Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,095.
Match report and highlights as Arsenal cruise to a 5-0 win over Wolves at the Emirates Stadium; Granit Xhaka scored twice in three first half minutes; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Jakub Kiwior also on target as Gunners finish campaign on 84 points
Saturday 3 June 2023 12:51, UK
Granit Xhaka scored twice in what is expected to be his final appearance for Arsenal as they wrapped up their season with a 5-0 thrashing of Wolves at the Emirates Stadium.
Xhaka, who is nearing a move to Bayer Leverkusen, scored both goals in the space of just three minutes in the first half, setting the tone for a rampant Arsenal performance.
Bukayo Saka added the third, curling home a fine finish, with Gabriel Jesus nodding in the fourth in the second half and Jakub Kiwior rounding off the scoring with his first goal for the club following a handling error by goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Wolves were abject in what could be Julen Lopetegui's final game as manager as the Spaniard served a touchline ban, allowing the hosts to end a season of progress on a high despite missing out on the title, their points total of 84 their highest in two decades.
Xhaka's name was cheered by the home fans when the line-ups were read out ahead of kick-off but the adulation for the Swiss international was soon to become even louder.
His first goal saw him nod in from only a few yards out, with nobody in a Wolves shirt anywhere near him as he met the cross from Jesus, who did well to create space for the delivery.
The home fans had only just stopped celebrating when he struck his second, Wolves once again leaving him free in the box as Martin Odegaard's flick bounced off a defender and into his path for a low finish which sparked more disbelieving celebrations.
Wolves could not handle Saka on Arsenal's right-hand side and the 21-year-old took the third goal brilliantly, curling a sumptuous finish into the far corner after intricate approach play involving Thomas Partey, Odegaard and Leandro Trossard.
Arsenal continued to pour forward and Xhaka had an opportunity to wrap up a first-half hat-trick, finding himself in space in the box yet again, only for his attempted finish to bobble wide.
The Gunners continued to subject Wolves to relentless pressure in the second half, though, and added the fourth when Trossard latched onto a Jorginho pass in behind and dug out a cross which Jesus met with a thumping header.
Wolves offered almost nothing in response, failing to even muster a shot on target, and the Gunners completed the rout when Kiwior's tame shot somehow slipped through Sa's fingers.
The Wolves players went over to their travelling supporters to offer their apologies at the final whistle, while Arsenal celebrated their highest points total since the Invincibles.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saluted the club's fans for their reception after the win, when his name was sung for an extended period before he spoke on the pitch, and said he is proud of how his team have reconnected with the fanbase.
He said: "I'm a human being. I have feelings. It was really, really nice the way they transmitted their love and support to the team and to every player, and obviously towards me as well.
"It has been a really emotional year and a special season. The team deserved, and our people deserved, to end it in a good way, so I'm really happy.
"It was one of my dreams. Probably the biggest dream I had was to connect again with the soul of this football club and our people. We have done that and there is no discussion about it.
"That makes me really proud and grateful to be part of that journey together. We want to deliver success and the destination has to be trophy success and enjoyment for this club, but we have to enjoy the journey to get there."
Arteta also praised two-goal hero Granit Xhaka, who looks set to leave the club and received a rapturous ovation from the club's fans following his seven years of service.
"Well deserved," he said. "He's had an incredible season. I think one year back I spoke to him and told him there was a question mark on him. 'You have to deliver more, you have to be better, I'm going to challenge you to play here'.
"He went back and I think he started to train the next day. He came in pre-season, four kilos less, fit and really willing to do it. He has been exceptional and a key part of the success of the team.
"I'm so happy that everybody is appreciating what he has done."
Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui warned that Wolves cannot expect to pull off another "miracle" of surviving in the Premier League next season if they do not strengthen their squad sufficiently this summer.
"Of course, it's not good," he said of the defeat to Arsenal. "We have lost against one of the best in the Premier League but the way that we have lost, I am not happy.
"If you want to compete here in the Emirates against Arsenal, you have to show your best face. If not, it's impossible.
"It's a pity because I don't want to forget the second part of the season that the team made, that was fantastic, to be out of the relegation zone three matches before the end.
"Maybe it has been a little miracle, but now we have to learn for the future. Maybe one miracle is possible, but two? No. That's why you have to improve and do your homework."
Lopetegui's future at the club is said to be uncertain. When asked if there had been any changes, he said: "All is the same.
"The Premier League doesn't forgive anyone. If you don't do your homework, it's more difficult. I know we have financial problems for the future. But if you want to compete in the Premier League, you have to have a good squad."
Sky Sports' Nick Wright:
Arsenal's season can be viewed in different ways. Having held an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, a position they occupied for 248 days of the campaign, there is no escaping the feeling of an opportunity missed.
But the collapse of their title challenge does not change the fact that they have taken a giant leap forward this season. Arsenal were considered by almost everyone - albeit not this writer - as unlikely to even finish in the top four, never mind fight for the title.
Yet, with the second-youngest team in the division, they have accrued the club's highest points total since the Invincibles. A lack of depth, and Manchester City's relentlessness, ultimately did for them, but the first three quarters of the season were utterly exhilarating.
It was a joy to watch their young stars flourish and the high points over the course of the campaign were numerous, including wins both home and away against Tottenham and Chelsea, as well as victories over Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle.
Their late loss of form, just as City were finding an extra gear, invited inevitable scrutiny of their character, but fans will remember the stoppage-time victories over Manchester United, Aston Villa and Bournemouth which made the impossible feel real.
Reiss Nelson's 97th-minute winner against Bournemouth sparked celebrations unlike any seen before at the Emirates Stadium, and while they eventually fell short of their target, Arsenal's season will be remembered as one which brought optimism flooding back. The future of this thrilling young team brims with possibility.
Sky Sports' Adam Bate:
The first half of Wolves' season was a mess. Despite considerable investment in the summer, Bruno Lage departed with the team in the relegation zone following one win from the first eight games and the situation deteriorated under caretaker boss Steve Davis.
Enter Julen Lopetegui. With Wolves bottom at Christmas, their stoppage-time winner at Everton on Boxing Day began the turnaround and fears of the drop dissipated long before the end of the season. It was top-half form during his 23 games in charge.
The January signings helped. Craig Dawson and Mario Lemina had a big impact, bringing experience to the team that had been lost following the decision to allow captain Conor Coady to leave. It was not always pretty under Lopetegui but he found a way.
The home form was critical. Twenty points from 11 games. He never did resolve the scoring problem but that did not matter given that Wolves conceded only seven goals in those games - a better defensive record than even Manchester City since Christmas.
What happens next is in doubt. Lopetegui has already described this as his greatest achievement and will want financial backing to progress - backing that may not be forthcoming. The future of Ruben Neves, the captain and best player, is unclear too.
A rebuild is required with heroes of the club's back-to-back seventh place finishes, when they reached a European quarter-final, set to move on. But even if the future is not paved with gold, thanks to Lopetegui, Wolves embark on it from within the Premier League.
The Premier League season will kick-off on August 12 and conclude nine months later on May 19, 2024.
The start is one week later than the 2022/23 launch as the schedule returns to normal following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons.
However, the fixture list provides for a return of the mid-season player break which will take place between January 13-20.
Fixtures for the new Premier League season will be revealed at 9am on Thursday June 15 and you can follow the announcements on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms.
