Arsenal edge Wolves with late winner amid struggles

While Wolves put in a solid defensive display, it was a poor attacking performance from the Gunners, struggling to create against a stubborn low block and lacking ideas to get clear shots on goal, ending the match with just two shots on target.

 Facing low blocks is not a new challenge for Arsenal, but the Wolves games brought up familiar challenges from seasons gone by.

One of the main issues at the moment is the lack of rhythm in the team due to the revolving door of injuries and Mikel Arteta trying to rotate to keep his side fresh.

The last time Arteta fielded the same attacking unit in consecutive games was Mikel Merino, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Eberechi Eze on November 8 against Sunderland and November 23 against Tottenham Hotspur.

The only other time Arteta was able to do that was a five-game run from late September to the start of November with Saka, Trossard and Eze being joined by Victor Gyökeres – a run of five straight wins.

There’s a lot to be said for consistency, tactical familiarity, and partnerships between players, but the last few games have seen too much change, partially forced, which has upset the balance.

It’s on the players and managers to adapt, ultimately, but somehow Arsenal have to figure out how to get their best attacking unit on the pitch together more frequently.

From an attacking perspective, Arsenal have only had 31 league minutes of Kai Havertz, arguably their best striker, and 451 minutes of Martin Ødegaard, their main creative hub.

The positive is that the pathway to a more fluid attack isn’t difficult to put into place.

At the end of the day, the Gunners still sit top of the Premier League and Champions League table. There’s clearly areas to improve, but a long way off panic stations.

For the first time since August, Arsenal don’t have a midweek game, giving them a chance for a vital break before seven games in 23 days, starting with Everton away at 8pm on Saturday.