Premier League football makes its long-awaited return to Emirates Stadium soil on Saturday afternoon, when Arsenal pit their wits against Wolverhampton Wanderers on matchday one.
As the Gunners begin their latest quest to kick Manchester City off of their throne, Gary O'Neil's men have top-half aspirations in mind for 2024-25.
Match preview
© Reuters
A couple of months before Mikel Arteta's native Spain won the gold medal in the 2024 Olympics men's football tournament, the Arsenal boss once again had to settle for silver in the Premier League, as the Gunners failed to end two decades of top-flight hurt since the Invincibles of 2003-04.
However, while their title fight tailed off towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign, the Gunners were still in with a chance - albeit a wafer-thin chance - of pipping Man City to the post on the final day, but a hard-fought 2-1 win over Everton ultimately went unrewarded.
Arteta's Arsenal can no doubt be described as going from strength to strength, though, and there were only two blots on the Gunners' notebook in pre-season, a penalty shootout loss to Manchester United - whom they beat in 90 minutes - and a narrow defeat to Liverpool.
The Gunners have already competed in two Emirates bouts this month, teaching German Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen a lesson in a 4-1 romping before beating Lyon 2-0 in the latest edition of the Emirates Cup, their fifth successive competitive or non-competitive win at their North London home.
Not since a controversial 3-1 loss to Aston Villa in 2013 have Arsenal commenced a Premier League season at 3pm on a Saturday, but it has been 45 years since the Gunners last failed to score in a competitive showdown with Wolves, who have conceded to their capital counterparts in 33 games running.
© Reuters
That sensational sequence unsurprisingly represents both Arsenal's longest scoring streak against a single opponent and Wolves' longest run without a clean sheet against a particular side, and the Old Gold faithful may travel south in more hope than expectation this weekend.
After hovering close to danger in the first knockings of the 2023-24 campaign, Wolves established themselves as a solid mid-table outfit under O'Neil and even threatened a top-10 charge in the spring months, only for a dismal set of end-of-season results to plunge them down to 14th spot.
Five of Wolves' final six top-flight contests last term ended with O'Neil's side coming up second best - including each of their final three - but they return to top-flight duty with a respectable 66% success rate from six pre-season friendlies, including an exceptional 3-0 beating of RB Leipzig.
That emphatic win was sandwiched in between losses to Crystal Palace (3-1) and Rayo Vallecano (1-0), though, and they have also lost their Premier League opener in each of the last three seasons; a fourth on the spin this weekend would represent an unwanted club first.
Speaking of unsightly sequences, Wolves are out to avoid a seventh straight loss against the Gunners this weekend and have not won at the Emirates since November 2020, in a contest that was marred by the stomach-churning head collision between David Luiz and Raul Jimenez.
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Imago
While neither Kieran Tierney (hamstring) nor Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) will be ready for Arsenal's Premier League opener, Arteta is keeping his fingers crossed that Jurrien Timber - who tore his ACL on the opening weekend last year - will shake off a foot issue to feature, and the same goes for hip victim Fabio Vieira.
The Dutchman is one of a few left-back options for the Gunners boss, a list that also includes Riccardo Calafiori ahead of his expected Premier League debut, but Oleksandr Zinchenko impressed in pre-season and should be given the nod from the first whistle.
Saturday's game will also mark David Raya's first competitive match since his permanent move from Brentford, while Thomas Partey is seemingly set to be given the nod in the number six position as Arsenal continue to work on the signing of Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino.
Arteta and O'Neil can empathise when it comes to unavailable full-backs, as Nelson Semedo's red card in the final game of last season - a 2-0 loss to Liverpool - means that the ex-Barcelona man is banned for the first three games of the new term.
With Semedo suspended, Matt Doherty and new signing Pedro Lima will battle it out to start at the Emirates, where O'Neil expects all of Matheus Cunha (hamstring), Daniel Podence (calf), Mario Lemina (thigh) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (groin) to be available despite their niggles.
However, Leon Chiwone (ankle) is still sidelined, while teenage winger Enso Gonzalez suffered a devastating ACL injury while playing for Paraguay at the Olympics and is facing a lengthy recuperation period, joining luckless striker Sasa Kalajdzic in the cruciate's club.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, Mosquera, Toti, Ait-Nouri; Sarabia, Lemina, Gomes, Podence; Cunha, Hwang
"Last season's level won't be enough" - what have the managers said?
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
© Imago
"Well we are really excited. We have been missing the competition for many weeks - too long for us. We are so willing to start, really enthusiastic about it. We had a really challenging pre-season but managed to adapt and it was a great challenge for everybody.
"Playing different conditions, we took it as an opportunity and a good challenge. The team has looked really sharp, looked at it and desperate to play.
"Break more of those records again and win more points that's for sure. It won't be enough [last season's levels]. With the level we are competing with and every season is getting harder, we are going to have to improve again, that's for sure."
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil
© Reuters
"These early fixtures can sometimes be misleading but it's a tough fixture nevertheless. You know what to expect - full throttle, in your face - they'll be desperate to go one step further than last season.
"We're looking forward to what problems we can cause them, how well we can cope with the issues that they'll pose us. A great opportunity for us to see where we are in week one."
We say: Arsenal 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Neither of Arsenal's last two opening-day wins over Crystal Palace or Nottingham Forest have been entirely convincing, but none of Arteta's squad - or even Arteta himself - had been born the last time that the hosts failed to score in a competitive game with Wolves.
That club-record streak of 33 should become 34 on Saturday afternoon, as Wolves were inconsistent in the second half of pre-season and should prove no match for an Arsenal unit boasting a fully-fit attacking contingent.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
