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Arsenal were very much the architects of their own downfall. They had two men sent off in an eventful Premier League clash against Wolves that ended in the 9-man Gunners slip to a 2-1 defeat at the Molineux Stadium.
It all started brightly for the visitors, who had dominated the first half and had taken a deserved lead through Nicolas Pepe’s excellently taken finish in the 32nd minute.
However, with half time approaching, Willian Jose was played in behind the Arsenal defense and had his heels clipped in the box by David Luiz. This prompted the referee to award Wolves a penalty and give Luiz his marching orders.
Even though replays suggested that the coming together had been accidental and VAR might overrule the sending off, no changes were recommended. Luiz had to trudge off before Ruben Neves compounded Arsenal’s misery by nervelessly dispatching his spot-kick into the top corner.
Having found their way back to parity in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, Wolves then made their numerical advantage count in the 49th minute. Joao Moutinho fired in a rocket from distance to send his side into the lead.
Arsenal’s slim hopes of mounting a comeback with 10 men took a further hit when they were reduced to nine when Bernd Leno was sent off for handling the ball outside the area on 72 minutes.
To their credit, the nine men of Arsenal hung on gamely and prevented further embarrassment. However, they never looked likely to claw their way back into the game as Wolves saw out an important win without much incident.
On that note, here are the five major talking points from a thoroughly riveting encounter between Wolves and Arsenal.
#1 Crucial VAR calls completely transform the game
The term ‘game of two halves’ is quite an apt description of Arsenal’s fortunes in this game. The Gunners suffered a cataclysmic implosion and went from a fairly routine win to a thoroughly demoralizing defeat.
VAR was regularly called upon in an eventful game at the Molineux, as several crucial calls needed to be made. Unfortunately for the Gunners, each went against them.
The first instance of VAR came as early as the ninth minute, when a Bukayo Saka goal was ruled out due to Alexandre Lacazette being marginally offside in the buildup.
However, VAR really came under the spotlight for the first time right on the stroke of half time. Arsenal were within seconds of going in at half-time a goal up before being reduced to 10 men and saw their lead canceled out.
Wolves made their numerical advantage count and took the lead just four minutes into the second half. The visitors incredibly went down to nine men after their goalkeeper saw red for deliberately handling outside the area.
Although the Gunners tried to make a game of it, the two-man advantage proved to be too much for them to overcome.
#2 Transfer ins and outs, timely returns from injury in re-jigged Arsenal squad
Arsenal brought in Mat Ryan as a replacement goalkeeper and Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid to replace the outgoing Mesut Ozil. These dealings had already given the Gunners faithful a taste of first-team additions in the January transfer window.
However, those expecting the Gunners to bolster their squad further on deadline day were left disappointed. The only transfer activity that emerged from North London was of an outgoing nature.
On their way out of the club on deadline day were Shkodran Mustafi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Joe Willock. The German moved to Schalke on a permanent basis, while the young Englishmen went on loan to Premier League rivals West Brom and Newcastle United respectively.
As such, the Arsenal faithful would have been relieved to see Bukayo Saka return from injury to be named in the starting lineup for the clash against Wolves. The game also marked the return of skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who made the bench for the trip to the Molineux.
As a result of their transfer dealings on deadline day and the double sending off in this game, Mikel Arteta will be hoping fervently that the second half of his side’s season passes by injury-free and suspension-free.
#3 The Wolves defense is severely underperforming
Even though Wolves walked away from this game with three crucial points, a large part of their win is down to Arsenal’s implosion. In fact, until both teams had retained their full complement of players, the Gunners had been thoroughly dominant and had been good value for their lead.
Wolves had taken to the field in this game with a back four - a system that they have deployed with increasing regularity this season, despite previously having a lot of success with a back three.
This alternating between systems, combined with unfortunate injuries and key departures, has seen the usually strong and resolute Wolves defense be quite below-par this season.
They have kept only five clean sheets in 22 games thus far. This, combined with a lack of goals at the other end, sees Wolves languishing in the bottom half of the table.
In contrast, their in-form opponents, Arsenal, had managed the same feat in their past seven fixtures alone, taking their personal clean sheet tally to eight for the season.
Wolves’ defensive frailties were exposed by Arsenal’s explosive wingers, with Saka giving Max Kilman and Pedro Neto problems down the left. On the other hand, Pepe gave Nelson Semedo a torrid time on the right, as was seen for Arsenal’s goal.
Were it not for the two red cards, Wolves might have been in for a much stricter examination today and would do well to focus on their defensive structure for future games. The current performances are not likely to hold up well against quality attacks.
#4 Bukayo Saka is making a strong case to be Arsenal’s player of the season
Amidst the furor surrounding the Luiz and Leno red cards, it would be easy to forget that Arsenal had actually been dominating the game until the penalty incident and were looking set to claim a win.
A massive reason for their positive start was Bukayo Saka’s performance. The young Englishman delivered a sparkling performance on his return to the starting lineup following an injury absence.
Such was Saka’s impact on the game that he saw a shot rebound off the post, one smartly saved by Rui Patricio, and one effort chalked off by VAR even before the clock hit 10 minutes.
Saka’s excellent and mature showings across all competitions at the young age of 19 have caught the eye of the England manager Gareth Southgate.
With Nicolas Pepe finding form at the right time and offering a similar threat from the opposing flank, Arsenal are set to be a formidable threat going forward, with Saka leading the charge for the Gunners.
#5 Arsenal’s positive momentum takes a huge hit
Mikel Arteta’s men went into this game seven games unbeaten in the league, having conceded just two goals during this period. And the form book suggested a win for the Gunners against an out-of-sorts Wolves side.
As the first half played out, it felt like Arsenal would be extending their positive run of results. Not only did they take a deserved lead, but the Gunners also looked fairly comfortable in defense.
However, David Luiz’s sending off on the stroke of half time and Ruben Neves’ subsequent penalty conversion changed the complexion of the game.
Having barely gotten used to being without Luiz for their next three fixtures, Arsenal’s woes were compounded by the sending off of their goalkeeper, whose excellent form has been integral to their recent success.
As such, it will be interesting to see how the Gunners cope with the absences of Luiz and Leno in their next few games and how much of an effect it will have on their performances.
