Former England striker Michael Owen is predicting Arsenal to shade a tight contest when they face Wolves at the Emirates this evening.

The Gunners are coming into the game off the back of a confidence-boosting result against Molde during the week, but Owen feels their strong defensive display in the draw versus Leeds could prove to be more important in ensuring they get the three points tonight:

“Arsenal earned a point against Leeds last weekend having played most of the 2nd half with 10-men. They come into this in need of 3 points, however, Wolves are solid just now. They’ll give anyone in the Premier League a match, and they don’t concede many goals.

“On a few occasions this season, Mikel Arteta has opted to sit in. If he decides to do that here, it might invite Wolves to attack and leave some space for the Gunners to counter. If it plays out like this, I can see the Gunners shading it, with Aubameyang getting back amongst the goals.”

It will be interesting to see how Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will set up his team. It is a home match so usually, in those circumstances, the onus would be on the Gunners to dictate play in order to get a result.

However, without fans, tactics can be more flexible and Arteta has shown in recent months that he is prepared to sit back and play on the counter-attack even at home. Whether he’ll employ that approach, as Owen predicts, we will find out later tonight.