Arsenal v Wolves: Inside track on the Gunners

We spoke with Louis from Gunners.com, and Peter Wood from the Le-Grove Arsenal blog to get an inside track on Unai Emery's side.

See what they had to say here...

How has the season been for Arsenal so far?

L: Arsenal's season has been very poor so far, the football has been dire as usual under Emery and we've relied on individuals (mainly Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Matteo Guendouzi) to save us.

Emery's team selections have been so poor, particularly against Spurs and Man United, starting a midfield of Xhaka, Torreira and Guendouzi which is way too defensive. Both games ended up as draws, but a more ambitious Arsenal manager may very well have won both.

With the squad Arsenal have we should definitely be getting top four, Emery is seriously jeopardising this right now.

PW: Arsenal have been extremely depressing this season.

After a huge summer of activity and renewed enthusiasm for the post-Wenger rebirth, fans expected Arsenal to hit the ground running.

Sadly, the football picked up where it left off. Drab, uninspired, and extremely murky.

What’s the deal with Unai Emery, it seems he’s struggled to really give the Gunners an identity?

L: The football under Emery has been very pragmatic, Emery’s main focus in the majority of games is the opposition.

Wenger used to focus on our players and style too much (particularly naively in the big games) whereas Emery often sets us up to stop opponents rather than impose our own style on them.

As a result, Arsenal have actually made a bit more progress in the big games as we’ve adapted fairly well to the opponents weaknesses. For example, when we beat Chelsea at the Emirates in January of this year, Aaron Ramsey was tasked with harassing and pressing Jorginho which helped us win the game. Wenger would never have set up to stop an opponent like this.

Having said that, Emery’s pragmatism has hurt the team, these days our record against the lower teams seems to be worse.

Emery often sets up so defensively that we just end up inviting unnecessary pressure on ourselves, yet despite this defensive approach we concede more goals under the Spaniard than we did under Arsene. A recent example of this is the fact that we conceded 31 shots to Watford at Vicarage road.

Astonishingly Man City had 28 shots against Watford six days later despite beating the Hornets 8-0! So overall there has been a bit of progress in the big games, but not that much progress all in all as our defensive frailties have got worse.

PW: He's an average manager in job that requires someone exceptional.

Unai Emery wasn't well researched as a coach. He has no track record of building defensive structures, his grasp of the language is average, and he's consistently failed when asked to work with big names in football.

The lack of identity is a carry-over from last season. Emery is a bad pragmatist.

He's a conservative manager with none of the bells and whistles of conservative football. Namely, we're boring and negative, without the clean sheets.

What sort of football can we expect to see from Arsenal against Wolves?

L: Emery will most likely focus on creating chances from the wide areas, with Tierney and Bellerin/Chambers/Maitland-Niles putting cut-backs on the floor into the box for Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe to finish.

Pepe will look to come off the right hand side to combine with Lacazette, with Aubameyang making runs in behind Wolves back line.

PW: I think you'd likely expect a 4-3-3.

The big curveball is whether Ozil will start after a blistering performance against Liverpool. The football in that game, despite conceding five, was the best we've seen all year. We were an attacking force.

Unai will have to balance any attacking thoughts with the reality of Wolves counter-attacking, which could mean he plays it safe and sits deep.

In short, I have no idea, nor does Emery in all likelihood.

Who are the big threats in this Arsenal team for Wolves to worry about?

L: Wolves need to worry about Aubameyang, he's our biggest threat and best player.

However I unfortunately fancy Wolves to nullify Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe, since the former and latter both need space in behind the opposition defence to thrive. I simply can't see Wolves being anything other than compact defensively which will hurt Arsenal.

However, Kieran Tierney could cause problems down Wolves' right hand side if Adama Traore or Matt Doherty (whoever plays right wing back) aren't disciplined defensively.

PW: Aubameyang goes without saying. He's one of the sharpest shooters in the world. He's kept us a serious outfit this season and he's added another dimension to his game this year. He's so much more than a poacher now, he's scoring from outside the box, anywhere you put a ball is a half chance (greatly appreciated in a team that doesn't create).

The other player that's emerged from the Emery wreckage is Saka. The left-winger is a teenager, but he's been electric this season. He's direct, creative and he's decisive in front of goal. An absolute gem of a player.

What’s your predicted XI for the game?

L: I'm expecting Emery to go set up with a 4231: Leno; Chambers, Sokratis, Luiz, Tierney; Torreira, Guendouzi, Pepe, Ceballos, Aubameyang; Lacazette.

PW: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Sokratis, Tierney; Guendouzi, Torreira; Ozil; Pepe, Aubameyang, Saka.

Are Arsenal dealing with any injury issues?

L: The only injury we have right now to my knowledge is Reiss Nelson. I am expecting Granit Xhaka to be left out of the squad this weekend, due to last week's shenanigans.

PW: No.

What have you made of Wolves from afar, do you think they have what it takes to battle in Europe and domestically?

L: I've not been surprised by Wolves too much this season.

I expected them to struggle a bit due to qualifying for the Europa League but not adding enough to an already fairly thin squad. However, I was surprised that they got beat so convincingly by Chelsea at Molineux.

I like Wolves though, Nuno Espirito Santo is a great coach, he know Wolves limitations and sets up very compactly with the opportunity to be devastating on the counter-attack.

Wolves' record against the top six was exceptional last season and I was really really impressed with Diogo Jota in the second half of least season. So it's surprised me to not see him hit the ground running this season.

I don't believe Wolves can challenge Europe and domestically simultaneously. I think the focus should be a mid-table league finish and a deep run into the Europa League which is very achievable with the quality players and coach Wolves have.

PW: Nuno has been a revelation. Wolves have been outrageous considering the lack of resource at the club.

I love their fight, the talent and the giant killer aspect of their approach. I really hope they have a good season, but I'd prefer they start in the game after Arsenal.

Your match prediction?

L: I'm expecting a draw for this one, Wolves were superb in both games against Arsenal last year and were very unfortunate not to win at the Emirates.

Arsenal are very poor at breaking down compact teams these days and we often let games become ridiculously end to end.

Wolves will cause Arsenal problems and Jimenez should run Sokratis and Luiz ragged.

PW: 1-1.

You can keep track of Louis' work at the Gunners.com website, while you can follow Peter here.