Bukayo Saka Steps Into New Central Role As Arteta Targets Victory Over Wolves

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Arsenal visit Wolves on 18 February aiming to strengthen their Premier League title push, while attention also centres on Bukayo Saka, who is reported to have agreed a new five-year contract that would make Saka the club’s highest-paid player and could see Saka used more often in a central role.

Momentum has shifted back towards Arsenal after a 1-1 league draw with Brentford was followed by a 4-0 FA Cup victory over Wigan Athletic, when Saka was promoted from the bench late on, started as a number 10, linked sharply with Noni Madueke on the right, and saw Myles Lewis-Skelly move to left-back after Riccardo Calafiori suffered a warm-up injury.

Asked whether Saka could feature centrally more often, Mikel Arteta welcomed the flexibility and hinted that Arsenal’s attacking structure could change according to availability, saying: "Yes, depending on the options that we have available, we will try to be as good as possible. We have another opportunity, another option there, which is great. I think he does [enjoy playing there], that brings a challenge to him. Anything where he needs to prove something, that ticks something in him, and I think thats a positive."

Arteta also highlighted current injury problems in midfield and how they are reshaping the squad, explaining that circumstances sometimes dictate selection and that "Circumstances with players as well...it sometimes forces you to do certain things. Now we have issues with midfielders, and players are stepping in. Bukayo stepped in, and his case is one we have to consider for the future, but its really goodespecially the way players respond to different types of roles in the manner that theyre doing."

Arsenal can move seven points clear of Manchester City with victory, while Wolves sit adrift in the relegation zone and are trying to avoid setting a new Premier League low points total, as Derby County hold the current record of 11 points in 2007-08, with the overall fewest at eight, and Wolves now stand 18 points from safety without a league win in six matches.

Rob Edwards’ side did compete well in the reverse fixture, losing 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium when two own goals proved costly, and Edwards wants that display to provide belief, explaining: "We're certainly able to lean on it and use it for elements of the game. It'll be a different night, and it'll be a different game, but there'll be parts of it that we can lean on and learn from, definitely. I liked the character that we showed [in the away game]. I liked the fact that heads didn't go down once we were 1-0 down. The actual plan overall on the night was quite a clear one for people to be able to see. But the lads actioned it really well."

Arsenal vs Wolves: key players, goalscoring trends and individual threats

Tolu Arokodare offers Wolves a threat from the bench after scoring against Arsenal in that earlier league meeting, which was Arokodare’s first Premier League goal, and the forward also netted Wolves’ most recent league goal during a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea on 7 February, underlining Arokodare’s importance in one of the division’s least productive attacks.

Noni Madueke arrives in strong away form for Arsenal after scoring in the last two Premier League matches on the road, and the winger’s record against Wolves is notable, with four league goals versus Wolves representing 27% of Madueke’s total of 15 in the competition, making Wolves Madueke’s most productive opponent so far.

Historical numbers strongly favour Arsenal in this fixture, as Wolves followed a league double over Arsenal in 2020-21 with nine straight Premier League defeats against the same opponents, while Arsenal have taken nine wins from 11 top-flight away games at Wolves, losing only twice, with that 82% away win rate their best against any side faced at least 10 times.

Arsenal have scored in each of the last 36 competitive meetings with Wolves across all tournaments, and only Wrexham, who managed 49 consecutive scoring games against Darlington between 1929 and 1961, hold a longer scoring run by one club against a single opponent in English competitive football history.

Wolves’ wider record against teams starting the day top of the Premier League underlines the scale of their task, with 16 defeats from 20 such matches, three wins and one draw, including victories over Manchester United in January 2004 and February 2011, and against Manchester City in September 2023, while both successes against Manchester United came when Wolves were bottom of the table, and this season’s home form is also concerning with 10 losses in 13 league matches at Molineux, one win and two draws, something previously bettered only by Southampton, who reached 10 home defeats in 12 games in 2022-23, and Wolves have recorded more home losses in only two top-flight seasons, suffering 11 in 1964-65 and 13 in 2011-12.

Prediction: Arsenal win appears the likely outcome based on Opta’s model, which gives Arsenal a 76.0% chance of victory, and when combined with the head-to-head record, current league positions and Wolves’ home form, it places additional pressure on Arsenal to deliver if the title challenge is to stay on course.