Wolves Take a Bite outta Arsenal's Top Four Hopes

To be fair, the Gunners aren't the only big-brand side to leave Molineux with their tail between their legs.

• Manchester United lost there in both Premiership and FA Cup matches,
• Chelsea got edged there,
• Liverpool was eliminated from the FA Cup there, and
• Manchester City escaped with a 1-1 draw

Those are too many results to be a fluke. Wolverhampton Wolves have had their best season in decades, and this 3-1 muzzling of Arsenal was their latest warning shot.

 

Since then, Wolves have spent most of their seasons wandering around in the lower tiers. Their only extended spell in the Premiership was back in 2009-2012, and the main concern even then was avoiding the eventual drop.

Not now.

Dudes are one of the Premiership's most aggressive sides. They now need to achieve consistency and possible a bigger budget from their new kajillionaire owners.

 

Really, though, Arsenal's fighting for a spot in Europe. As it stands, they looked more in this one like they're on Plan B, ie- backing into it.

The way their fellow contenders -- Manchester United and Chelsea -- are finishing the season, it might not be such a bad alternative.

 

This was a rescheduling of the postponed Matchday 31. From the beginning, it appeared Arsenal's attack was still postponed.

Wolves, on the other hand, revved up to ramming speed quickly, which produced a stunning three-goal lead before the interval.

Nearing the half hour, it was evident the Gunners were grasping at straws to contain the homies. Never good. It resulted in Jonny Castro being brought down at the box's edge. Ruben Neves took it from there, scoring on a spiffy free kick:

 

Dudes doubled their lead in the 37th minute.

After a short corner, Castro crossed to Matt Doherty, who also headed home past Bernd Leno:

 

Completing the triad, Diogo Jota rang one up shortly before the interval.

As has happened all too often this season, Arsenal defense gave up a loose ball and Jota pounced:

 

 

In every sense of the word.

After the break, Arsenal's XI remained inexplicably unchanged, but they did manage a threat or two that went nowhere. Granit Xhaka in particular had a good chance wasted.

All the Gunners could manage was to pinch a lovely parting gift at 80-minute mark, when a perfect Xhaka's corner found Sokratis, who nodded home:

 

Wolves have now risen to seventh in the table, setting the stage to be more involved in the fray for a European spot next season.

Meanwhile, the race for Slots 3 and 4 are still damn near going in reverse:

 

All in all, Plan B could ironically be a viable option.