Arsenal went into the World Cup break on Saturday with a wonderful feeling. The formation of Mikel Arteta was taken by the hand on a visit to Wolverhampton Wanderers by Martin Odegaard, who shot Arsenal to victory with two goals: 0-2. The Gunners take full advantage of Manchester City’s defeat to Brentford (1-2) and take a five-point lead in the lead. The Wolves are very disappointing at the bottom of the Premier League.
In comparison to the midweek EFL Cup match against Leeds United (1-0 win), Wolverhampton Wanderers rejoined Adama Traoré, who paired up with Goncalo Guedes at the front. Arsenal’s starting eleven has been cast in concrete this season. Arteta therefore saw no reason to make changes in advance, but was forced to do so after fifteen minutes: Granit Xhaka dropped out injured and was replaced by Fábio Vieira.
Arsenal ahead! ?? Martin Odegaard puts Arsenal 0-1! The Norwegian hits the spot from close by. With a win, Arsenal widen the gap with City to 5 points. https://t.co/MqQGbwM5d3#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/p3cm8ozZlq
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) Nov 12, 2022
The match took quite some time to ignite. Both teams gave each other little space and both José Sá and fellow goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale had not made a single save after 45 minutes. Gabriel Jesus showed himself fully as Arsenal’s attack leader and shot the ball against the ropes after six minutes, but from an offside position. Later in the second half, the Brazilian tried again, this time with a shot on the crossbar.
And that’s two for Martin Ødegaard??
Martin Ødegaard doubles the lead for Arsenal and seems to secure the victory for ‘The Gunners’. https://t.co/MqQGbx38f3#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/IfBLQGjS60
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) Nov 12, 2022
Jesus was also involved in Arsenal’s opening goal ten minutes after the break. The striker slumped and released Vieira on the left side of the penalty area. The Portuguese tipped the ball to the middle, where Ødegaard was able to tap in: 0-1. Arsenal fired on Sá’s goal fifteen minutes before the end after a smooth attack. ‘s goalie the Wolves saved on a shot by Gabriel Martinelli, but had no chance on the rebound from Ødegaard. The Norwegian checked and blasted in from the dropkick: 0-2. The home side continued to push, but after an artistic bicycle kick from Daniel Podence, who went just wide, Arsenal were no longer in big trouble.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 37 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 32 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 30 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 29 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | -1 | 23 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 22 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| 9 | Fulham | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 19 |
| 10 | Brentford | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | -2 | 19 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 19 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 17 |
| 13 | AFC Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | -14 | 16 |
| 14 | Leeds United | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -4 | 15 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -7 | 15 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -5 | 14 |
| 17 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -6 | 14 |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -19 | 13 |
| 19 | Southampton | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -14 | 12 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton W. | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | -16 | 10 |