As the Gunners set out to challenge Manchester City for the title once again, Gary O'Neil's Wolves have their sights set on a top-half finish in the 2024-25 season. A few months before Mikel Arteta’s native Spain claimed gold in the 2024 Olympics, the Arsenal manager had to settle for silver in the Premier League, unable to break the two-decade title drought since the Invincibles of 2003-04.
Despite a strong campaign, Arsenal’s title hopes faded towards the end of the 2022-23 season. Although they secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Everton on the final day, it wasn't enough to overtake Manchester City.
However, Arsenal has been on an upward trajectory, with only two blemishes in their pre-season: a penalty shootout loss to Manchester United, whom they defeated in regulation, and a narrow defeat to Liverpool. The Gunners have already enjoyed success at the Emirates this month, thrashing Bayer Leverkusen 4-1 and defeating Lyon 2-0 in the Emirates Cup, marking their fifth consecutive win at home.
Arsenal hasn't started a Premier League season with a 3 PM kickoff on a Saturday since a controversial 3-1 loss to Aston Villa in 2013. It's been 45 years since they last failed to score against Wolves in a competitive match, and they've netted against them in 33 consecutive games. This streak is Arsenal's longest against any team and represents Wolves' longest run without a clean sheet against a single opponent. Wolves fans might be more hopeful than confident heading into this weekend's clash.
Last season, Wolves flirted with relegation early on but stabilized into a solid mid-table team under O'Neil, even threatening a top-10 finish before a poor run of form saw them slip to 14th place. Wolves lost five of their last six Premier League games, including their final three, but they've had a decent pre-season, winning four of their six friendlies, including an impressive 3-0 victory over RB Leipzig.
That win was bookended by losses to Crystal Palace (3-1) and Rayo Vallecano (1-0), and Wolves have lost their Premier League opener in each of the last three seasons. A fourth straight opening day defeat would be an unwelcome record. Wolves are also hoping to avoid a seventh consecutive loss to Arsenal and haven't won at the Emirates since November 2020, a match overshadowed by the horrific head injury to Raul Jimenez.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Arsenal will have to manage without Kieran Tierney (hamstring) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) for their Premier League opener, but Mikel Arteta is hopeful that Jurrien Timber—who tore his ACL in the first game last season—will recover from a foot issue in time to play. The same goes for Fabio Vieira, who’s dealing with a hip problem.Timber is one of several left-back options for Arteta, including Riccardo Calafiori, who’s expected to make his Premier League debut. However, Oleksandr Zinchenko’s strong pre-season performance likely earns him the starting spot.
Saturday’s match will also mark David Raya’s first competitive appearance since his permanent move from Brentford. Meanwhile, Thomas Partey is expected to start in the number six role as Arsenal continues to pursue Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino.
Both Arteta and Gary O'Neil are dealing with unavailable full-backs. For Wolves, Nelson Semedo is suspended for the first three games after his red card in the final match of last season, a 2-0 loss to Liverpool. With Semedo out, Matt Doherty and new signing Pedro Lima will compete for the starting spot at the Emirates.
Despite some injury concerns, O’Neil expects Matheus Cunha (hamstring), Daniel Podence (calf), Mario Lemina (thigh), and Jorgen Strand Larsen (groin) to be available. However, Leon Chiwone (ankle) remains sidelined, and teenage winger Enso Gonzalez suffered a serious ACL injury during the Olympics, joining striker Sasa Kalajdzic in facing a long recovery.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Arsenal possible starting lineup:Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, Mosquera, Toti, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Lemina, Gomes, Podence; Cunha, Hwang
EXPERT PREDICTION
Arsenal 3-0 Wolves
Arsenal's last two opening-day wins against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest weren't exactly dominant, but it’s worth noting that neither Arteta nor any of his players were even born the last time Arsenal failed to score against Wolves in a competitive match.
That record of scoring in 33 consecutive games against Wolves is likely to extend to 34 on Saturday, especially with Wolves’ inconsistent form in the latter part of pre-season. Arsenal’s fully fit attack should be more than enough to secure a win.
