This coming Saturday, Wolverhampton and Arsenal meet in a six-point game given the stakes of the match at Molineux Stadium. Whereas the Gunners want to shorten the gap with league leaders Liverpool, Wolves are striving not to get stuck under the shadow of relegation. This Round 23 Premier League matchup features all the ingredients for a close-to-the-bone battle with everything hanging in the balance.
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Arsenal: injuries and the search for reinforcements
Arsenal enters the game as the Premier League’s second-placed team with 44 points, but they’re facing significant challenges. Mikel Arteta, in his pre-match interview, was candid about the situation: “We’ve lost two very important players in Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, so we’re lacking goals, people, and options in the front line, of course.”
Without Saka, out with a tendon injury, and Gabriel Jesus, who will not play again this season because of an ACL tear, the Gunners' attack has lost much of its venom. Ben White is also out with a knee problem, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is similarly sidelined. William Saliba and Myles Lewis-Skelly are questionable and will need to be assessed closer to kickoff.
Arteta said, "If we can get the right player, that's what we're actively looking for. Ideally, we need some help." The Spaniard thinks his squad has improved a lot since the beginning of the campaign: "I think we're a much better team than at the start of the season in every sense because we've grown a lot as a team.”
Wolverhampton: survival and Vítor Pereira's imprint
In the head-to-head match, Wolves sit 17th in the table with the same 17 points as Ipswich occupy the relegation zone. With Vítor Pereira at the helm, the team is looking for fresh impetus, not least with defender Toti back for the match. Toti, understandably enough, isn't expected to be fit for 90 minutes of action against QPR but his return is certainly a welcome boost for Wolves.
Pereira has already shown he can reorganize the squad, something even Arteta admitted: "He's had a very good impact on the team, and tomorrow's game will be very difficult. They're a very well-coached team, and especially there, they're hard to beat."
However, the Wolves manager will have to put up with the absences of long-term injuries in the persons of Yerson Mosquera, Enso González, and Sasa Kalajdzic. This may see a debut at Molineux by Emmanuel Agbadou as a change to perhaps give them a different kind of feel right at the back.
Tactical analysis: Arteta vs Pereira
Arteta showed excellent understanding of Pereira's approach to the game: "The structure and organization are different; there are very clear principles of what he wants to achieve with and without the ball." He continued to notice tactical flexibility in Wolves: "They've done things differently throughout matches, regardless of the opponent and the results. That says a lot about their intentions.
For Arteta, the biggest challenge will be working out in double-quick time what kind of game Wolves want to impose and capitalizing on those moments that come along. "There are certain elements, certain things, certain moments where we have to raise our standards so that those small margins become huge and reflect what's happening on the pitch," he explained.
The stakes could not be higher
While the gap between Arsenal and Wolves on the table might look huge, the stakes are just as high for both teams: to Arsenal, every point counts in a chase at the top of the league, while to Wolves, a slip may just prove catastrophic in their battle against relegation.
Even with a weaker squad, Arteta believes that his team will be able to get by. Anyway, he let loose a bomb on the schedules of the Premier League and UEFA: "With the rules of the Premier League and UEFA, it has become really demanding. It doesn't make much sense to keep going in this direction." This is influencing squad depth directly, especially now in this present season with all the injuries and physical stress.