Arsenal improved their taste right after the league draw at Brentford at the weekend in the FA Cup, in which they overcame Wigan at the Emirates Stadium and, thanks to a dominant performance, especially in the first half, secured promotion to the next stage of the oldest club competition in the world. Although it can be generally said that this season the Gunners have a solid form, which is confirmed by the results, there has been a slight decline in recent Premier League matches. Both in terms of performance and results. Therefore, Mikel Arteta's charges need to work in the league and confirm their position as league leaders. Manchester City, Arsenal's closest pursuer, won't be playing the Round 31 match anytime soon, so the Gunners can jump to seven points at the top of the table in the event of a win against Wolves. Wednesday's battle at Molineux is more important than it may seem at first glance.
Form
You can see the current form in the tables below, where you can find everything you need to know. In the longer term, the table position of Arsenal and Wolverhampton is the most telling indicator of the form of both teams. On Wednesday night, the programme the match between the first and the last, I think that says it all.
Arsenal
| 📈 Current form: 🟢 🟡 🟢 🟢 🟢 |
| ⚽️ Results: Arsenal 4:0 Wigan (FA Cup), Brentford 1:1 Arsenal (PL), Arsenal 3:0 Sunderland (PL), Arsenal 1:0 Chelsea (EFL Cup), Leeds 0:4 Arsenal (PL) |
| 🏆 Premier League position: 1. (57 points) |
Wolverhampton
| 📈 Current form: 🟢 🟡 🔴 🔴 🔴 |
| ⚽️ Results: Grimsby 0:1 Wolverhampton (FA Cup), Nottingham 0:0 Wolverhampton (PL), Wolverhampton 1:3 Chelsea (PL) Wolverhampton 0:2 Bournemouth (PL), Manchester City 2:0 Wolverhampton (PL) |
| 🏆 Premier League position: 20. (9 points) |
Team and expected line-up
After the FA Cup game, in which Mikel Arteta gave some players a much needed rest and also tried some players in uncharacteristic positions, I expect a return to the strongest possible line-up and also to the traditional formation. Or will the Spanish manager prepare another surprise?
Expected line-up
There's not much ambiguity to resolve in the composition of the defensive line. The only position where I'm not sure who Mikel Areta will send on from the first minute is left wing-back. Riccardo Calafiori, who was injured in the warm-up for the Wigan game, will be available. It is therefore possible that he will return to the starting line-up. On the other hand, I think it's more likely that the Italian international will be in the starting line-up at the weekend against Tottenham, with Piero Hincapié will start from the first minute at Molineux. I probably don't need to go into the other defensive players. They'll be back in goal David Raya, on the right edge of the defensive four Jurriën Timber and in the middle of the pair William Saliba and Gabriel.
Despite a very good performance in the cup match, for which Christian Nørgaard even took home the player of the match award, starting at number six Martín Zubimendi. Then she should operate in front of him the pair of Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze. The latter shone in the match against Wigan, as did his Danish teammate. However, Eze will have an advantage over Nørgaard in the battle for a spot in the starting eleven, as both of his biggest competitors for the number ten spot will be missing from the nomination for Wednesday's game. From this perspective, Christian Nørgaard's path to the starting line-up is considerably more difficult at the moment.
The offensive trident that will occupy the Wolves defensive line should form Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyökeres. Mikel Arteta's biggest dilemma will be on the right wing, where Bukayo Saka returns from injury. Under normal circumstances, few would doubt that the „Starboy“ will return to his place, but now it means that he will have to sit on the substitutes' bench Noni Madueke. Or is it? Will Mikel Arteta come up with an option where we see both of them on the pitch? Personally, I don't really believe so, but maybe we'll see some surprises after all.
Absences
Although only the long-term injured list should include Mikel Merino, and the nomination for the game against Wolves other players will be missing due to health reasons. One of them is the German offensive all-rounder Kai Havertz, and the other is the team captain Martin Ødegaard. Mikel Arteta himself confirmed at today's press conference that neither of the aforementioned pair will play in Wednesday's match. He also added that both Both Havertz and Ødegaard have a chance to be ready for this weekend's derby against Tottenham. But I'll focus on that next time. A youngster is unlikely to make the squad for the Molineux game Max Dowman, who, however, is completely fine from a health point of view. Not counting the third goalkeeper Tommy Setford, no other member of the A team should be missing for the game against Wolves.
Opponent
| 🏟️ Stadium: Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton (capacity 31 750) |
| 👔 ManagerRob Edwards |
| 🧤 GoalkeepersSam Johnston, José Sá |
| 🛡️ Defenders: Hugo Bueno, Santiago Bueno, Matt Doherty, Rodrigo Gomes, Ladislav Krejci, Pedro Lima, Toti, David Moller Wolfe, Yerson Mosquera |
| 🎯 MidfieldersAndré, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Angel Gomes, João Gomes, Mateus Mané, Jackson Tchatchoua |
| ⚽️ ForwardsAdam Armstrong, Toluwalase Emmanuel Arokodare, Hee-Chan Hwang |
Match
Against Wolverhampton, I would like to see a performance like Arsenal's against Wigan, especially in the first half. Fast, straightforward football, complete domination of the game, many chances and finishes, but most importantly the cold-blooded conversion of the chances created. Especially the last mentioned element was often missing for the Gunners in recent times and unfortunately it cost them valuable points in the overall result. For example, in the last league round at Gtech Community Stadium.
Is it at all realistic that we will see a similar game at Molineux to the one against Wigan? It's real, but less likely. Arsenal undoubtedly have enough quality to beat Wolves on their home turf, both in terms of play and results. On the other hand, if I were to stick with the Wigan comparison, Wolverhampton are qualitatively different than Wigan despite their position in the table. After all, I'm comparing the incomparable a bit here, a Premier League team with a League One team. Although virtually every year we see surprising cup results where a big underdog takes out the clear favourite, the differences in quality and tactical maturity are significant.
Rob Edwards will definitely rely on a deep defensive block, so I don't think we'll see any goal scoring in the match between Wolverhampton and Arsenal. On the other hand, I believe the Gunners will find a way to take all three points from Molineux. I predict Arsenal to win 2:0.
Next match
The next game won't be just any game. This weekend's schedule the fight that all of North London is waiting for. Arsenal are heading to the ground of their biggest rival, Tottenham. The North London derby kicks off on Sunday 22 February 2026 at 17:30 (CET) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
See you next time, I'll look forward to it!
You might be interested in
- Arsenal Weekly | Vol. 3
- Arsenal Weekly | Vol. 2
- Arsenal Weekly | Vol. 1
- FA Cup returns to the scene as Arsenal host Wigan
- Arsenal conclude Round 26 programme at Brentford
Editor, administrator and editor of the True Gunner Diary website, but above all a devoted Arsenal fan. I started with sports articles at the Tipsport bookmaker, where I have published more than 100 blogs. If you want to know more about me, check out the section of the same name here on the site.