Arsenal v Wolves

Five years after Wolves helped found the Football League, Arsenal arrived as its first southern member; a rivalry still waiting to begin.

Woolwich Arsenal were elected to the Football League's Second Division for the 1893-94 season, becoming the first southern club in the competition. Wolves, by contrast, had been a founding member of the Football League in 1888 and were established in the First Division. With the two clubs in different divisions, regular league meetings would have to wait.

Fifth in the Second Division; yet somehow Arsenal took a First Division seat that Spurs believed was theirs.

After the First World War, the Football League expanded the First Division from 20 to 22 clubs. Arsenal, who had finished only fifth in the Second Division in the last pre-war season of 1914-15, were controversially elected to the top flight ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. This placed Arsenal and Wolves in the same division for regular league encounters, a fixture that would become a staple of English football for decades.

Five league titles in a single decade; Chapman's Arsenal didn't just win, they rewrote what dominance looked like.

Under Herbert Chapman and then George Allison, Arsenal won five league titles in the 1930s and established themselves as the dominant force in English football. Wolves, meanwhile, were building under Major Frank Buckley, developing a formidable side that would come to fruition after the Second World War. Matches between the two were fiercely contested affairs between clubs with genuine ambitions.

Three league titles in six seasons; Wolves did not merely dominate Arsenal, they rewrote the entire hierarchy of English football.

The 1950s belonged to Wolves. Under Stan Cullis, they won the First Division title three times in six seasons (1953-54, 1957-58, 1958-59) and the FA Cup in 1949 and 1960. Their famous floodlit friendlies against top European sides at Molineux helped inspire the creation of the European Cup. Arsenal, by contrast, endured a relatively lean spell, and fixtures between the two during this period often saw Wolves as clear favourites.

Three goals in five minutes settled a Wembley final; Wolves never got that close.

The 1978-79 FA Cup produced one of the most memorable Arsenal v Wolves encounters. The two sides met in the semi-final at Villa Park, with Arsenal winning 2-0 to reach Wembley. Arsenal went on to beat Manchester United 3-2 in a dramatic final, with three goals scored in the last five minutes. For Wolves, it was a painful near-miss in a competition they had last won in 1960.

Wolves came back to the top flight and walked straight into the most unstoppable side English football has ever produced.

Wolves returned to the top flight for the 2003-04 season after a long absence, only to find themselves facing one of the greatest sides in English football history. Arsenal's Invincibles went the entire Premier League season unbeaten, and Wolves were among their victims. It was a chastening return to the big time for Wolves, who were relegated at the end of the campaign with just 33 points.

Ninety-three years at Highbury, then suddenly 60,704 seats and a stadium to rival the finest in Europe.

Arsenal left Highbury after 93 years and moved to the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium in Ashburton Grove. The new ground transformed the matchday experience, with modern hospitality facilities and significantly increased capacity. When Wolves eventually returned to the Premier League, they would face Arsenal in one of the finest stadiums in European football rather than the intimate confines of Highbury.

Seventh place and a Europa League spot on their return. Wolves were nobody's easy afternoon any more.

Wolves' promotion in 2018, backed by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International and managed by Nuno Espírito Santo, brought a revitalised club back to the Premier League. They finished seventh in their first season back, qualifying for the Europa League. The fixture with Arsenal regained its regular place in the calendar, and Wolves proved they were no longer easy opponents, taking points off the Gunners with a well-organised, counter-attacking style built around Portuguese talent.

Every point counted; against Wolves, the Emirates hummed with a title-race tension absent since the stadium's earliest seasons.

Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal emerged as genuine Premier League title contenders, pushing Manchester City to the final day in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. In a title race where every point matters, fixtures against Wolves took on added significance. Arsenal's home form at the Emirates became a cornerstone of their challenge, and the atmosphere on matchdays reached levels not seen since the early years of the stadium.