Arsenal V Wolverhampton Wanderers Betting: Saturday, 3rd April

Arsenal V Wolverhampton Wanderers

Saturday, 3^rd April – 15:00 GMT

Arsenal

League Position: 3rd

Recent Form: WWWWD 

After a gruelling 90 minutes with Barcelona, Arsenal try their luck against a more gentle team in that of Mick McCarthy’s Wolves. It’s the same venue, The Emirates, but they’ll be no Messi or Ibrahimovic terrorising their defence and will instead probably only have to deal with one Wolves strike on the day in Kevin Doyle. This next task just does not compare to that of their last, but will Arsenal be out of steam by the time they welcome Wolves to The Emirates on Saturday afternoon?

The answer is probably a bit of both, although Arsenal’s quality in depth and technical ability should see them safely through what is an easy fixture on paper. Even so, it’s sometimes the easy game that you come a cropper in simply because you don’t apply yourself in the correct and professional manner so Arsene Wenger will need to drill it into his players that an alert and smart display is needed from them.

On Wednesday, however, Arsenal were left in awe as Barcelona stormed out of the blocks, creating chance after chance. Were it not for Almunia in the Arsenal goal, Barcelona could have had a 3-0 or 4-0 lead going into half-time. However, Arsenal’s hero of the first half was soon their worst enemy as Almunia was lobbed by Ibrahimovic just 20 seconds into the second half, with the Spaniards foolish rush punished. By the time the hour mark arrived Arsenal were starring exit right in the face, but a spired comeback and the aid of some fresh and extremely fast Theo Walcott legs ensured Arsenal didn’t leave empty handed as they earned a 2-2 in the end.  

In fairness, the 2-2 draw was probably more than Arsenal really deserved on reflection, but the manner in which the players rose to the occasion in the second period was commendable, although their was a direct consequence for that full heart second half attitude as Cesc Fabregas spent the remaining five minutes or so limping. He will be unavailable for this clash with Wolves and while they will probably cope without him on this occasion, Wenger will certainly need his talented Spanish midfielder back ASAP. In the meantime, Denilson will occupy his position while Song will drop back into defence as William Gallas was also injured in the Barcelona clashed and has to be stretchered off.

The injuries to both William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas are a big blow but Arsenal are fortunate enough that their next fixture is that against Wolves. We don’t necessarily mean to be disrespectful to Wolves as they’ve done great this season, but even without two of their more influential players, Arsenal should dispatch Wolves without too many scares.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

League Position: 14th

Recent Form: LWDWD

Mick McCarthy will have watched Arsenal’s match with Barcelona in midweek and will have taken plenty of negatives away from that encounter, although there were enough positives for him to dwell over. The absence of two of Arsenal’s key players for a start, but do Wolves really have what it takes to snatch some points off an Arsenal side gunning for the league title despite boasting very little quality in comparison to that of their match day opponents? We think not, but hey, anything can happen in football. Just look at how Arsenal turned the game around in midweek for a prime example. 

Wolves are a big price to win at The Emirates and that’s understandable considering there are eleven positions separating the pair in the table and 36 points. Even so, Wolves themselves have shown plenty of character of late and have pushed some big teams close in recent weeks. They should of taken at least a share of the spoils against both Man Utd (0-1) and Chelsea (0-2) either side of last month after creating more than enough chances to merit a point. However, that’s been a notable and consistent fault of Wolves, not converting their chances. Strangely enough, however, they’ve scored more goals away from home, which perhaps indicates that Wolves feel more pressure at Molineux and instead prefer their usual underdog status. 

Well, they’re a big underdog in this clash but yet we still don’t see them getting close to Arsenal. Mick McCarthy will more than likely stick five men in midfield and go with Kevin Doyle up front on his lonesome. While that could prove effective in narrowing the spaces available to Arsenal, for one we don’t think they’ll last the whole game out playing in such an organised fashion, and two we don’t see Wolves creating much in terms of chances at the other end. Then again, Wolves have shell shocked us recently with some of their forward play and have scored seven in their last three away fixtures. That’s some pretty lean figures for a club like Wolves, although, it must be noted that five of those did come against two teams in the lower reaches of the table.

While we’re finding it hard to pluck up the courage and have a small wager on Wolves maybe springing a surprise, we can still see some value in their rather large 16/1 price quote with WilliamHill. They’ve looked more lively and dangerous in front of goal, while they’ve finally added some clinical finishing to their play. However, by the same token, their defence is still conceding having done so against Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham. Now, those teams mentioned are nothing in comparison to Arsenal and it seriously begs the question as to whether Wolves’ unbeaten away run of three games will come to a somewhat inevitable end at The Emirates as they would need a mammoth defensive performance to keep Arsenal at arms length.

Interesting Fact: Wolves haven’t lost in the Premier League for four games, while they’re unbeaten in their last three away encounters.

Match Verdict: Arsenal to WIN – 1.22 Bet365

The Gunners aren’t the best of prices against a Wolves side who haven’t lost a league encounter for nearly a month now, but Arsenal really should fend off the challenge from Wolves. They will have to do so without Cesc Fabregas mind, but Arsene Wenger has some suitable replacements and providing Arsenal take their chances when they do arrive, and there will be plenty of them, it will be another vital set of three points added to their title cause. It’s as simple as that for us.

Match Odds:

Arsenal – 1.22 Bet365

Draw – 6.50 BetFred

Wolverhampton Wanderers – 17.00 WilliamHill

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Theo Walcott FGS – 8.50 BlueSquare