EPL: Arsenal Eases Past Wolverhampton with Barcelona Next on the Agenda

Arsene Wenger kept his promise, making sure to not rest any players considering the match he has coming up this week. The Old Trafford results didn’t change the fact that Arsenal needed a win today against Wolverhampton.

Arsenal confidently came out showing off their passing game, as they often tend to do, especially at the Emirates. Wolves was content in sitting back and absorbing the pressure, then trying to hit Arsenal on the counterattack.

Wenger started Robin Van Persie as the lone striker, with Andrey Arshavin and Theo Walcott supporting on the outsides. Alex Song was also back in the lineup at midfield, with Jack Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas alongside. Having gotten his first start mid-week for the English National Team, Wilshere appeared to have another level of motivation and confidence in this match.

He had that silky smooth movement that Arsenal fans are used to seeing from the likes of Samir Nasri or Fabregas. Wilshere was gliding through tackles and defenders with ease.

Arsenal got off the mark with a cross sent in by Fabregas, and Van Persie put it in the back of the net with a side volley. Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey still got a hand on it, but the volley just had too much power behind it.

Arsenal took lots of pressure off their shoulders and pushed forward with conviction, looking threatening almost every time.

Arshavin was sent through with a perfectly-weighted pass by Wilshere; the little Russian sent a ball back across to Van Persie, only to have his shot blocked by Hennessey, who was clearly up for this game.

Arsenal took a 1-0 lead into halftime, in a match where Wolves only seemed to have a chance on set pieces.  Even then, they failed to test Wojciech Szczesny.

The second half started with Wilshere gliding past a few Wolves players and laying a pass off to Walcott, who managed to send the ball wide with the net completely at his mercy.

At the 56-minute mark, Arsenal's stellar passing was once again at its best.

Song gave Fabregas the ball in the middle of the park, and with a magnificent on-time pass into space, he sent Walcott off to the races. Walcott and Van Persie were on goal with only one Wolves defender nearby. Walcott sent the ball across to Van Persie, who continued his goal scoring fiesta to make it 2-0 for the Gunners.

Arsenal should have easily put the match out of any reach within the first 45 minutes, but per usual, they tended to miss many chances.

Arsenal still had a few more chances after the 2-0 lead, but were unable to put the ball into the back of the net. Wenger's squad was playing at a training ground pace all match, and the Wolves weren't very threatening, so he began to make changes. He was clearly thinking about their upcoming match against Barcelona.

Man of the Match: Robin Van Persie/Jack Wilshere

Between the two, it was a very close call for Man of the Match.

Van Persie continued his instinct for goal with two more scores. He now has nine goals in five matches. Van Persie has been a key factor for Arsenal since coming back from injury and is also proving that when he is healthy along with his teammates, Arsenal is clearly a team to fear on the offensive side of the field.

Wilshere got his first start at the International level this week. He appeared to carry himself differently on the pitch today, appearing more confident on the ball, and carried a great vision in today's match. Wilshere's progress will be very important for Arsenal now and in the future. With rumors resurfacing about Cesc leaving, Wilshere could be the next maestro in the midfield for Wenger's squad.

Flop of the Match: Kevin Doyle

It was clear that playing away, Wolves was not going to attack as much.

Last week against Manchester United, Kevin Doyle was able to play as the loan striker and hold the ball well, allowing his team to move up. He was nonexistent in this match though, perhaps because Wolves sat so deep and tried threatening on the counterattack, that it literally ended up taking Doyle out of the game.