Arsenal must take advantage of key Wolves weakness in Saturday matchup

Keeping pace with Liverpool is Arsenal's sole focus when they travel to Molineux on Saturday afternoon. Their deficit to the Premier League leaders is six points ahead of Ipswich's trip to Anfield.

Simultaneous kick-off times mean there's no doubt a few of us will be casting our eyes onto events unfolding on Merseyside while the Gunners aim to down the Tractor Boys' primary relegation rival.

A whole lot has changed since Arsenal faced Wolves on the opening weekend of the season. Most notably, they'll encounter a group of golden shirts led not by Gary O'Neil, but Vitor Pereira. Bukayo Saka was also on the scoresheet during our 2-0 win in the north London sun, but he'll be watching from home - I wonder if he's got a dodgy box... - this weekend as his hamstring continues to recover from surgery.

Arsenal's August triumph over Wolves set the tone for what's been an unspectacular season up to this point. The Gunners were measured and controlled without wowing. Efficiency was the name of the game then, but that trait has far too often escaped the Gunners this term, especially in front of goal.

Mikel Arteta's side are meeting the Premier League's worst defence on Saturday, with Wolves conceding 51 times in 22 games. The initial exuberance under Pereira has faded, with the all-encompassing new manager bounce phenomenon already a distant memory at Molineux. They're in a proper scrap for survival, and Arsenal can latch upon a particular weakness this weekend.

Arsenal must take advantage of key Wolves weakness in Saturday matchup

Wolves are blessed with individuals perhaps worthy of competing towards the top end of the Premier League table - Arsenal target Matheus Cunha being the most notable. However, their inability to reinforce at the back in the summer has proven costly. O'Neil wasn't given the tools to build anything in the West Midlands, and Pereira's starting to feel the effects, too. They've conceded six in two since Reims captain Emmanuel Agbadou has come into the side.

There have been signs of Arsenal rediscovering somewhat of an attacking groove as of late, and Wolves will give them chances from open-play at the weekend. However, the visitors will also aim to exploit the vulnerabilites laid bare by their hosts from set-pieces.

Arsenal's dominance from such situations was once the talk of the town, but we haven't seen an Arsenal player score from a set play since Gabriel Jesus did against Crystal Palace just before Christmas. Despite their recent malaise - likely due to Saka's absence and the opposition's newfound intent on shunning the Gunners in the box - Arsenal remain the Premier League's most proficient set-piece unit, scoring ten times. Wolves, on the contrary, have conceded a league-high share of their goals from set plays (33.3% - tied with Arsenal). They've also conceded the most outright (17).

Only one of these has come under Pereira's watch, but Monday night's defeat at Chelsea highlighted that the same vulnerabilities which eventually undermined O'Neil's reign remain. They parted ways with their set-piece coach in October, but the departure of Max Kilman has proven to be costly. Wolves had the third-best defensive record from set-pieces last season.

With Arsenal's ability to control, suffocate, and sustain leading to territorial dominance, Saturday's hosts are bound to succumb to a dead ball barrage. Wolves, on average, concede the most corners per game in the Premier League (6.7), so perhaps they've merely been worn down by the volume of set-piece situations they've had to defend. We know this Gunners outfit will take their time from such moments in a bid to achieve perfection.

Saka's absence and doubt over Saliba's status may limit Nicolas Jov... sorry, Arteta's side again, but Saturday's bout feels like a get-right game for the visitors on the set-piece front.

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