Express & Star

Wolves Fans' Verdict v Arsenal: Well below par

Our fans share their thoughts on Wolves' disappointing 2-0 defeat against Arsenal.

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Clive Smith

Having a week off did not help us one bit. We were dreadful with the spine of the team, Coady, Moutinho and Jimenez all well below par.

Lining up with Traore alongside Jimenez was a surprising selection and it never looked like working. A strange choice from Nuno. It meant we looked a man light whenever we tried to attack. Traore isn't as dangerous with his back to goal, and the link up play with Doherty was missing.

We could have been 1-0 up within fifteen seconds had Traore made better contact, but from them on chances were few and far between.

We played for too long at a slow tempo which Arsenal found easy to play against, and they had the threat of the long ball over the top that they could use when we turned over the ball.

Our set pieces disappointed too, whether it was a free-kick, corner or throw-in. We were unusually wasteful in that part of the game. Few players come out of the game with much credit – Jonny was again the player who was closest to his normal form.

We have the chance to bounce back on Wednesday. The difficult decision will be deciding on the forward formation. The form of Jimenez and Jota is concerning.

Adam Virgo

Disappointing loss and performance against an Arsenal side that haven’t won away against a top half team in the league this season.

I know arsenal had won three in a row in all competitions before our game but I was confident.

For me, Nuno got it wrong to start with. If you’re going to start with 3-5-2 then it’s got to be Jota and Jimenez as that then allows Neto and Traore to come on into a 3-4-3, but we were having to play Adama at RWB to be able to bring Neto on.

The result has dented our hopes for the top five and a potential champions league spot which shows how well we have done this season but there’s still five games to go and nothing is set in stone yet. No-one had a great game either to be honest.

A few key individuals had a poor game, Boly and Moutinho having one of their worst games this season.

Adama was our biggest threat for the majority of the game and in the first half he looked lively at times. Jota made a decent impact when he came on, Neto didn’t do badly either.

We don’t have direct replacements on the bench for Moutinho or Jimenez that I would consider good enough currently. However, we are only in our second Premier League season and none of us expected to be challenging for the top four this season. There was a lot to improve on from this game and I’m confident we can bounce back against Sheffield United.

I hope Nuno goes with 3-4-3 against them, possibly even Neto and Traore in attack with Jimenez. A lot of sloppy play from us and also our first-half record doesn’t help anything. I know the second half record is insane but with our first half record, it will cost you eventually.

Being 1-0 down meant the longer the game was going on, we were having to take a lot more risks going forward. Sometimes we should start on the front foot and given Arsenal have issues defensively, especially away from home, it was a real chance that got away from us.

Rob Cartwright

Well, this wasn’t really part of the grand plan, but Arsenal have turned a corner and this game was always likely to be our biggest test of the restart. We made a reasonably good start, with midfield playing further up the field. Traore was ineffective in a front two and needs to be playing on right wing where he can cut inside or dribble and cross.

This turned into a poor first half. Moutinho and Dendoncker were not firing. Boly, Saiss and Coady also looked insecure. The writing was on the wall. If we could have held out for a few more minutes, to half time, it may have been different.

We conceded on 43 minutes, following poor defending from Boly and a deflection off Doherty, it was a well taken goal.

Wolves were on top in second half, especially after the introduction of Jota after 10 minutes. Traore missed a great chance on 63 minutes; this turned out to be our best opportunity. We were lacking the cutting edge.

Two things surprised me. The quality of our corners and free kicks were poor.

Then, Nuno moved Traore to wing back, on 70 minutes, to bring on Neto for Doherty. That moment killed our momentum.

This was a very atypical performance from Wolves. There were no standout performers; no match winners. Neves and Jonny were decent but the game needed a spark which didn’t happen. I think the second half would have been different with a packed Molineux roaring them on. Wednesday can’t come quickly enough now.

John Lalley

This was a massive opportunity for Wolves and the lingering disappointment is that we left plenty on the pitch in terms of what we have to offer. We simply didn’t do justice to our talent; instead we were hesitant, overly cautious and timidly reluctant to express ourselves.

The Arsenal weakness is their susceptibility to implode when pressurised. As the nondescript first-half meandered limply along, my distracted attention kept drifting to the outcome of this same fixture last season.

On that night, we rattled the Gunners’ cage from the kick-off; blitzed them, forced them into error and panic and in so doing reduced them to a state of shambles.

Ironically, within twenty seconds, we had the chance to put similar wheels in motion once again. Had Traore made a clean connection whilst he was looking into the whites of Martinez’s eyes and given us an immediate lead, you can only speculate as to how Arsenal might have reacted. Not well, one suspects.

Traore again had a real chance to salvage a lifeline in the second-half and when this opportunity infuriatingly went begging, our belated response gradually evaporated. Too many of our players who have been so outstanding in the three games since resumption were on the periphery of the action.

Our defensive solidity, usually so impressive and so organised deserted us and after we conceded a careless second, we lost our shape completely. Profligate late finishing from Arsenal at least ensured that the final score did not reach embarrassing proportions.

One of the admirable traits of this Wolves’ outfit is that unlike so many other clubs, they don’t do excuses.

We didn’t perform, Arsenal did a number on us, end of story. This result might scupper any chance of Champions League qualification and that’s galling, but another glowing reference point of this team is their ability to swallow disappointment and react strongly on the rebound.

A lack of character is one deficiency they don’t carry and they’ll be intent on making amends very quickly indeed. Don’t back against them doing it!

Russ Evers (Hatherton Wolves)

Everyone has an off day. Unfortunately almost every one of the starting 11 against Arsenal chose to have the same off day and we never got going at all.

No need to dwell on it, Nuno will know what to do for the trip to Steel City on Wednesday. The only positive was that I managed to watch the game in the pub!