Arsenal 5 Wolves 0 - Report

Two goals within three first half minutes from Granit Xhaka started off the battering in North London, before Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 ahead of half-time.

Wolves could not contain Arsenal’s forwards and conceded a fourth courtesy of Gabriel Jesus, before Jakub Kiwior was handed a gift of a fifth goal due to a dreadful Jose Sa mistake.

In a season where Wolves battled relegation and won just two games on their travels, their campaign came to an end in disappointing fashion.

Analysis

Julen Lopetegui made six changes to the side that drew with Everton last week and started in a 4-3-3 formation.

After his snub at Molineux last time out, Raul Jimenez was awarded a start, while Ruben Neves was benched.

Jonny Castro Otto, Joao Moutinho, Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Diego Costa did not make the squad.

Mikel Arteta named an unchanged side after their loss to Nottingham Forest and started in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

With Lopetegui and assistant coach Pablo Sanz both serving one-match touchline bans, fellow assistant coach Juan Peinado was giving instructions to the Wolves players in the technical area.

An early defensive error from Wolves saw Hugo Bueno lose the ball to Saka, who then looked for Jesus. Arsenal eventually won a corner and Wolves cleared it.

Once the visitors settled, they also got into some good positions. Hwang Hee-chan had made a good start to the game and almost set up Jimenez for an attempt on goal.

But after 11 minutes Arsenal took the lead. Jesus received the ball in acres of space on the right flank, took his time to pick his cross and found Xhaka unmarked at the far post, who headed home. Sa got a touch on the ball but could not keep it out, while Nelson Semedo left Xhaka free for the chance.

Just three minutes after that opening goal, Xhaka notched his and Arsenal’s second and had some terrible Wolves defending to thank for it. Bueno, who had a poor start, gave Saka far too much space and allowed the England international to race past him. His attempted pass was flicked on by Max Kilman, who also should have done better, and Xhaka was on hand to finish from close range.

Flustered by an awful few minutes, Wolves had a chance their own when a Bueno free-kick was met by Nathan Collins and after his header beat Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel was able to clear it.

It then went from bad to worse for Wolves in the 27th minute. Some intricate passes from Arsenal saw Leandro Trossard find Saka, with Bueno out of position again. The winger turned inside Kilman and curled the ball into the far corner.

Adama Traore was appealing for a penalty when Kiwior seemed to bring him down, but referee Andre Marriner turned down the appeals and a very brief VAR check did not overturn it.

Wolves’ defending was atrocious and just moments later Arsenal should have had a fourth, and Xhaka his hat-trick. Once again, Bueno was beaten as Saka released Martin Odegaard beyond him, and his cross met Saka first, and then Xhaka, with both players miss-hitting the ball.

After a spell of possession, Wolves managed to get through to half-time without conceding any further goals.

At the start of the second half, Wolves took Bueno and Matheus Nunes off and replaced them with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Neves. It marked Ait-Nouri's first appearance since March 12.

Thomas Partey had the ball in the net in the 52nd minute but the goal was disallowed as Ben White shoved Sa to the floor as the corner came in, and Wolves were awarded a free-kick instead.

But Arsenal finally found their fourth goal through Jesus. A long ball released Trossard down the left and after Semedo failed to close him down, he crossed for Jesus who beat Ait-Nouri in the air to head home.

The chances kept coming for Arsenal and Odegaard came close to setting up a team-mate with a tricky run inside the box. Trossard then came close with a strong effort from range.

The hosts scored a fifth when Kiwior’s shot from inside the box was fumbled by Sa and crossed the line, as Wolves’ afternoon was summed up in dreadful manner.

Wolves crawled to the finish line as they were condemned to a 5-0 defeat, finishing 13th in the Premier League.

Key Moments

GOAL 11 Xhaka puts Arsenal ahead

GOAL 14 Xhaka doubles their lead

GOAL 27 Saka makes It 3-0

GOAL 58 Jesus has his goal

GOAL 78 Kiwior makes it 5-0

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Semedo, Collins, Kilman (Toti, 68), Bueno (Ait-Nouri, 45), Nunes (Neves, 45), Lemina, Gomes, Adama, Hwang (B.Traore, 68), Jimenez.

Subs not used: Bentley, Dawson, Hodge, Sarabia, Cunha.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Partey, White, Gabriel, Kiwior (Tierney, 80), Jorginho, Xhaka (Vieira, 75), Saka (Nelson, 60), Odegaard (Smith Rowe, 75), Trossard (Nketiah, 80), Jesus.

Subs not used: Turner, Holding, Walters, Bandeira.