Wolverhampton Wanderers fought bravely against the league’s top side, but fell to a gruelling 2-1 defeat to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Wolves went into half time at 0-0 and unlucky not to be ahead, with Hwang Hee Chan’s one on one effort forcing a save from David Raya, but Arsenal forced the opener thanks to a Bukayo Saka corner, which hit the post and bounced back off of Sam Johnstone, to give the Gunners the lead.
Rob Edwards made attacking changes, and it was the cross of teenage superstar Matheus Mane which was headed home by Tolu Arokodare on 90 minutes, for his first Premier League goal, but another own goal, this time from [**Yerson Mosquera](https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2025/12/13/wolverhampton-wanderers/1244597-rob-edwards-is-eager-to-build-on-the-positive-after-anotherdefeat-in-a-results-business.html)**gave Arsenal all three points.
Here are the Wolves player ratings from this encounter:
Sam Johnstone- 6.5
The Englishman made some good stops from two Declan Rice efforts from range, but wasn’t strong enough on for the opener and gave Arsenal the lead with an own goal.
Johnstone wasn’t under much pressure after the opener until the final minutes of the game, where he couldn’t do much with Mosquera’s own goal and made a late save from a week Gabriel Jesus effort.
Matt Doherty- 6
Was fairly solid in a resilient Wolves back 5, but was beat by his man on a couple of occasions.
A return to wing back for Doherty proved a sturdy, but not spectacular performance.
Yerson Mosquera- 5.5
Arguably the weakest link of the Wolves defence today, Mosquera was still solid in the air, won 2 of his 3 ground duels and made 6 clearances.
However, the Colombian picked up a silly yellow card in the 96th minute, meaning he will miss next weekend’s clash against Brentford, and scored an own goal which gifted Arsenal the three points, where he should’ve been stronger.
Emmanuel Agbadou- 7
Agbadou appears to be returning to some of the standards we saw from him last season. The Ivorian made 6 passes into the final third, 8 clearances, 4 recoveries and was strong against his opponent on many occasions, restricting Viktor Gyokores to just 15 touches and 1 shot.
However, Agbadou is another who will lose his place next week, with him jetting off to AFCON this week, leaving Wolves without their number 12.
Toti Gomes- 6.5
Toti stood firm on the left of the back 3 to deal with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. He made 12 clearances, 5 headed clearances and had 80% pass accuracy to keep Arsenal at bay.
Was taken off in the 86th minute to make way for Matheus Mane in an attacking change.
David Moller Wolfe- 6.5
The Norwegian left wing back dealt with Bukayo Saka well for 90 minutes, but was limited going forward.
He played a cross into the feet of Jorgen Strand Larsen in the first half in his only notable attacking contribution, and had the least amount of touches of any outfield player, who was on the pitch for 90 minutes.
Andre- 7
Andre was in the centre of the midfield three for Wolves and had 13 defensive contributions with 87% pass accuracy in a typical sturdy Andre performance.
Andre also managed to avoid a booking, knowing that one more would see him suspended for a game. He will need to keep this up until 27th December, to see him dodge a one match suspension.
Ladislav Krejci- 6
The Czech international was largely unspectacular in midfield and wasn’t particularly involved at any point in the game. He only managed 2 defensive contributions, 23 touches and 38% pass accuracy in a below par performance from the 26 year old.
Krejci was substituted in the 80th minute for Fer Lopez.
Joao Gomes- 8
The Brazilian was easily Wolves’ best player on the night. Gomes got stuck in, pressed Arsenal relentlessly, won 5 of his 6 ground duels and was the inspiration for Wolves going forward on a number of occasions too.
On his return to the side, Gomes definitely deserves to take the flowers as Wolves’ best player at the Emirates.
Hee Chan Hwang- 7
A perhaps surprise inclusion into the Wolves front line, Hwang will have impressed most with his effort and fight. The Korean, carried the Old Gold forward on many occasions and had their best chance of the first half, when he ran through one on one and had his shot saved by David Raya.
He was deservedly booked following a VAR check after a poor tackle on Myles Lewis-Skelly, but this did not hinder his performance as Wolves’ bright spark until coming off for Jhon Arias in the 80th minute.
Jorgen Strand-Larsen- 5.5
A man seriously out of form, Strand-Larsen struggled to deal with the physicality of Arsenal, losing the ball on a number of occasions when asked to hold it up, and his only shot was blocked after picking up a fizzed delivery from David Moller Wolfe.
With **Tolu Arokodare**’s late headed goal and his exclusion from the Nigeria AFCON squad, it will be interesting to see if the Norwegian loses his place next week.
·Substitutes
Jackson Tchatchoua- 6.5
Held the width well down the right hand side and offered a threat putting crosses into the box as Wolves searched for a leveller.
Tolu Arokodare- 7
The 6”6 Nigerian scored his first Premier League goal with a fantastic header from a Matheus Mane cross.
Fer Lopez- 7
The Spaniard was bright and creative on the ball, but perhaps could’ve done more to stop **Bukayo Saka**’s cross for the winner.
Jhon Arias- 6
The most notable signing of the Summer from a Wolves perspective, Arias struggled to affect the game and create anything of note.
Mateus Mane- 7
Wolves’ academy crown jewel got the first senior goal contribution of his career with a superb whipped cross for Wolves’ goal, and looked bright going forward.