Although it now means nothing in the grand scheme of things, Arsenal would still surely love to finish their 2022/23 season with a flourish against Wolves.
The Emirates Stadium should be filled to the rafters for a match where the locals can acclaim their heroes even though they just fell short of winning the title this time round.
Things may get even tougher for them next season, but Mikel Arteta does appear to be building something special in the red and white half of north London, so that can’t be discounted before a ball has even been kicked in earnest.
It’s possible they could struggle against a Wolves side with a point to prove under Julen Lopetegui.
Arteta was already without injured quartet Mohamed Elneny, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Martinelli and Oleksandr Zinchenko for Sunday afternoon’s clash.
During his pre-match press conference for the game, detailed by football.london, the Spaniard noted that Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka would also not be in the squad.
“We had some issues this week,” he said.
“In the last few weeks some players have been unable to play and participate in the games with Reiss [ill vs Forest] and we had a little issue with Bukayo as well which has been going on for a few weeks [and] with Leo.
“The rest are going to be fine. Alex [Zinchenkp] is still out. Willy [Saliba] is still out. Tomiyasu is still out. Elneny’s still out. The rest are all good.”
Whatever the outcome of the match, and despite the obvious disappointment at not getting over the line to win a long overdue Premier League, Arteta and his squad can still be proud of what they’ve achieved during the current campaign.
Their brand of football has been a joy to watch for the most part, and with the addition of two or three decent quality players, there’s no reason why they can’t go one better in 2023/24.