The Gunners threw away a two-goal lead during their frustrating 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and now sit six points behind league leaders Liverpool having played a game more than their title foes. Dropping points at Molineux could prove fatal in their bid to usurp the Reds, with the injury-hit north Londoners desperate for victory under any circumstances.
Wolves will not be straightforward opposition but they are one of Arsenal’s favourite adversaries. They have beaten the Old Gold seven times on the spin in the Premier League, including a 2-0 victory on the opening day of the season.
Vitor Pereira’s new manager bounce has faded in recent weeks with Wolves having now lost their last three league games. They are sat in 17th after three-goal defeats to Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Chelsea, and few in Wolverhampton will be expecting significant improvements against the Gunners.
Pereira criticised star forward Matheus Cunha after Wolves’ recent defeat to Chelsea and the Brazilian continues to be linked away from Molineux. Interestingly, Arsenal are reportedly among his suitors, with Saturday a potential audition to Mikel Arteta and his recruitment team.
Mario Lemina is another who could leave Wolves this January. He’s been frozen out of the squad until the window closes after asking to leave the club, meaning he misses Arsenal’s visit.
The Midlands side are already without long-term absentees Sasa Kalajdzic, Yerson Mosquera and Enso Gonzalez, while Toti Gomes remains a significant doubt for the weekend despite edging closer to a return.
Boubacar Traore could feature in some capacity against Arsenal having been missing since August. He turned out for the club’s academy last Monday.
Wolves predicted lineup vs Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Sa; Doherty, S. Bueno, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, J. Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Strand Larsen.
Arsenal are without a host of important first-teamers due to injury issues, with key centre-back William Saliba missing for the weekend. He’s unlikely to be out of action for too long – an early February return has been pencilled in – but won’t be rushed back into the fold.
Bukayo Saka is still missing following his hamstring injury and Gabriel Jesus is unavailable due to an ACL tear that will sideline him until 2025/26. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are other guaranteed absentees for the weekend trip north.
Myles Lewis-Skelly has impressed in recent games but missed the midweek win over Dinamo Zagreb in Europe due to a muscle injury. He’s a doubt to feature at the weekend.
In better news, Ethan Nwaneri returned from injury against Dinamo and is in line to feature in some capacity at Molineux. Riccardo Calafiori also returned to the bench following fitness issues but wasn’t used.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard.
