ESPN pundit Craig Burley has said he has not seen a team struggle to get out of their own half like Wolves did against Arsenal all season.
Wanderers lost 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard scoring early goals for the hosts.
Matheus Cunha pulled one back with around 10 minutes to go, but the Gunners dug in and Gary O’Neil’s side couldn’t make their late pressure pay and ran out of time. The Brazilian drew praise from the manager after the game, with O’Neil branding the attacker ‘a top player’.
It was a big win for Arsenal and in truth, one that was more comfortable than the final scoreline suggested…
Craig Burley says he’s not seen a team struggle to get out like Wolves did against Arsenal
The game was discussed on ESPN UK and there was a particular focus on Arsenal’s work off the ball, which made life very difficult for Wolves.
Burley feels that he has actually not seen a team struggle to get out of their own half in the Premier League this season as much as Wolves on Saturday at the Emirates.
He said: “What impressed me more was, I don’t think I’ve seen a team struggle to get out of their own half for as long as Wolverhampton did.
“It seems to me for 20 minutes, it was wave after wave after wave. It wasn’t all Arsenal possession, when Wolves won it back you could argue now that Arsenal are as good as Manchester City at winning the ball back. When Wolves got it they were so high up, they just smothered and pressed and Wolves could not get out of their own half so it just kept coming back.”
Wolves beaten by the better team
Sometimes, you just have to admit that the opponent was better.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Wolves to get anything from this game, which was away from home and with key players missing.
The absences of Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes really hurt Wolves. Their energy and ball-winning would probably have been ideal against the Gunners. In the end, the north London giants just ran over Wolves and rather suffocated them in parts.
Arsenal are a very good side and are a little reminiscent of Manchester City in terms of their hunting of the ball and pressing.
There is no shame in losing to them at the Emirates and to be honest, coming away with just a 2-1 defeat isn’t horrendous considering it could have been a hiding. The next two games are far more important for Wolves.