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27 min: Arsenal<\/a> are on the attack. Everyone going forward. But then one simple clearance sends Hwang away! He\u2019s ahead of everyone, but he\u2019s got miles to travel. He reaches the Arsenal box, with six red shirts chasing him, a silent-movie style pursuit. He\u2019s got just enough time to get a shot away before he\u2019s caught, but doesn\u2019t catch his low drive properly and it\u2019s easy for Raya. But that\u2019s the first shot on target, and after all the Arsenal possession and territory, it\u2019s by Wolves.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 25 min: White tries to release Saka down the right but seriously overcooks the pass. Goal kick. In the dugout, Mikel Arteta opens a water bottle in the manner of a man strangling an otter. Frustration betrayed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 23 min: Wolves have also done a good job of quietening the home crowd.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 21 min: Wolves will be happy with their performance so far. Arsenal<\/a> haven\u2019t really threatened them. Plenty of time for the league leaders to find another gear.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 19 min: Saka slides White into space on the overlap. White wins a corner off Toti, who dives in slightly carelessly, and is lucky not to catch his man. But it wouldn\u2019t have been a penalty even if he had clumsily connected, because White is flagged offside.<\/p>\n Arsenal’s Declan Rice wins a header. Photograph: Ben Stansall\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.21 EST<\/p>\n 18 min: Timber slides into the back of Hwang. Wolves take a methodical approach to taking the free kick, and the crowd are beginning to get slightly irritated. When the ball\u2019s eventually delivered into the mixer, Eze clears it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 17 min: Gomes comes back on. Then Saka makes ground down the right and crosses for Rice, who flaps a weak header straight into the arms of Johnstone. This game hasn\u2019t quite got going yet.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 16 min: \u2026 though he takes his time to go to the sideline, from where he\u2019ll need to wait for 30 seconds before coming back on. The Arsenal<\/a> fans once again wise to the time-management grift.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15 min: Gomes is fine to continue.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 min: White curls in from the right. Eze raises a boot in the hope of bringing the ball under control, but studs Gomes on the head instead. It\u2019s accidental, though a wee bit reckless; Eze\u2019s boot was lifted head height. You\u2019ve seen players booked for less. On comes the physio.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 12 min: Johnstone takes his sweet time over a goal kick. The home fans pick up on his antics, or signal lack of them, depending on which way you look at it, and give him the what-for via the medium of collective whistling. One for the referee to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min: Rice\u2019s delivery is much better this time, curled low towards the near post. But Saliba can\u2019t connect, and Wolves are able to clear their lines just in time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9 min: Saka probes down the right again. He\u2019s basically cuddled from behind by Moller Wolfe, and eventually the referee blows for the obvious free kick. Rice to take.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 min: The corner\u2019s half cleared. But Arsenal<\/a> come again, Saka jinking down the right and floating towards Timber at the far stick. Timber wins the header easily, but pings his header way over the bar.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min: Doherty concedes another free kick for another challenge on Martinelli \u2026 though this one looked like a hard-but-fair challenge, the referee buying some mild Martinelli theatrics. The free kick\u2019s worked left to right, and Hincapie breaks down the channel, winning the first corner of the game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min: Wolves respond with a confident period of possession, Hwang taking a look down the left, Doherty doing something similar out on the right. Small acorns.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min: Doherty skittles Martinelli out on the left. An early free kick for Arsenal<\/a>. Rice\u2019s delivery is uncharacteristically poor, failing to beat the first man \u2026 and that first man is Doherty, who makes good his mistake by clearing.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Arsenal get the ball rolling. They haven\u2019t lost at home yet this season, winning ten from 11. Godspeed, Wolves.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The teams are out! Arsenal<\/a> are in their famous red shirts with white sleeves, but Wolves spurn their equally iconic old gold for second-choice turquoise. Seems a shame from a purist\u2019s point of view, as well as red\/yellow being one of the better combinations for colourblind fans, and red\/green(ish) not so much. But here we are. We\u2019ll be off in a minute!