00:00A warm welcome to Molyneux for this stand-alone midweek Premier League game
00:04between the teams at the bottom and the top, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal.
00:09A match brought forward by five weeks because of the Gunners' participation in next month's Carabao Cup final.
00:15Graham Lasseau is alongside me, John Champion, for the commentary on what is a bitterly cold evening in the black
00:20country.
00:21Graham, can you persuade me that this might not be a straightforward away win for the league leaders?
00:26Well, I've turned my optimism dial up to 10 and I still struggle to see beyond the one win that
00:33Wolves have had in 26 games
00:34and the fact they've lost 10 out of 13 here, John.
00:37But, and it's a big but, the amazing thing is in the Premier League,
00:42if the home team with the crowd behind them and the crowd are positive at the moment and enjoying the
00:47evening,
00:47if they can get behind them and they can get an early goal, it gives them a chance.
00:52But against Arsenal, we see the team, Saka, playing in that number 10 position, coming into a narrow position
00:59and the quality Arsenal have, I just feel that it's a massive task for Wolves to overturn what the odds
01:07would be,
01:08the massive odds for Arsenal to win this game.
01:11Well, you will have seen the teams crawling along the foot of your screen over the last few moments
01:15and the big takeaway from Arsenal's team selection is Bukayo Saka playing in the number 10 position again,
01:21we can confirm that now that kick-off has happened.
01:25Wolves in the famous old gold, the familiar red and white of Arsenal.
01:32Declan Rice in towards Saka, who crept in unnoticed, unguarded, and Arsenal have a very early lead.
01:44And it ends the longest barren spell of Bukayo Saka's entire career, his first goal in 16 games.
01:54The early five minutes of this game, the opening five minutes, and it's a beautiful ball in by Declan Rice,
02:01but so easy for Bukayo Saka, playing in that central role.
02:06He has so much time to look up Declan Rice and just bend that ball over the top.
02:12And it's, he's not tracked Bukayo Saka at all, gets in behind a Wolves player.
02:20And it's a simple header, and an excellent start.
02:24That'll settle Arsenal down into a pattern, and it's a massively uphill task now for Wolves already.
02:30Five minutes down, 1-0 behind.
02:32I presume that little gesture was him re-enacting the signing of the New Deal,
02:36which makes him Arsenal's highest-paid player.
02:39Yeah, it's also his fifth career goal against Wolves.
02:43He has not scored more than that against any other team.
02:49Rice, here come Arsenal again.
02:52Declan Rice!
02:57Matthias Mane, the 18-year-old.
02:59It's been a rare bright spark in a season of doom and gloom.
03:13Goalkeeper spilt it and got lucky.
03:17Saka.
03:20Good in the necessary near-post flick, but it was inaccurate off the head of Martinelli.
03:25Yeah, it was a thick touch, wasn't it?
03:34Arokodari.
03:38Sealed by Belgarde, and Raya coming out.
03:59That one may have slipped out of the hand a bit.
04:02Yeah, for long throws, they've been a pretty poor standard, didn't they, from that side of the pitch.
04:08Here's Andre.
04:11An actual effort on target from Wolves.
04:14There you go.
04:15Nearly on target.
04:16Exactly, something for the Wolves fans to applaud.
04:21Andre from the end of the box.
04:28Saka.
04:31Chachua, who is rapid, getting back to confront him.
04:37It's Rice.
04:39And then in Cappier, Andre had a little nibble.
04:45Paul Tierney had a long, hard look.
04:48VAR will take a closer look.
04:51And the flag's gone up for offside.
04:55And Cappier still struggling a little bit, but it looked like, initially, it looked like the Wolves player made contact
05:03on the ball.
05:03A little back heel from Declan Rice.
05:06And here comes the challenge.
05:08I don't know if he does get the ball there, actually.
05:12Armstrong.
05:14Turning and hitting a decent effort.
05:16That's Wolves' best moment of the night.
05:18Well, there we go.
05:19Welcome to the game, Wolves.
05:22Nice, nice, patient build-up.
05:23Lovely turn by Armstrong, receiving the ball, looking like he was going to go down the left.
05:29And wrong footing, Cappier coming in.
05:31There's a slight deflection there, actually.
05:34Muscara.
05:38Andre.
05:43He was alert there, Raya.
05:45It was a poor cross.
05:47Incafier has been played in very neatly, and he's finished with great assurance.
05:54And following on from Wolves' best spell of a Morriban night, Piero Incafier thinks that he's scored.
06:02But now the flag has gone up on the far side.
06:05VAR will check it, but that is not going to stand.
06:08It was a very, very late flag.
06:11Instinctive from the assistant referee, and this is a brilliant ball.
06:17Into the path of Incafier from Gabriel.
06:19He's onside.
06:21See the far side there.
06:23There's a Wolves player clearly playing Incafier onside.
06:27This is going to stand, this goal.
06:29On review.
06:31Decent finish.
06:32Well, the assistant referee was late with the call, and errant with the call.
06:38And this goal is going to stand.
06:43And Paul Tierney confirms it.
06:45Piero Incafier has his first goal for Arsenal.
