Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Arsenal: 5 talking points as Wolves condemn 9-man Arsenal to defeat | Premier League 2020-21
Arsenal were very much the architects of their own downfall. They had two men sent off in an eventful Premier League clash against Wolves that ended in the 9-man Gunners slip to a 2-1 defeat at the Molineux Stadium.
It all started brightly for the visitors, who had dominated the first half and had taken a deserved lead through Nicolas Pepe’s excellently taken finish in the 32nd minute.
However, with half time approaching, Willian Jose was played in behind the Arsenal defense and had his heels clipped in the box by David Luiz. This prompted the referee to award Wolves a penalty and give Luiz his marching orders.
Even though replays suggested that the coming together had been accidental and VAR might overrule the sending off, no changes were recommended. Luiz had to trudge off before Ruben Neves compounded Arsenal’s misery by nervelessly dispatching his spot-kick into the top corner.
Having found their way back to parity in somewhat fortuitous circumstances, Wolves then made their numerical advantage count in the 49th minute. Joao Moutinho fired in a rocket from distance to send his side into the lead.
Arsenal’s slim hopes of mounting a comeback with 10 men took a further hit when they were reduced to nine when Bernd Leno was sent off for handling the ball outside the area on 72 minutes.
To their credit, the nine men of Arsenal hung on gamely and prevented further embarrassment. However, they never looked likely to claw their way back into the game as Wolves saw out an important win without much incident.
On that note, here are the five major talking points from a thoroughly riveting encounter between Wolves and Arsenal.
#1 Crucial VAR calls completely transform the game
The term ‘game of two halves’ is quite an apt description of Arsenal’s fortunes in this game. The Gunners suffered a cataclysmic implosion and went from a fairly routine win to a thoroughly demoralizing defeat.
VAR was regularly called upon in an eventful game at the Molineux, as several crucial calls needed to be made. Unfortunately for the Gunners, each went against them.
The first instance of VAR came as early as the ninth minute, when a Bukayo Saka goal was ruled out due to Alexandre Lacazette being marginally offside in the buildup.
However, VAR really came under the spotlight for the first time right on the stroke of half time. Arsenal were within seconds of going in at half-time a goal up before being reduced to 10 men and saw their lead canceled out.
Wolves made their numerical advantage count and took the lead just four minutes into the second half. The visitors incredibly went down to nine men after their goalkeeper saw red for deliberately handling outside the area.
Although the Gunners tried to make a game of it, the two-man advantage proved to be too much for them to overcome.
#2 Transfer ins and outs, timely returns from injury in re-jigged Arsenal squad
Arsenal brought in Mat Ryan as a replacement goalkeeper and Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid to replace the outgoing Mesut Ozil. These dealings had already given the Gunners faithful a taste of first-team additions in the January transfer window.
However, those expecting the Gunners to bolster their squad further on deadline day were left disappointed. The only transfer activity that emerged from North London was of an outgoing nature.
On their way out of the club on deadline day were Shkodran Mustafi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Joe Willock. The German moved to Schalke on a permanent basis, while the young Englishmen went on loan to Premier League rivals West Brom and Newcastle United respectively.
As such, the Arsenal faithful would have been relieved to see Bukayo Saka return from injury to be named in the starting lineup for the clash against Wolves. The game also marked the return of skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who made the bench for the trip to the Molineux.
As a result of their transfer dealings on deadline day and the double sending off in this game, Mikel Arteta will be hoping fervently that the second half of his side’s season passes by injury-free and suspension-free.