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The pre-match postbag is teeming with one email, and here it is, courtesy of Charles Antaki. \u201cJesus on the bench, Gy\u00f6keres preferred to start. A great deal of chin-stroking, eyebrow-raising and forehead-furrowing amongst the Arsenal<\/a> chatterati as they ponder the equation: Jesus, five minutes, three shots on goal; Gy\u00f6keres, like, loads of minutes, and you know the rest. Thoroughly unfair of course, but c\u2019est la vie, and it\u2019s Gy\u00f6keres\u2019s good fortune that Arsenal are winning even with him playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Rob Edwards, who hasn\u2019t benefitted from a new-manager bounce, losing his first four games in charge of Wolves, beams with positivity despite it all as he talks to TNT Sports. \u201cThey are beatable \u2026 we\u2019ve got to go in with a real plan \u2026 we\u2019ve got to be better from a defensive point of view \u2026 being tight without the ball \u2026 aggressive at the right moments \u2026 more resilient \u2026 lots of things that are in our control that we need to be to get anything from this game \u2026 try to be brave \u2026 take the game to them \u2026 run hard \u2026 if we make a mistake, run and react \u2026 basics \u2026 being in the right position \u2026 [Arsenal] are probably the best at doing the things maybe people don\u2019t see \u2026 always in the right position at the right moment \u2026 that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to do better \u2026 I knew it was going to be difficult \u2026 but I\u2019m up for it \u2026 I wanted this challenge \u2026 to go up against these teams \u2026 test myself again \u2026 we need to show belief in the players \u2026 work really hard \u2026 we\u2019ve had a good reaction on the training ground after [the Manchester United defeat] and we need to go and show that tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fulham have just won 3-2 at Burnley. Fold in earlier victories for Liverpool (2-0 over Brighton & Hove Albion)<\/a> and Chelsea (2-0 over Everton)<\/a> and this is how the Premier League now looks, heading into this final fixture of the day. Arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top to five points, cranking up the pressure on Manchester City and Aston Villa, who tomorrow visit Crystal Palace and West Ham United respectively. Should Wolves manage a Christmas miracle this evening, they\u2019d close the gap on fellow strugglers Burnley to five points.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Mikel Arteta, with the laid-back vibe of a man atop both Premier League<\/a> and Champions League tables, speaks to TNT Sports. \u201cWe have some players back which is great news \u2026 all of them bring different qualities \u2026 different connections \u2026 they have been doing well \u2026 we are still missing some very important players \u2026 but to have options \u2026 manage the load \u2026 we all know the importance of each other \u2026 it is genuine \u2026 it is not easy to do it \u2026 it is harder to maintain it \u2026 when you lose one game in 19, it can happen \u2026 the immediate reaction shows they cared \u2026 if I had seen something different, I would have been worried \u2026 we have to put in performance after performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.20 EST<\/p>\n Arsenal make three changes to the team that lost 2-1 at Aston Villa last weekend. William Saliba, Viktor Gy\u00f6keres and Gabriel Martinelli are in. Martin \u00d8degaard and Mikel Merino drop to the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is suspended. Saliba is back after missing five matches through injury.<\/p>\n Wolves make three changes to their starting XI after being skelped 4-1 at home by Manchester United on Monday evening. Matt Doherty, Jo\u00e3o Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan come in for Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias, who drop to the bench, and Jean\u2010Ricner Bellegarde, who misses out altogether with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.12 EST<\/p>\n The teams<\/p>\n Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli. Wolverhampton Wanderers: Johnstone, Mosquera, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Doherty, Joao Gomes, Andre Trindade, Krejci, Wolfe, Larsen, Hwang. Referee: Robert Jones Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.57 EST<\/p>\n Preamble<\/p>\n Good evening! And I mean, c\u2019mon \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 yet while this will be the 42nd time the Premier League leaders have played the side propping up the entire table – winning 30 out of 41, with seven draws \u2013 who are responsible for two of the four historical shocks? Why, Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a>, that\u2019s who! Click below to reminisce, my old MBM pals. So while Mikel Arteta will surely be anticipating another three points, Rob Edwards must know that long shots sometimes find the target, and you never know. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It\u2019s on!<\/p>\n (The other two bottom-beats-top victories in the Premier League era are Oldham\u2019s 1-0 win over Manchester United in March 1993, and Tottenham Hotspur \u2013 yeah, this one sounds a bit weird – defeating Liverpool in November 2008. We don\u2019t have a link to the former pre-internet match, but here\u2019s one to the latter, which features an in-no-way-doctored photo of Harry Redknapp flooring it in a Ford Cortina<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Norgaard, Trossard, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Lewis-Skelly.<\/p>\n
Subs: Tchatchoua, Mane, Lopez, Hoever, Chirewa, Arokodare, Arias, Santiago Bueno, Jose Sa.<\/p>\n
VAR: John Brooks<\/p>\n