Premier League
Wolves Hunt Down Arsenal For First Time In Forty Years
When Wednesday began, Arsenal’s top four fate remained in their hands. As the day closed, that was no longer the case. The Gunners made the trip North to Molineux Stadium desperate for a win. They began the day in fifth place, a point behind Chelsea but with a game in hand. Despite falling to a shock defeat over the weekend home to Crystal Palace, the mood was optimistic.
Arsenal felt they had put their difficulties on the road behind them after consecutive clean sheet victories at Watford and Napoli. The defeat to Palace was written off by many as a result of resting too many regular starters. For the game at Wolves, Arsenal started their strongest 11, aside from Ramsey and Aubameyang missing out with injuries. What happened next left even the most optimistic Gooners grasping for answers.
An Explosive Twenty Minutes
Arsenal’s frailty away from home made a triumphant return in this match. However, it didn’t appear immediately. It was actually the visitors that began the match on the front foot. For nearly half an hour, the Gunners asked questions of Wolves’ defense. As is often the case, they forgot that you must shoot to score goals. Despite their dominance in possession and territory, the Gunners didn’t register a shot on target until the 80th minute.
Wolves had no such difficulty. With nearly their first attack of the game, the hosts took the lead after 28 minutes. After a Monreal foul stopped a wolves counter attack, Rúben Neves stood over a deal ball 25 yards from goal. The Portuguese has developed a reputation as a long-range shooting specialist. The entire stadium stood with anticipation during his run-up. Neves duly obliged by dispatching the free kick with minimal fuss to his left. Leno perhaps could have done better in goal.
The advantage was doubled after Arsenal failed to deal with another set-piece. This time a corner was their undoing. Wolves played a short corner which left Torriera on an island attempting to cover two men. The result was Jonny left completely unmarked to deliver a teasing cross into the area. Doherty beat the offside trap and the charging Leno in goal to head into an empty net. It was a glaring error from the Arsenal keeper who badly misjudged the flight of the ball.
The crowd was in dreamland and seemed to propel their side to a third goal just before halftime. Jota collected a turnover at midfield and superbly raced past Mkhitaryan and Sokratis before firing a low shot that snuck under Leno’s arm. Again, the German should have done better in goal, but his defense did him no favors.
Wolves Continue Molineux Dominance
A Sokratis header pulled a goal back for Arsenal with ten minutes remaining. It was too little, too late. Despite having 71% of the ball, it never felt as if a comeback was in the cards. The 3-1 result meant Wolves had beaten Arsenal for the first time in forty years. Still, the result shouldn’t be considered a shock.
Wolves have been brilliant at home all season, particularly against the top six. Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United (twice) and now Arsenal have all been put to the sword at home by the newly-promoted side. The result sees Wolves move into 7th place. Wolves tremendous hall of 51 points thus far has been one of the biggest surprises of the season.
The stylish manner in which they’ve won those points has made them many people’s second favorite team. Wednesday’s victory was a prime example of how irresistible the West Midlands club has been. Few teams have had a better first Premier League season after gaining promotion than this Wolves side.
Champions League Hope Remains For Arsenal
Despite the post-game rants from fans on Arsenal Fan TV and across the globe, the top four remains in play for Arsenal. Manchester City’s defeat of Manchester United in the Manchester Derby means Arsenal remain in fifth. With three games remaining, Arsenal are merely a point behind Chelsea. The Blues still have to travel to Manchester United and Leicester, difficult places to play. Given Chelsea’s wildly inconsistent form, they can be expected to drop points once more. Therefore, if Arsenal win out, they should finish in fourth and qualify for the Champions League.
Of course, a secondary route to the Champions League remains available for the Gunners. Their recent 3-0 aggregate defeat of Napoli allowed Arsenal to enter the Europa League semifinal against Valencia as favorites. If they manage to get through to the final, Chelsea will likely be there waiting. An Arsenal-Chelsea final at a neutral venue would essentially be a coin flip.
It is absolutely vital for Arsenal to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They won’t care if they qualify via finishing in the top four or winning the Europa League. For either path to be successful, they will need a drastic improvement over their recent performances.
Given Chelsea and Arsenal’s uneven form, don’t be surprised if the side that wins the race for the top four falls to the other side should they meet in the Europa League final. Therefore, England could very well have five Champions League representatives next season.
Twitter: @Zimmerglass
Written by Morgan Zimmerglass
Photo credit to Wolves via Twitter
