Wolverhampton Wanderers return to Premier League action with Hwang Hee-Chan in the lineup to take on Premier League giants Arsenal.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have unveiled their starting lineup for the 2023/24 English Premier League Round 14 away match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London, England, on Wednesday (March 3) at 0:00 am.
Wolverhampton travel to Arsenal, one of the Premier League's most prestigious clubs and the current league leaders. The Gunners are the first of the 20 Premier League clubs to reach 30 points (W9 D3 L1) and lead the league. Wolverhampton, on the other hand, sits in 12th place in the league with 15 points (4 W, 3 D, 6 L) from their last 13 games.
Wolverhampton have not won against Arsenal in two seasons, having lost their last four matches. Notably, they suffered a 0-5 disaster against the Gunners last season. Wolverhampton, looking for their first win in nearly 34 months since a 2-1 victory in February 2021, have Hwang Eui-chan at the helm. Coincidentally, Arsenal's decision to start Takehiro Tomiyasu set up the Korean clash.
The visitors, Wolverhampton, go with a 3-5-2 formation. José Sa will wear the goalkeeping gloves, while Totti Gomes, Maximilian Kilman and Craig Dawson form the back three. Hugo Bueno and Nelson Semedo are the left and right wing-backs, with Tommy Doyle, Boubacar Traore and Jean-Luc Belgarde in midfield. Mateusz Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan rounded out the front two.
The home team, Arsenal, lined up in a 4-3-3. David Luiz is in goal, while Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu make up the back four. Leandro Trosar, Declan Rice, and Martin Ødegaard form the midfield, with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Buchayo Sakho in front of the Wolverhampton goal.
Outnumbered, Wolverhampton were unable to field their best 11 against Arsenal. Pedro Neto (hamstring), Layan Aitkenuri (ankle), João Gomes, and Mario Lemina (accumulated cautions) were all unavailable for the match and were left off the Arsenal roster.
Notably, Neto, who suffered a thigh injury in the 10th round against Newcastle United on October 29, will need a little more time to get back on the field. Portuguese winger Neto has one goal and seven assists in 10 games this season, leading the Wolverhampton attack alongside Hwang Hee-chan.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Arsenal game, Wolverhampton manager Gary O'Neill said, "Netou is back on the pitch and running with the players. He's progressing well, but he won't be able to play against Arsenal," O'Neill said, adding that Neto's return is still early.
Wolverhampton ace Hwang Hee-Chan started again, extending his run of starts to 11 games in a row. This season, Hwang has been on pace for a career-high season, scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 13 Premier League appearances since the start of the campaign. He also scored a goal in the League Cup, his eighth of the season.
In his last game, Round 13 against Fulham, Hwang scored his seventh goal of the season from the penalty spot to move into a tie for fifth place in the Premier League.
Only four players have scored more goals in the Premier League this season than Hwang: Elling Holland (14 goals-Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (10 goals-Liverpool), Son Heung-min (8 goals-Tottenham Hotspur), and Jerrod Bojan (8 goals-West Ham United).
Hwang was on target against Arsenal for his second consecutive game and eighth league goal. In his third year in the Premier League, Hwang has scored one goal against Arsenal in his two previous meetings with the Gunners, which came in February 2022. It will be interesting to see if he can find the back of the net for the third time against the Gunners and give Wolverhampton the three points.
