Things have not gone great for Unai Emery at Arsenal in recent weeks. It doesn’t look like it will turn around quickly ahead of Saturday’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wednesday’s 5-5 thriller against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup didn’t do much to quell the questions to Arsenal’s prospects for a top four place, as Emery’s men went out on penalties to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The five goals may seem promising on the offensive side, though both teams played second choice squads.
The match meant much more for an Arsenal team that is in desperate need of hardware, while Liverpool may not even be able to play the next round against Aston Villa due to a conflict with the Club World Cup.
The loss – technically a draw, but Arsenal did end up crashing out – adds more worries to Arsenal, who have won just two Premier League match in the last eight, accruing 10 points in that period. That would be about 48 points over the course of a season. Last year, that would put them somewhere between Crystal Palace and Newcastle in 13th place.
Despite this form, the Gunners were the favorite in the past three matches, but walked away with 4 points.
The dropped points don’t look terrible yet, as Arsenal are in fifth place, just four points off Chelsea in fourth and the final Champions League spot.
Arsenal have been underwhelming on the attack for the past few EPL matches – and poor defensively for much longer – with defenders scoring the club’s last four goals (five if it wasn’t for VAR last weekend).
Heading into this week’s match against Wolves, the Gunners are again favorites, not unlike the matches against Crystal Palace, and Sheffield before them in which Arsenal dropped points.
Those feeling lucky or perhaps instead hapless, can put money down on Arsenal if the mood strikes. US players have options to bet on the Gunners, but until there’s a modicum of consistency, are they really worth the risk?
Even at the Emirates, Arsenal have conceded six goals in four matches, and have kept just one shutout.
On top of Arsenal’s defensive woes, their opponent, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have scored five goals in three matches against top six opponents, earning four points.
Last year, Wolves took four points from Arsenal in the EPL, and amassed 16 points against the top six. Only Manchester City and Liverpool had a better record against the top six.
So, for an Arsenal team that’s conceded 10 goals in the past four matches in all competitions, and is playing a Wolves side that hunts down big opponents, things could be going better.
