Arsenal vs. Wolves match thread: on a high note

Arsenal head to the Midlands to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final match before the World Cup break. Manchester City’s loss earlier today ensured that the Gunners will be top of the league when play resumes in December, but picking up three points and extending the lead at the top to five points would be absolutely massive.

Wolves are in a weird spot. They’re bottom of the league with the fewest goals scored (8 in 14 matches) and fired Bruno Lage at the beginning of October. They’ve hired Julen Lopetegui to be their next permanent manager, but he doesn’t officially take over from interim manager Steve Davis until Monday.

Will Wolves put in a shift in their interim boss’ final match in charge? Will they be motivated to impress their new manager who’ll be in the stands? Or will the churn and upcoming World Cup break have them playing out the string?

Wolves will be without fullback Jonny Otto, who picked up a muscle injury at the midweek. Matheus Nunes will likely miss out with a shoulder problem. Pedro Neto, Sasa Kalajdzic, Raul Jimenez, and Chinquinho are long-term absentees. Diego Costa misses out through a red card suspension.

Emile Smith Rowe is still out for Arsenal but is expected back sometime shortly after the World Cup break. Takehiro Tomiyasu came off last weekend as a precaution with a potential muscle injury, but he has been included in Japan’s World Cup squad and Mikel Arteta does not seem concerned about the severity of the problem. He might even be fit enough to make the bench today, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Gunners don’t take any chances. Matt Turner has recovered from his groin problem and should be fit enough to back up Aaron Ramsdale.

Arsenal - Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka, Ødegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus

Wolves- Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman, Toti, Bueno, Neves, B. Traore, Moutinho, A. Traore, Guedes

WHAT: Arsenal at Wolverhampton
WHERE: Molineux Stadium
WHEN: 2:45pm EST/11:45am PST/7:45pm BST
HOW TO WATCH: Live on the USA Network. Streaming live on NBCSports.com

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