Views: 0
LONDON – Arsenal edged past Wolves at a frosty Emirates Stadium on Saturday as the Premier League leaders turned on the class in the first half and survived a late score.
Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard each finished off sumptuous moves as Mikel Arteta’s side toyed with Wolves and were slick in attack and dogged in defense.
Wolves’ Matheus Cunha did make it 2-1 late on to set up a tense finish but Arsenal held on for the win.
With the win Arsenal move on to 33 points for the season as they’ve now won three games in a row in the Premier League, while Wolves remain on 15 after three defeats in their last four.
Arsenal vs Wolves player ratings
Via our friends at FotMob.com, you can see Odegaard, Saka and Tomiyasu had a superb day down Arsenal’s right.. Wolves hung in there and Cunha and Semedo both never stopped working.
FULL TIME: Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
They made hard work of it in the end but Arsenal hold on for a deserved win against Wolves.
Matheus Cunha makes it 2-1 late on after an awful error from Zinchenko. Game on!
Out of absolutely nowhere, Wolves score with 5 minutes to go and they’re back in this. Zinchenko gives the ball away and Cunha curls home a beauty. Game on here in north London! Moments later Eddie Nketiah is clean through and beats the goalkeeper but his shot hits the post and Wolves clear.
Not much going on in the second half
Arsenal are so comfortable here. Wolves are trying to get on the ball but the Gunners are holding them at arms length and now Eddie Nketiah is on for Gabriel Jesus to try and put some extra gloss on the scoreline. Saka curls a shot just over the bar. My word, that looked destined for the top corner.
Big stop from David Raya at his near post to deny Matheus Cunha
Wolves have looked dangerous on the break at the start of this second half and David Raya stands tall at his near post to beat away a shot from Matheus Cunha. Promising for the visitors.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Wolves
Pretty much total dominance from Arsenal as Saka and Odegaard scored early and they could have added to their lead. However, Wolves did look dangerous on the break just before the break as it was all a bit too easy for Arsenal.
Arsenal knocking at the door
First Gabriel Martinelli hits the post then Gabriel Jesus skies an effort over the bar from two yards out after another brilliant cross from Saka.
GOALLL! Martin Odegaard makes it 2-0 after another superb team move and it’s Arsenal 2-0 Wolves (13 minutes)
Less than 15 minutes in and it’s Arsenal 2-0 Wolves – Superb play down the left as Jesus finds Zinchenko and he cuts the ball back for Odegaard to slot home. This is way too easy for the Premier League leaders and Wolves have barely got out of their own half. A few moments later Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa has now gone down with an injury and he is coming off. It goes from bad to worse for the visitors.
GOALLL! Bukayo Saka scores superb goal to make it Arsenal 1-0 Wolves (6 minutes)
That has warmed us all up! It’s Arsenal 1-0 Wolves and it is a beautiful goal. Bukayo Saka does superbly to beat his man, then plays it to Gabriel Jesus who lays it back to Saka with a delicate flick and Saka finishes down low. Brilliant football and Saka continues his great start to the season.
We are underway in north London!
The players are going through their final warm ups (not sure how you can get warm here today…) and both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus have had shots which hit both posts and came out. Arsenal will be hoping their luck changes during the game!
Hello and welcome to north London! It is cold and frosty here as Arsenal and Wolves both aim to kick off a busy December with a win. The hosts know a win will keep them top of the Premier League table but Wolves have been really good so far this season and their points tally doesn’t reflect their performances. You get the feeling Arsenal will have to be very patient today. In team news, Arsenal keep Ben White on the bench while their midfield looks very attacking with Odegaard and Trossard ahead of Rice. Wolves are forced to make changes with Lemina and Joao Gomes both suspended so Traore and Doyle come in to central midfield.
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League as early goals by Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard fired them to a 2-1 victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
In freezing temperatures Arsenal made a lightning fast start and the points always looked secure from the moment captain Odegaard doubled their advantage in the 13th minute.
Saka had given Mikel Arteta’s side the lead in the sixth minute after some intricate link-up play sent him clear.
Wolves re-grouped and gradually began to make a few inroads although Arsenal were untroubled until Matheus Cunha shot powerfully past home keeper David Raya after 86 minutes to set up an unexpectedly nervy climax.
Arsenal have 33 points from 14 games with champions Manchester City, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, on 29 and Liverpool and Aston Villa, also in action on Sunday, on 28.
“Football is not perfect, but I’m really happy with the way we played,” Arsenal manager Arteta said.
“It should have been a much bigger scoreline. We made a mistake and they take the chance, and it’s game on in the Premier League. We had chances and we didn’t put them away.”
After running Manchester City so close for so long last season only to fall short there were fears that Arsenal might struggle to reach such heights again this time.
But Arteta’s side are showing the sort of consistency that is required for a long title race.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
“We have to keep winning matches and performing the way we are. That’s the challenge, to keep doing that every three days because we have another important game at Luton,” added Arteta.
Just as against Lens in the Champions League in midweek when they scored five times in the first half, Arsenal flew out of the traps to take control against Wolves.
The opener was typical of Arsenal’s attacking play as Saka linked with Gabriel Jesus before Takehiro Tomiyasu played the ball through to the young England forward who smashed his finish past Wolves keeper Jose Sa.
Arsenal doubled their lead with another team goal, this time Oleksandr Zinchenko playing a one-two with Jesus who cut a pass back to Odegaard who side-footed a clinical finish.
A third goal proved elusive, however, and when Cunha beat Raya with a curling left-footed effort late on Wolves suddenly looked capable of rescuing an unlikely point.