Wolves 0-1 Arsenal: Gunners move above Man United in top 4 race

 

Arsenal made a big step towards a top-four finish with a 1-0 win at Wolves on Thursday despite seeing out the game with ten men.

A quiet opening to the game was punctured by a gradual increase in tempo from Arsenal, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka linking up well down the right flank.

One such move won a corner which, on 24 minutes, broke the deadlock via a tap-in for Gabriel. Wolves claimed a free-kick but Alexandre Lacazette got plenty of the ball as he clattered into goalkeeper Jose Sa while setting up his teammate.

Wolves’ longstanding problems in attack were evident in their response with Aaron Ramsdale hardly tested for long spells of the game, even if the hosts enjoyed the majority of the ball.

A lifeline then came with Gabriel Martinelli’s dismissal on 69 minutes. After felling Chiquinho, play was allowed to continue and the Brazilian immediately chased down the next attacker to commit a second foul – and earn two consecutive yellow cards in referee Michael Oliver’s countback.

Wolves immediately had a goal ruled out for offside before Lacazette passed up a golden opportunity for 2-0 down the other end.

Arteta threw on Rob Holding for Bukayo Saka to shore up his defence as the hosts continued to push, Chiquinho seeing a header cleared off the line after Romain Saiss tested Ramsdale’s reactions with a powerful drive.

But Arsenal held on to move within a point of fourth place, with two games in hand over West Ham.