Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Timeline & H2H Stats

Woolwich Arsenal’s first game against Wolverhampton Wanderers came in the September of 1904 when the two sides were in the First Division. The Gunners ran out 2-0 winners, which was the first of six wins in the initial eight meetings between the pair. Wolves won the other two, proving that the North London club wasn’t going to get everything their own way. Their first FA Cup meeting came at the start of January 1926, with a 1-1 draw calling for a replay that Arsenal won 1-0. They also won the next time they met in the FA Cup, which just so happened to be the following year, prior to a five year break before they were both back in the First Division.

That is, in some ways, a neat summary of the relationship between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers. On the one hand, they have met plenty of times over the years. On the other, they have had breaks between meetings, usually because Wolves haven’t been in the same division as the London side. That return to First Division football in 1932 summed it up nearly, with the Gunners emerging as 7-1 winners. Two years later they did even better, winning 7-0. Whatever the competition, the sides have met semi-regularly, with Arsenal emerging victorious more often than not over the West Midlands rivals.

Battling for League Titles

Speak to a modern day football fan about the big rivalries in the game and no one would mention Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers. In fairness, even someone who watched the game 70 years ago would be hard-pressed to remember the fact that the Gunners went up against the West Midlands side for the title on more than one occasion. Whether they’d struggle to remember it or not doesn’t mean that it isn’t true, however. The first time that the sides were vying for the title came about in the 1937-1938 campaign, with Arsenal hoping to win the top-flight title for the fifth time in the club’s history.

The managed to do so by just a single point, which came from the 5-0 win that they enjoyed over the West Midlands side at Highbury at the start of the campaign, losing in the return fixture in the January. In the 1952-1953 campaign things weren’t quite as tight; at least not with Wolves. The West Midlanders finished third on 51 points, with Arsenal winning the title in spite of the fact that they and Preston North End both finished on the same total of 54 points. Five years later and Wolves finally got their revenge, winning the title with 61 points, which was a full 11 points ahead of third-placed Arsenal, with Man United in second.

Arsenal’s Full Match History Against Wolverhampton