Overview
It was a frustrating night for Arsenal in the PL. After they were reduced to nine men in their 2-1 defeat to Wolves away from home. It was the self-inflicted wounds that proved costly for Arsenal. Goals from Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho were enough for Wolves to secure victory after Nicolas Pepe put the Gunners ahead.
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Line Ups
Wolves
Formation : 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper : Patricio
Defense : Semedo, Coady, Boly, Kilman
Midfield : Neves, Moutinho, Traore, Podence, Neto
Attack : Jose
Arsenal
Formation : 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper : Leno
Defense : Soares, Luiz, Holding, Bellerin
Midfield : Xhaka, Partey, Pepe, Smith-Rowe, Saka
Attack : Lacazatte
First Half
It was Arsenal who dominated the early stages of the game. They hit the woodwork twice in the opening thirty minutes including a first-minute strike from Saka. They also had a goal disallowed in the 9th minute before Pepe put them ahead in the 32 nd minute with a skillful run followed by a brilliant finish. Arsenal was in the driving seat till the dying moments of the first half. They were able to test Rui Patricio in Wolves Goal consistently. Just before the break David Luiz conceded a Penalty and got sent off with a controversial call from the referee. Neves from the spot made no mistake as he sends the Goalkeeper in the wrong way to equalize the score at the break.
Second Half
Gunners immediately introduced Gabriel to the back for as Lacazatte sacrificed his game for the Centre Back. But it was another shock for the visitors just at the restart. Joao Moutinho put Wolves ahead with a rocket strike from Distance. The Portuguese must be close to 30 yards out but he takes the shot and scores with an absolute beauty. Wolves had clear domination against a one-man down Arsenal side after taking the lead and they were pressing hard to score a third and seal the game.
Arsenal put themselves into trouble once again in the 72nd minute after Goalkeeper Leno received a straight red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area. The Iceland International Runar Runarsson made his Premier League debut replacing Leno and did a decent job in front of the goal not allowing Wolves to score again. Arsenal had some quick counters in the second half that eventually ended unsuccessfully and the game ended 2-1 to Wolves.
Conclusion
Joao Moutinho’s spectacular second half strike made an important difference in the encounter between Wolves and Arsenal at the Molineux Stadium. After Bukayo Saka saw an early goal disallowed, Nicolas Pepe gives them a deserved lead that was erased with the final kick of the first half by Ruben Neves from the spot after David Luiz was sent off. Wolves were in control thereafter and made their one-man advantage count through a rasping strike from Moutinho, with Arsenal then reduced to nine after goalkeeper Bernd Leno inexplicably handled outside the area, a largely self-inflicted defeat leaving them eight points off the Champions League places having played a game more than fourth-placed Leicester City.
Wolves are now 14th on the table with 26 points from 22 games, staying 12 points away from the Relegation threat.
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