Arsenal firmly put their Champions League disappointment in the past by beating Wolves at Molineux to return to the top of the Premier League.
After squandering the likelihood to leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s side six days ago by losing at home to Aston Villa after which being knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday, it was a welcome triumph for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Leandro Trossard’s goal in the last minute of the first half of the match may not have been the most impressive strike in the Belgian’s profession, but it surely was delivered at the perfect moment.
It got here at the end of the half when Arsenal, after a vivid start, looked as if it would have stalled and almost fell behind Gary O’Neil’s injury-ravaged side.
The visitors also dominated in the second half but were unable to create any clear-cut probabilities to place the game out of reach.
Captain Martin Odegaard added a second in stoppage time late in the game, crossing from a good angle after his initial cross was blocked.
The result means Arsenal are now some extent ahead of City, with a greater goal difference, but have played more games.
They have a likelihood to place significant pressure on the defending champions once they host beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Chelsea on Tuesday.
The drained wolves’ series of no victories continues
Wolves’ efforts have been positively praised by fans who’ve supported their team throughout, but when the season involves an end, how much will they regret allowing Championship Coventry to make up an injury-time loss in the FA Cup quarter-final at Molineux last month?
A semi-final at Wembley this weekend would interrupt a season that has develop into a torment for O’Neil’s side, who performed brilliantly for the first two-thirds of the season but now appear to be lacking energy and body.
Joao Gomes forced David Raya to hit the post from an angle in the first half, and substitute Mario Lemina tested the Arsenal goalkeeper with a shot in the second half.
However, these were sporadic moments of attacking inventiveness and Wolves’ best players were the defenders, especially captain Max Kilman and Toti, who performed brilliantly at the heart of the hosts’ rearguard motion.
On-loan Tommy Doyle has been busy for Wolves.
However, at six games with out a win in all competitions, that is the longest streak since the end of the 2021-2022 season.
Chairman Jeff Shi has repeatedly said the club didn’t usher in reinforcements in the January window since it was not prepared to risk breaking Premier League rules on profits and sustainability. However, the feeling will persist that this decision cost Wolves and O’Neil an actual likelihood of reaching the top half of the table.
Trossard delivers the decisive blow
Trossard has been a daily feature for Arsenal since joining from Brighton in January 2023 for £21 million.
The Belgian continues to make more substitute appearances than starts for the Gunners in the Premier League, and when things don’t go well, he’s an obvious candidate for substitute.
Still, he scores key goals. Since the starting of last month alone, he has secured a Champions League victory over Porto, an equalizing goal in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich at home, and now his latest effort – which takes him to 14th place on the season. all professions. Only Bukayo Saka scored more for the Gunners.
It took quite an effort to lean back and stretch to get to Gabriel Jesus’ missed pass. However, the ball went into the top corner of the goal, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jose Sa. This modified the complexion of a night that was becoming a bit tense for the visitors, who had previously allowed Wolves to get back into the game they’d initially dominated.
At the end of a difficult week, it was comprehensible that Arsenal weren’t at their best.
Still, they’d their probabilities. Kai Havertz made good moves in the penalty area in each halves. Each time, nevertheless, the German shot straight at Jose Sa.
Declan Rice had 4 probabilities, including a shot in the first half that went wide and a shot in stoppage time that forced Sa to make a good save. However, despite all his obvious benefits, the English midfielder has yet to enhance his goal tally, something he’s definitely capable of.
It was Odegaard who finally finished off Wolves with a close-range attack in stoppage time.
Man of the match
ØdegaardMartin Ødegaard
Wolverhampton Walkers
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Team number8player’s nameJoão Gomes
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Team number20player’s nameDoyle
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Team number6player’s nameTraore
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Team number2player’s nameDoherty
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Team number3player’s nameAit-Nouri
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Team number5player’s nameLemin
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Team number21player’s nameSarah
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Team number24player’s nameToti Gomes
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Team number23player’s nameKilman
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Team number1player’s nameJosé Sa
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Team number11player’s nameHwang Hee-chan
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Team number62player’s nameChirewa
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Team number4player’s nameBuena
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Team number17player’s nameBuena
Compositions
Wolves
Creation 4-4-2
- 1One
- 2DohertyReplaced byAit-NouriOn 75′minutes
- 4Buena
- 23KilmanBooked by 35 minutes
- 24GomesBooked at 32 minutes
- 8João Gomes
- 20Doyle
- 6Traore
- 17Buena
- 11Hwang Hee-chanBooked at 51 minutesReplaced byLeminOn 51′minutes
- 62ChirewaReplaced bySarahOn 75′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Ait-Nouri
- 5Lemin
- 21Sarah
- 25Bentley
- 37Holman
- 45Barnett
- 57Ojinnaka
- 61Okoduwa
- 63Fraser
Arsenal
Creation 4-3-3
- 22Raya
- 4White
- 2By
- 6Gabriela
- 15Kiwi
- 8Ødegaard
- 41RiceBooked by 35 minutes
- 29Havertz
- 7WITH
- 9Gabriel JesusReplaced bypartyOn 80′minutes
- 19TrossardBooked by 29 minutesReplaced byMartinelliOn 72′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Ramsdale
- 5party
- 10Smith Rowe
- 11Martinelli
- 14Nketiah
- 20Jorginho
- 21Fabio Vieira
- 24Nelson
- 35Zinchenko
- Judge:
- Paul Tierney
- Frequency:
- 31621
Live text
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The match ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Arsenal 2.
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End of the second half, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Arsenal 2.
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Attempt saved. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) right-footed shot from the center of the penalty area is saved into the center of the goal.
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Goal! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Arsenal 2. Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal) hit the center of the goal from a difficult angle on the right wing together with his left foot.
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Attempt saved. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) right footed shot from a difficult angle from the left is saved into the top half of the net. Assist by Declan Rice.
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Attempt blocked. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) left-foot shot from outside the penalty area is blocked. Assisted by Ben White after a heading pass.
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Attempt saved. Declan Rice (Arsenal) right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area is saved in the middle of the goal. Assisted by Bukayo Saka.
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Corner, Arsenal. Lost by Toti Gomes.
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Attempt failed. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) right-footed shot from a difficult angle on the right, high and wide to the right. Assist by Declan Rice.
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Foul by Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal).
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Mario Lemina (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) wins a free-kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by João Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
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Foul: Kai Havertz (Arsenal).
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Santiago Bueno (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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The delay is over. They are able to proceed.
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Match delay as a consequence of injury to Mario Lemina (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
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Foul by Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal).
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João Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal).
Credit : www.bbc.co.uk