Arsenal, beware! Arteta's out-of-form Gunners take on rampant Wolves
Arsenal, beware! Mikel Arteta’s side have failed to win a game in 2022 and have scored just ONE goal as they face the Premier League’s form side Wolves tonight… with Bruno Lage’s rock solid side looking to gatecrash the top four
- Arsenal have endured a torrid 2022, failing to find victory in their last five games
- The Gunners have scored just one goal this year and are lacking firepower
- It doesn’t get easier for Mikel Arteta’s side, who travel to Wolves on Thursday
- Bruno Lage won Manager of the Month in January after winning all his games
- Wolves face a crucial month if they want to emerge as a European contender
January was a month to forget for Arsenal. Winless in five games, resulting in their elimination from two cup competitions and a trio of red cards along the way, 2022 has been an unforgiving year so far for Mikel Arteta’s men.
‘For different reasons we didn’t get the results,’ the Spaniard said on Wednesday.
‘The performances against City and Burnley were very different. We played three games out of five with ten men. If we continue to do that in the next 17 games our chances will be really low. We also had a lot of injuries and COVID as well.’
Arsenal have endured a torrid 2022 so far, failing to win in their opening five games this year
Arsenal’s lack of results can be attributed in large part to their shortage of firepower up front. The Gunners have scored just one goal in five games this year, and their attacking deficiencies were laid bare in their drab 0-0 draw with Burnley.
The transfer window proved fruitless for Arteta, who was desperate to bring in a striker to lead the line for years to come.
Dusan Vlahovic was the Gunners’ No 1 target, but the Serbian marksman opted to join Juventus instead of the north Londoners. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s exit for Barcelona leaves Arteta with just two strikers – Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. Both are set to leave for free this summer.
‘We did what we believed was the right thing to do,’ Arteta said of the transfer window.
‘The squad composition and contracts were catching up, be fair with players who haven’t had a lot of minutes.
The Gunners have scored just one goal in five games and have a clear lack of firepower
Mikel Arteta failed to sign a big-name striker in January and must arrest this alarming slide
‘We had a clear plan of what we can do but then it has to be doable. Edu and his team have done a great job. We are very clear we only want the best people and the best players at this club.
‘When we are in a rush and the reasons to get a player on board are not the right ones we didn’t do it.
‘The most important thing is that we’re all on the same page, focused with the right belief and go game by game to get the level of performance that we need to win as much as possible.’
And it doesn’t get any easier with the Gunners set to travel to Molineux to take on Bruno Lage’s Wolves.
While the race for European football has been deemed a four-horse race with Arsenal, Spurs, Man United and West Ham jostling for position, Wolves are quietly plugging away and are poised to spring a charge on the final straight.
Things don’t get any easier for the north Londoners, who travel to Molineux on Thursday
They won all three of their top-flight games in January, defeating United, Southampton and Brentford. As a result Lage was named the Premier League Manager of the Month.
‘I’m very proud because it was a good month for us,’ Lage said. ‘The performance of the team, it was very good and we achieved three wins.’
‘We want to continue to win, to find the right consistency with personality, to play our game.
‘And, also, to continue to be, not just the Manager of the Month, but the right man and the right manager to my players, to my chairman and also for the fans.
‘So, that’s the goal, every day to be the best man, to be the right man in the place to take Wolves to a better position.’
Wolves had a tremendous January, resulting in Bruno Lage winning Manager of the Month
The Black Country outfit won all three of their league games last month, and beat United
Their momentum was halted slightly after the winter break, with Lage’s side eliminated from the FA Cup by Norwich City. The Portuguese will hope for a swift response with a make-or-break month ahead.
Wolves face Arsenal before taking on Spurs, Leicester, West Ham and the Gunners again. A positive run of results would see the Black Country outfit go from top four outsiders to genuine contenders.
With a small squad at his disposal, it will take some effort to come through those five games unscathed, though, and Lage acknowledges that his sole focus is on taking things game by game while fans dream of a return to Europe.
‘The fans look for Europe and the top six. I look at my squad and the players available and try and find solutions for every game,’ he said cryptically after the defeat by Norwich.
Lage has sought to play down expectations with supporters dreaming of a European tour
A win for Wolves would send out a warning message to the clubs vying for European football
Wolves may not be able to match their rivals for squad depth, but the impending returns of Hwang Hee-chan, Pedro Neto, Yerson Mosquera and Jonny Castro Otto from injury will certainly provide a morale boost in the dressing room.
Romain Saiss is also back from AFCON duty, with the Moroccan forming an integral part of Wolves’ rock-solid defence. Only runaway league leaders Manchester City can boast a better defensive record than Lage’s side this season.
Against the backdrop of Arsenal’s lack of firepower in recent weeks, it appears that Arteta’s side face a difficult task in breaching this Wolves defence tonight.
The outcome of that particular battle will have huge ramifications on the result at Molineux. If Wolves can defeat their bigger rival, it will certainly send out a warning message that Lage’s men mean business in the race for European football.
Share this article
Source: Read Full Article