Arsenal 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#1 Unai Emery shoots himself in the foot with his substitutions

Unai Emery made a few peculiar substitutions against Wolves

After a nervy start to the game, the Gunners established control and went into the break with a one-goal cushion in their kitty. However, akin to the opening period, Wovles began the better of the two sides after the restart as they kept pushing and probing.

In response, Emery turned to his bench and pulled out rather peculiar rabbits out of his tactical hat. Firstly, the Spaniard opted to haul Lacazette off in favour of Gabriel Martinelli. While the Brazilian has been in sizzling form recently, surely the Frenchman could’ve been persisted with, at least for a few more minutes.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Emery shuffled his midfield pack a few minutes later, bringing on Bukayo Saka for Lucas Torreira; a decision that caused more than a furrowed brow or two at the Emirates.

Consequently, Dani Ceballos was shifted alongside Matteo Guendouzi in the heart of midfield and the Gunners suffered thereafter.

The visitors sliced through Arsenal’s midfield easily as the aforementioned duo struggled to come to grips with Wolves’ quick interchange of passes. Moreover, Ceballos’ lack of defensive awareness directly led to the equaliser as the Spaniard allowed Joao Moutinho to run in behind him, before the Portuguese whipped in a cross for Jimenez to score.

As the game got stretched in the dying stages, Emery resisted the temptation to bring on Nicolas Pepe, instead opting to substitute Tierney for Sead Kolasinac.

After an optimistic start to his tenure at the Emirates, the number of those doubting Emery’s capabilities have surely but slowly increased. After all, those veils of discontent reached fever pitch lately with some even clamouring for his head.

And, the Spaniard certainly didn’t cover himself in glory with his tweaks on Saturday.