Arsenal v Wolves

12/2/2011

Arsenal v Wolves

Van the Man, as Wolves fail to inspire.

Arsenal dominated a battling Wolves side that failed to produce a single shot on target.

The visitors failed to create, as Mick McCarthy's 4-5-1 formation looked to slow down what became a relentless Arsenal attack. With the middle of the park shut down it was left to Walcott and Arshavin to get down the channels and cause havoc for the Wolverhampton back four.
An Arsenal breakthrough was inevitable and it came after 16 minutes. Fabregas found himself in space on the edge of the box and clipped the ball into a waiting Van Persie, who fired a right foot volley that the left hand of Hennessey could reach, but not stop.

Hennessey was given plenty to do, as the Wolves number keeper tried to keep his side within touching distance of the Gunners. The chances rained down on the Welshman's goal but Hennessey's efforts kept a scoreline civil in a game that could have been a cricket score.

Arsenal's pressure continued after the break, and when Theo Walcott played in Van Persie one on one, Hennessey was unable to prevent the inform Dutch striker grabbing his second of the day.

Wolves were unable to shut down Arsenal's flow and even the introduction of Ebanks-Blake and Foley midway through the second half were not enough to force Wojciech Szczesny into making any sort of save.

With Doyle up front on his own, the hero from last week received neither service from his team mates nor time by the Arsenal back four, and the Irish man failed to make an impact for the 80 minutes that he was on the pitch. Foley's addition just added a new pair of fresh legs to be tired out by the Gunners quality.

A disappointing day all round for Wolves who were out classed and out played. McCarthy will look to put this one very much behind him as his side prepare for the big derby at the Hawthorns next Sunday.