WOLVES HUMBLE ARSENAL TO HIT TOP-FOUR HOPES
Wolves 3 Arsenal 1
UNAI EMERY saw his Arsenal side embarrassed by an inept display to put a dent in their Champions League hopes.
The Gunners were woeful as they suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time since August.
They failed to have a shot on target in the first hour, as the rampant hosts stormed into a commanding 3-0 lead.
Ruben Neves, Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota were all on target in the first half for Wanderers, who climb to seventh.
And with Gunners keeper Bernd Leno having a nightmare, and Mesut Ozil (right) strolling around the pitch, Arsenal didn’t look like getting back into the game.
Sokratis’s late header salvaged some pride, but no points, as Emery’s side have kept only one clean sheet in their 16 away league matches. The disastrous loss saw Arsenal blow a chance to climb from fifth above Chelsea into fourth.
It even left home fans in Wolves’ highest gate of the season singing, “Champions League – you are having a laugh”.
Emery made seven changes to the Gunners side that crashed 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Under-fire defender Shkodran Mustafi was among those dropped to the bench, while striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was absent after a small sinus procedure.
Wolves’ previous game was goalless against Brighton, when they entered the record books for failing to commit a single foul. It took just 16 minutes last night for Wanderers to change that as Joao Moutinho clattered Lucas Torreira. Portugal midfielder Moutinho was then more creative as he fired a right-foot effort just wide. Wolves had another effort in the 25th minute as Willy Boly headed on Ryan Bennett’s long-throw and Raul Jimenez stabbed it over. Wolves’ pressure told when Neves hit a right-foot free-kick over the wall for his fifth goal this season in the 28th minute. The hosts quickly piled forward again as Jimenez blasted a right-foot shot wide. Shaky Arsenal were hanging on as Neves had another freekick deflected wide, and Bennett headed the resulting corner wide.
Arsenal’s frustrations were evident in the 35th minute as Alexandre Lacazette did well to rob Boly and Jonny, but wildly slashed a right-foot finish wide.
Wolves made it 2–0 in the 37th minute from Doherty’s eighth of the season.
Slack marking at a corner enabled Moutinho to take it short to Jonny, who curled in for Doherty to nod home, as the hapless Leno came rashly rushing off his line.
Jota made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time with a low leftfoot finish, which Leno got a hand to but failed to keep out.
It was a disastrous goal to concede to kill the game as the visitors’ Granit Xhaka sloppily lost possession, allowing Jota to notch his ninth of the season.
Arsenal showed some heart after the break, but Wolves might have added to their lead, before Sokratis’s 80th-minute consolation header.