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Football London
Football London
Sport
James Benge

Arsenal confirmed XI vs Wolves: Cedric Soares makes first start as Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka start

Cedric Soares will make his first start in an Arsenal shirt after Mikel Arteta made three changes to the side that beat Southampton 4-0 for the crucial trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Cedric, on loan from Southampton ahead of his arrival on a free transfer at the end of the season, takes Hector Bellerin's place at right wing back.

There are also starts for Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah in the front three as they replace Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once more captains the side.

There is still no space on the bench for Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi.

Arteta's side have won their last three games in all competitions but their hosts have hit an even richer vein of form during Project Restart. Nuno Espirito Santo's side are the only one with a 100% winning record since the Premier League returned.

Victory for Arsenal would move them within three points of Wolves but they have not won any of their three meetings since Santo's side were promoted.

"I think they have shown in the past few years how consistent they have been with their performances," Arteta said of Wolves. "They are a group of players, and a club with a manager that have been doing exactly the same thing for many years and you can see their style of play, and a very clear identity of what they want to do,.

"They have been recruiting exactly the players they need in the positions to do what they want to do. They are a really difficult side to beat.

"The manager has created the perfect environment for the players. I think they didn't have very big expectations but with their performances and their consistency, they have gained respect from all the teams in the league.

"They compete really well, a really clear gameplan of how they want to expose their opponent, very solid defensively and with some really good talent in forward positions that can win the game at any moment. A very complicated side."

Arsenal XI: Martinez;

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