Wolverhampton Wanderers took on Arsenal at the Molineux Stadium this Tuesday afternoon. We have the player ratings.
Wolves managed to repeat the result they had achieved in the last clash between the two clubs as fans experienced one of the craziest games of the season. Arsenal started the match at full steam and the players brewed confidence on the pitch. In fact, the Gunners could’ve scored their opening goal before the first minute of the fixture came to an end. Unfortunately for Arsenal, the play ended with Saka hitting the crossbar.
Just a few minutes later, Gooners must’ve jumped out of the couch again as Saka managed to put the ball in the net. However, the 19-year-old was unlucky as his goal was disallowed due to Lacazette’s offside position.
Nevertheless, Arsenal didn’t lose hope and managed to open the scoreline before halftime with a brilliant individual effort by Pepe. Nelson Semedo was probably wondering why he didn’t stay at La Liga as Pepe shut down his critics with an ice-cool finish.
It looked like smooth sailing for the Gunners as they dominated the first 45 minutes. However, it all changed after Podence set up Willian Jose for the goal just before the break. In order to keep the Brazilian from scoring, David Luiz touched the player with his knee and was consequently sent off. Although it didn’t look like the defender’s tackle was an intentional one, the referee and VAR both agreed to award Luiz a red card.
Ruben Neves jumped to the spot and gave Leno no chance by putting the ball in the top-right corner with a strong finish. The Portuguese midfielder celebrated by imitating a suckling baby, a tribute for his newborn Mateo.
Nevertheless, the best moment of the match came at the start of the second half. Portugal’s legendary midfielder Joao Moutinho took advantage of the space given by Arsenal and scored his first goal of the season. In fact, Moutinho hit the net with a sensational strike which is bound to be named as the best of the season.
The game took a darker turn for Arsenal.
As things weren’t difficult enough for the Gunners already, they were forced to end the game with only nine players on the pitch. Arsenal’s goalkeeper Leno ran out of the box to try and stop a Bolt-like Adama Traore. However, Leno’s fear caused him to jump the gun as he ended up clearing the ball with his hand outside of the box.
Mikel Arteta looked highly disappointed as he understood that whatever chance his team still had completely disappeared after the second red card. On the other hand, this result will uplift a discouraged Wolves team. In fact, the Wanderers had failed to win their last four games in the Premier League.
Player ratings
Wolves: Patricio (6), Semedo (5), Coady (6), Boly (7), Kilman (5), Neves (7), Moutinho (8), Podence (7), Neto (7), Traore (7), Jose (7).
Bench: Vitinha (5), Dendoncker (5), Silva (N/A).
Arsenal: Leno (3), Bellerin (5), Holding (5), Luiz (4), Soares (5), Partey (6), Xhaka (6), Saka (7), Smith Rowe (7), Pepe (7), Lacazette (6).
Bench: Gabriel (6), Aubameyang (5), Runarsson (6).
Feel free to make your pick on the player’s ratings and performances using the widget below.
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