06:54And now they can celebrate all over again.
06:57It's far away from their own half as possible by looks of things.
07:06It was Ugo Bueno that played him onside.
07:09Yeah, you can see it was a player at the far side of the pitch.
07:12From a Wolves perspective.
07:16Santi Bueno.
07:19Ugo Bueno.
07:21What a lovely goal.
07:23That is a super goal by Ugo Bueno.
07:39And at last, Molyneux comes to life.
07:43Well, I was saying out, lacking in quality they are, Wolves.
07:47But this player's got a lovely left foot.
07:50And he's only in this position because he was taking the corner from this side.
07:54Getting back into position.
07:56Gets the ball.
07:56You can see, immediately he receives the ball.
07:58He knows what he wants to do.
08:00Just drifts inside.
08:02And Incafier doesn't get quite close enough there.
08:04And it's an exquisite finish.
08:06Beats Raya, who's a, obviously, terrific goalkeeper.
08:09It just goes to show the quality of the strike.
08:18Problems here for Wolves.
08:19Martinelli.
08:22Timber.
08:24Now the flag's gone up on the far side.
08:26And Wolves are lucky to escape.
08:28Yeah, I mean, two or three mistakes.
08:29Mascara made a really basic mistake a couple of minutes ago.
08:33Chachur on that occasion just playing a square ball.
08:36You'll see it here.
08:36I mean, that's basic from a footballer's point of view.
08:42Not even a Premier League football point of view.
08:44You don't play a square ball.
08:48All the while it stays like this.
08:50There is just that chance, isn't there, that Arsenal could be tripped up.
08:54Yeah, there's a small glimmer of hope, isn't there?
08:58However, they could also have gone and clinch the win,
09:01which is what Martinelli's trying to do.
09:04And he's got a corner.
09:05I was just about to say that glimmer of hope was about to disappear.
09:10It was well defended, actually.
09:11You can't play well every game.
09:13But you can certainly, I think,
09:15Arsenal could have put on a better display,
09:17made it more comfortable for themselves.
09:20And now Trossard is down.
09:34Wolves, eager to help him back to his feet,
09:37and of course he's having none of it.
09:38I think in these situations,
09:42there goes Trossard.
09:43He definitely catches him on the chin, on the head.
09:48And again, we've seen it a couple of times with Arsenal players,
09:52and Wolves players, a couple of head injuries.
09:55And they've made sure that the player's gone off the pitch.
09:58Paul Cianney's going to make sure he's consistent.
10:00He's now saying to Trossard,
10:02you have to leave the pitch.
10:03It's a head injury,
10:04so you must come off the pitch.
10:07Timed his challenge well.
10:11Arokodari.
10:12That's better by the centre-forward.
10:17Ugebueno.
10:22Mane.
10:26It falls for Idosie.
10:29What a moment for the teenager.
10:33Tommy Idosie.
10:35Has just scored against those
10:38who aim to win the Premier League.
10:42And in doing so,
10:44he may just have helped derail them.
10:49It's a day
10:52that a kid will never forget.
10:55Because he swung his right boot at it,
10:58made sweet contact.
10:59Arsenal couldn't block it out on the line.
11:02And it looks like more points are slipping away
11:05for Mikel Arteta and his gunners.
11:09Ugebueno again doing well down that left-hand side.
11:11Much more advanced.
11:12It's a decent ball in.
11:14Terrible confusion between Gabriel and Raya.
11:20completely unopposed.
11:22And it's a lovely strike by Idosie.
11:25The ball sits up nicely for him,
11:26but he does brilliantly to control this strike.
11:29Not a Wolves player in sight.
11:31Completely caused their own problems there,
11:33Raya and Gabriel.
11:34And it's a lovely strike.
11:35Composed, controlled, accurate, and power.
11:42And Caffier bumping Armstrong out of the way.
11:44The referee saw nothing wrong in Caffier,
11:47and Eze stabbing at it.
11:54Paul Tierney blows the whistle,
11:56and then Gabriel Jesus
11:58goes and makes contact
12:01with Gerson Mosquera.
12:05And if the referee saw that,
12:08then discipline will pull out.
12:10I think I've just seen a yellow card produced.
12:14You know, VAR having another check of this,
12:17and it's, again,
12:19you can understand how much frustration
12:21must be pouring
12:22through the veins of all the Arsenal players,
12:24but you've got to keep your control.
12:27It's in the chest, it's not in the face.
12:29If it was a yellow card
12:31from Paul Tierney to Jesus,
12:34that would probably suffice,
12:36but there you go.
12:37That picture there says a lot, doesn't it?
12:40It really does.
12:41I mean, the point is academic for Wolves there.
12:44Still rock bottom by a distance
12:46and 17 points from safety.
12:48But Wolves 2, Arsenal 2
12:50is one of the most eye-catching results
12:52of this Premier League campaign so far.
12:55As much as anything
12:56because of what it signifies
12:58for a team who are
12:59course and distance specialists
13:02letting leads in the title race slip.
13:05Hi there, I'm Rebecca Lowe,
13:06studio host of NBC's coverage
13:08of the Premier League.
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