Arsenal v Wolves: Premier League leaders held at half-time by spirited strugglers

Premier League leaders Arsenal were held to a goalless first half against bottom club Wolves at the Emirates. 

The Gunners have never lost to a team that started the match at the bottom of the top flight. However, they showed little sign of undoing a Wolves side spirited and disciplined in defence. 

In fact, despite sitting deep and soaking up pressure, it was the Midlanders who had the best chance of the half when Hee-chan Hwang raced clear but his effort was saved comfortably by David Raya.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the touchline; his team unable to produce the same ruthlessness that has seen them open up a two-point lead at the top of the table. 

Gabriel Martinelli twice missed the target from close range while the returning Jurrien Timber earlier saw a header sail narrowly over from Bukayo Saka’s cross. 

Should the scoreline remain goalless, it would open the door for Manchester City to move level on points with Arteta’s men if they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday.

ARSENAL TEAM NEWS

William Saliba, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber all come back into the starting line-up, while Riccardo Calafiori (suspended), Max Dowman (ankle), Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), Gabriel (thigh) and Kai Havertz (knee) are all absent.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Martinelli, Gyokeres

WOLVES TEAM NEWS

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Marshall Munetsi and Rodrigo Gomes are injured but Joao Gomes is back after serving a suspension during the 4-1 defeat to Manchester United on Monday night.

Gomes is one of three changes to the starting team, with Matt Doherty and Hee-chan Hwang also brought in by Edwards.

Wolves: Johnstone, Doherty, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti, Wolfe, Krejci, Andre, J.Gomes, Hwang, Strand Larsen

How to watch Arsenal v Wolves: TV and online streams

Kick-off on Saturday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the Discovery Plus app.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Arsenal v Wolves stats

• Arsenal have won their last eight Premier League games against Wolves, their longest winning run against an opponent since a run of 10 versus Burnley from 2010 to 2019.
• Wolves have won just one of their last 14 away league games against Arsenal (D4 L9), losing the last four in a row since a 2-1 victory in November 2020.
• Arsenal have scored in every one of their last 35 meetings with Wolves, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. In English football history, only Wrexham against Darlington have had a longer scoring streak across all competitions (49 between 1929 and 1961).
• This will be the 42nd Premier League match between the top side and the bottom side, with the league leaders winning 30 of the previous 41 (D7 L4). Wolves have claimed two of the bottom side’s four victories, beating Manchester United at Molineux in both January 2004 and February 2011.
• Arsenal are looking to win five consecutive home Premier League matches for the first time since between January and April 2024. The Gunners have also prevailed in their last seven at Emirates Stadium against teams starting the day in the bottom three, since drawing 3-3 with Southampton in April 2023.
• While they have the best defence in the Premier League this season with nine goals conceded, Arsenal have shipped six goals in their last five league games, double the amount they did in their first 10 matches.