Arsenal top six rival analysis: Man United, Tottenham, West Ham, Leicester & more

3. Wolves

Dark horses?

It’s been an interestingly similar start to the season for Bruno Lage’s side. They too lost their opening three Premier League matches despite them taking over the xG mantle from Brighton, and have since climbed up to seventh in the table, just one point behind Arsenal. However, their opening three defeats without scoring were not reflective of their performances.

Playing a distinctly more attractive brand of football compared to the former man in charge, Lage has Wolves operating in a well-worked mid-pressing style where upon winning the ball back they transition with ferocious pace.

Can their run continue? Since losing their opening three games they have, funnily enough, not been quite as dominating: Leeds outplayed them in their draw and Aston Villa’s late crumble was majorly of their own doing.

In terms of challenging for the top six they’re certainly not out of the question, but for a team adjusting style dramatically from Nuno Espirito Santo there are sure to be ups and downs.

They’ll surely invest in a midfielder come January as, once broken, the superb pairing of Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves leaves a gap in the centre of the park that isn’t adequately filled elsewhere in their squad.

Most definitely a team on the up under Lage, though.

Continued…