Never Confuse Wolves to Dogs

December 13, 2025

Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal arrived as league leaders, Wolves as a side marooned at the bottom with only two points to their name. On paper, the imbalance suggested routine. In reality, it produced something far more unsettling — a match stretched taut until the final breath.

The first 25 minutes passed with little disturbance to either penalty area. Timber glanced a header over from a central position — Gyökeres perhaps better placed — but clear chances were scarce.

Wolves waited for their moment. It arrived when Arsenal overcommitted and Hwang Hee-chan surged nearly 50 yards unchecked before testing David Raya, who stood firm. The chase left collateral damage: White pulled up injured and was replaced by Lewis-Skelly.

Arsenal, for all their territorial dominance, lacked incision. Martinelli was central to what threat existed, yet fortune deserted him repeatedly. He headed wide when left inexplicably unmarked at a corner, saw a Saka cross blocked by Agbadou, then poked wide after Johnstone parried the resulting set-piece into his path.

By the interval, Arsenal had not forced a single shot on target. Wolves nearly punished that wastefulness when Larsen broke into the box, only for Hincapié to intervene with a perfectly timed sliding block — a moment that quietly underlined the visitors’ growing belief.

Ten minutes into the second half, Martinelli again burst into space but fired wide from a narrowing angle. Arteta responded with a triple change — Ødegaard, Trossard and Merino — and finally the pressure sharpened. Declan Rice twice drew saves from Johnstone: first from a curling free-kick, then from the edge of the area after a clever Trossard lay-off.

History loomed. Arsenal had not failed to score against Wolves in 46 years. The breakthrough, when it came on 70 minutes, was as strange as it was inevitable. Saka’s inswinging corner struck the inside of the far post, ricocheted off Johnstone’s head, and crossed the line.

Relief quickly turned to anxiety. Wolves pressed late, and on 90 minutes Matheus Mané’s cross was glanced by Tolu Arokodare, deceiving Raya and silencing the stadium — Wolves’ first shot of the half, their first Nigerian Premier League scorer.

But Arsenal were not finished. Deep into added time, Saka again delivered chaos. Under pressure from Gabriel Jesus, the ball flicked off Mosquera and into the net. Bedlam followed.

Arsenal 2 – 1 Wolves

(S. Johnstone 70’OG, T. Arokodare 90’, Y. Mosquera 90’ OG)