If you want to have an impact on your Premier League debut, then denting the title hopes of currently the best team in the land is not a bad way of doing it. Tom Edozie came off the bench to hammer in an injury-time shot which Riccardo Calafiori forced into his own net for the Wolves equaliser to punish Arsenal on a regrettable night.
Bukayo Saka and Piero Hincapié thought they had earned the victory for Arsenal against the league’s worst team, only for Hugo Bueno to reduce the deficit with a stunning strike, before Edozie made a name for himself with the help of the Arsenal defender.
Often games against mediocre teams in poor conditions are, in cliched circles, a good test of a potential champion. With the rain swirling in an arctic wind, Arsenal rightly did not look concerned by their rock-bottom opposition, controlling the ball in the early stages. Saka, moving into a more central role as a No 10, further proved his versatility with a smart run and then a header to score from a Declan Rice cross.
With five at the back and Adam Armstrong leading the line Wolves were not an attacking force, instead leaving 10 men behind the ball. They were passive in their play, drawing Arsenal on to them with a second looking inevitable, but like the temperature, the Gunners’ performance was dipping. Noni Madueke, not popular in these parts for calling the city “shit”, tested José Sá, who spilled his shot before the danger was removed with Gabriel Martinelli lurking.
