Arsenal's defensive woes to continue?
Arsenal welcome Wolverhampton to the Emirates on matchday 11 of the English Premier League. Both teams crashed out of the midweek Carabao Cup and will be looking to bounce back in the best way possible this weekend with both teams under increased pressure due to very uneven performances as of late.
Arsenal F.C.
The Gunners lost to Liverpool on penalties after a thrilling 10 goal affair that saw Mesut Özil start his second game of the season. The German playmaker was the talk of the town after the game providing an assist that will surely be mentioned in all talks regarding "assist of the season" come May.
Problems at the back, but whats new
Emery has come under increased scrutiny in recent times following horrific defensive collapses in their last 4 games and it seems as if it matters not who he starts with, the result is often similar.
Arsenal lined up with the experienced back four of Kolasinac, Mustafi, Holding, and Bellerin with the hope of containing a youthful Liverpool side but that obviously did not go to plan with Mustafi kicking it all off with an own-goal after barely 6 minutes of play.
The Özil conundrum
A positive that can however be taken from the defeat is that we were all, to what probably was Emery's disappointment, reminded of Özil's brilliance and chance-creating ability that has been so sorely lacking in this Arsenal side (go watch his highlights from the game).
Yes, he lacks defensively but what he lacks tracking back is made up going forward, no one in Arsenal's current squad can provide what Özil does and the question is, how long can Emery keep him out?
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
The Wolves were knocked out of the cup by local rivals Aston Villa with 2-1 after rightly fielding a very inexperienced starting XI due to their tough schedule. The Wanderers stood up well against Villa's much more experienced lineup and will honestly be relieved more than anything knowing that they have one less (infinitely less important) competition to worry about.
Hard to beat
Nuno Espirito's men have not exactly been lighting the prem up with dazzling displays but the heavily Portuguese-laden team have been hard to beat only losing twice during their 10 outings so far.
Their victory against Manchester City as well as draws against the red side of Manchester and Leicester are proof enough that the men in orange(?) are a tough side to beat.
Solid chance
Going up against Arsenal might not be the most daunting of tasks as of late but travelling to the Emirates is nonetheless a challenge. If Wolverhampton defend like they do at their best and hit the Gunners on the counter this is more than winnable.
Betting tip
Both teams score a decent amount, but both teams concede all too often which is why i will be backing Over 2.5 goals at 7/10 with Betfair.
