCH STATS & FACTS
Head-to-head
Wolves have lost the last seven Premier League meetings since doing the double over Arsenal in the 2020-21 season.
Wolves have beaten Arsenal just twice at home in 15 meetings in all competitions since 1978.
Arsenal have won on eight of their 10 Premier League visits to Wolves. That 80% win ratio is their highest against any side they’ve faced more than five times away in the competition.
The Gunners have scored in their past 34 games against Wolves in all competitions. It’s Arsenal’s longest scoring streak against one opponent and Wolves’ longest run without a clean sheet against the same side.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves have lost three successive Premier League games, conceding nine goals and scoring just one.
They could lose their first four league matches of a calendar year for only the third time, after 1906 and 1982, when both defeats in their fourth game came against Arsenal.
The Black Country side have conceded 19 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, seven more than any other team.
Wolves have also let in an unrivalled 11 top-flight goals from corners.
They have the worst defensive record in the division, conceding 51 goals.
Wolves have lost 18 of their last 20 Premier League games against sides in the top two of the table.
Matheus Cunha has been directly involved in 33 Premier League goals since the start of last season, scoring 22 and assisting 11, ranking him ninth among all players.
Arsenal
Arsenal are on a 12-game unbeaten run in the Premier League, second only to Liverpool’s 17-match streak.
However, Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped 12 points from winning positions, their most in a season since a total of 21 in 2019-20. They only dropped nine in the whole of last season.
The Gunners have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine Premier League away games.
They have scored 10 goal from corners – at least three more than any other Premier League club.
No team has scored more Premier League goals via defenders than Arsenal’s seven. Wolves, with 13, have conceded the most.
Leandro Trossard has been directly involved in a career-high eight Premier League goals against Wolves, scoring two and providing six assists.
Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have conceded just 0.8 goals per game when William Saliba starts in contrast to 1.7 when he doesn’t.
The Gunners have kept only two clean sheets in 13 fixtures without Saliba.
Gabriel Martinelli has scored six goals in 20 Premier League outings, matching his tally from last season in 15 fewer games.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Oliver. Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring. Fourth official: Tony Harrington. VAR: Darren England. Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes.
MATCH INFO
This one is a 3pm kick off on Saturday 25th January at Molineux.