Make mine a double: Wolves 2 Arsenal 1

Analysis of a long awaited win where the football gods were with Wolves...

Feb 05, 2021

For Wolves to break out of this terrible run of form (no win in eight), it certainly felt like it was going to need an element of luck, such was the desperation amongst fans.

I’m not sure anyone envisaged a game with that amount of good fortune going Wolves’ way, where it has felt like it has deserted us at times in the past couple of months. It was a game full of moments that pretty much entirely went in Wolves’ favour.

It is hard to know where to start, so I’m going to try and work through the game chronologically!

Brutal first fifteen

It was a pleasant surprise to see Wolves start with a back four. Nelson Semedo moved back over to the right hand side while Max Kilman filled in at left back.

However, for much of the first half Wolves looked extremely disorganised out of possession, especially in a first fifteen minutes where the game quite easily could have been put out of reach. Thanks to a terrible miss, an offside and a wonderful save by Rui Patricio - Wolves remained in the game.

Arsenal were completely dominating, playing at a speed that Wolves really struggled to keep up with. Bukayo Saka was an absolute menace, Emile Smith-Rowe drifted all over the pitch and Thomas Partey controlled the game from deep in midfield. The Wolves backline were attempting to hold a higher line than in recent fixtures but a lack of pressure on the player with the ball meant Arsenal could be direct and attack the spaces behind the full backs. They did so in the first minute for that Saka chance:

[video-to-gif output image] — Saka chance in first minute

As you can see in the image below, a big issue is Kilman’s positioning in relation to the rest of the defensive unit. This happened on a couple of occasions where he or Conor Coady failed to step up in order to play an opponent offside. The consequence of that is problematic as it allows players to run in behind and towards goal.

Kilman is too deep as Partey plays the ball behind him

Equally, Willy Boly could be closer to him when you consider where the ball is on the pitch. The space between each defender is huge and really encourages Arsenal players to play passes into those spaces.

In that early period, Wolves also weren’t able to prevent Arsenal progressing their play in wide areas. Arsenal created overloads and played through quick combinations several times to create space in dangerous positions. Fortunately for Wolves, Saka’s goal was ruled out for offside.

Two gifts

Wolves had managed to come out of that period relatively unscathed and in the next fifteen minutes began to provide an attacking threat of their own, even if Arsenal continued to threaten as they had. Unfortunately, Nelson Semedo’s carelessness in possession and then weak challenge on Nicolas Pepe after thirty minutes cost him dear. At this point, it felt like the early luck had run out. Arsenal had been the dominant side, and a comeback looked like a tall order. Step forward David Luiz.

There is no doubt this moment completely changed the game, but why Arsenal fans (and their manager) are crowing about the referee’s decision to award the penalty and send of Luiz is baffling. Willian José is running through one on one with the keeper and is clipped by Luiz’s knee as he went to pull the trigger.

It was a nice move through the middle of the pitch by Wolves, but with the half time whistle about to go, Arsenal truly shot themselves in the foot with some reckless defending.

Luiz gets very tight to Willian José, who chests the ball back to Rúben Neves well. Neves’ quick forward pass is what allows Wolves to catch Arsenal out. Luiz’s recovery is poor, and Rob Holding fails to sense where the danger is, but Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka also fail to affect the play at all and allow what end up to be two very simple forward passes through the middle of the pitch.

Moment of Magic from João

João Moutinho’s position in the Wolves team has been questioned lately with some fierce criticism fired his way at times. While his influence on games is waning in general, we would be foolish to write off his quality. A first goal at Molineux came just at the right time and what a goal it was.

An early goal in the second half to make the most of the numerical advantage Wolves now had was exactly what the group needed. It could easily have become one of hose frustrating evenings where Wolves struggle to break down a team in a low block. To their credit, they had started the half bright and with positive intent.

Game management

Against ten (and then nine) men, Wolves managed the game well. Nuno expressed his disappointment that Wolves didn’t put the game to bed by getting another goal, but Wolves played the half out by retaining possession and being patient in attacking while holding a 2-1 lead.

João Moutinho showed his experience, particularly once Wolves took his lead, and orchestrated Wolves’ possession. Wolves took a patient approach, having long spells of pressure in order to try and break down a compact Arsenal defence.

Wolves found most success attacking wise by building attacks in order to isolate the wide players against their opposing full back. Adama Traore often had the beating of Cédric Soares who began to look very tired.

He set up a decent opportunity for Willian José, while Pedro Neto on the opposite side also had the beating of his full back and was equally as much of a threat.

What was also pleasing about the way Wolves approached the half was how quickly they won the ball back. I had worried that when Arsenal did have the chance to build an attack, Wolves would sit off and allow their defenders to have the ball but in this game they recognised the need to press quickly when they lost possession.

The Traore pressure is a good example and might hopefully encourage Wolves to press earlier sometimes, in order to win the ball back quickly and have more possession, higher up the pitch.

While there were some positives, as described, there was also a lot of good fortune that arrived just at the right time for Wolves. It had been hard to see where the next win was coming after the defeat to Crystal Palace, so this will have eased some fears across the club.

Up next

Sunday brings a second home game of the week, this time against Leicester. They’ve lost just one of their last nine league games so come into the game in similar form to how Arsenal did. If Wolves want to stand a chance in this one, they will need to have a better first half as it seems unlikely they can be so lucky again.

Jamie Vardy and Wilfred Ndidi are said to be back in contention to make the squad for the game which is a shame as they are both vital players. Wolves have done a good job containing Vardy in the last few fixtures but if Nuno goes with a back four again, they will have to be better organised and be much more compact than on Tuesday night.

The reverse fixture at the King Power stadium ended in a one nil defeat, no thanks to a farcical penalty given against Max Kilman for handball. Regardless, Wolves performance that day was poor as Leicester overwhelmed Wolves in midfield. It’s certainly something for Nuno to consider, as Rodgers will likely employ similar tactics to try and pin Wolves in their own half.

Tim Spiers @TimSpiers

Nuno on injuries pre Leicester: "We have problems. Tomorrow will be the proper day to assess better."

Predicting a line up lately is difficult, especially when it’s hard to tell where the injury concerns are, but let’s have a go.

Will Nuno stick with a back four? The trade off of the space left in defence was that Wolves always had a threat in attack. Pedro Neto or Daniel Podence were always close to Willian José in transition, and although his first half performance was poor - Adama Traore is always an outlet.

I have a feeling that Nuno may look to solve the midfield question by playing a flat three in midfielder. So far, this hasn’t really been a good option for Wolves. They’ve been too predictable in possession and it has left the central forward isolated, with the wingers too wide. In theory, the central three would provide better protection to the back four which looked very exposed against Arsenal. However, I think this would cause Wolves to play too deep and then we have the same issue of them struggling to break out of their own half.

Regardless, Sunday represents a good opportunity to prove that what this Wolves squad needs was a win and that the performances will follow.

Dreaming is for free

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