Arsenal vs Wolves: 4 things we need to see from Arteta’s side

Arsenal face the next in a long line of hurdles standing between them and Champions League football as they host Wolves in the Premier League on Thursday night.

Excitement levels are starting to build. There is still an awfully long way to go, with plenty of time for the top four to become entirely unobtainable, but supporters are starting to believe.

It is entirely within Arsenal’s hands. All they have to do between now and facing Everton on May 22 is match the results of their closest rival in this pursuit to secure top four football. At present, if working on the basis that all the teams with games in hand win their respective matches, that side is Tottenham. Spurs would sit three points behind the Gunners in the table if so.

Of course, one should never do that. Never assume the games in hand are victories. It creates a false sense of optimism. As difficult as it may be to envisage the hypothetical, it works both ways.

Arsenal vs Wolves: 4 things we need to see from Arteta’s side in Thursday’s Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium

Having games in hand is not ideal.

The next opportunity in line that Arsenal have to make up on their rivals – West Ham and Manchester United have played three more games – is a second meeting with Wolves in the space of a fortnight.

Since losing to Arsenal are the start of the month, Bruno Lage’s side have won back-to-back games with Tottenham and Leicester, doing their finest effort to show that the 1-0 result at Molineux was a blip. They have looked strong and are showing no signs of slowing down.

Thursday’s game presents Mikel Arteta’s side with a glorious opportunity to put breathing space between themselves and one of their closest rivals for the Champions League places. At home Arsenal should always be confident, and there are four things we’d like to see from the team in what is set up to be a mouth-watering tie.

1. Aaron Ramsdale Showing Composure

The victory away at Wolves in early February showed why supporters cherish Aaron Ramsdale as they do. His assertiveness from wide deliveries added a calmness to the back four/five, while a couple of smart stops towards the end kept Wolves at bay.

After a shaky January it was great to see him looking confident again.

But while he didn’t have a great deal to do against Brentford, some of his distribution out from the back showed similarly decreased levels of composure as had been exhibited at the start of the year.

He hasn’t been bad. Not at all. That much needs noting. What there has been is some slightly more erratic decision making from him in situations where he is normally the epitome of composure. There is still brilliance in there – as seen with one superb pass in the first half against Brentford – it just hasn’t been at the same level he’s hit across the vast majority of the campaign.

These dips are normal for any player, especially a young one. What huge positive can be drawn from this is that Arsenal have still managed to keep things airtight at the back and no individual errors have cost goals.

There just needs to be that touch more coolness from him.

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