Ten-man Arsenal held on for a vital 1-0 win at Wolves that takes them fifth thanks to Gabriel’s first-half goal.
Gabriel Martinelli’s red card midway through the second half sparked heavy pressure from the home side but Mikel Arteta’s team held on for the three points.
The goal itself was a scrappy one as Gabriel nudged it over the line from close range after Alexandre Lacazette tangled with Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Bruno Lage’s side struggle to create but were given fresh hope when Martinelli was sent off in strange circumstances – booked twice in the same passage of play.
Wolves thought they had the equaliser immediately when Granit Xhaka put the ball through his own net but Raul Jimenez had interfered with play from an offside position.
Scoring goals has been a problem for Wolves all season and could well see them drift out of this race for the European places – a race Arsenal now look well placed to win.
West Ham remain the team to catch but the Gunners are now just one point behind their London rivals with two games in hand.
Gunners rock solid at the back
Defensively, Arsenal withstood everything that Wolves threw at them.
It is five clean sheets in seven Premier League matches for Arteta and his players, and with Ben White restored alongside Gabriel that partnership looks particularly strong.
They headed away cross after cross in the second half with man-of-the-match Gabriel not afraid to indulge in the dark arts either – time-wasting when it was required to get his team over the line.
Arsenal fans will welcome that bit of nous. It might just take them back to the Champions League.
Wolves have problems in front of goal
Only Norwich and Burnley have scored fewer goals than Wolves this season and even those two have caught them up this week. It is holding them back.
Lage tried to force things, taking off Conor Coady for Fabio Silva late on. Wolves had all the territory in the final quarter of the game once Arsenal were down to 10 men.
But they could not find the breakthrough despite putting in 35 crosses from open play. It was not even that the quality was lacking, the issue is that they cannot put it away.
Ruben Neves whipped in one inviting ball that would have required only the slightest of touches. Daniel Podence was putting the ball in with pace too. It was not enough.
Leander Dendoncker is accomplished at getting his head to the ball but lacks the technique to get enough power on it. Jimenez has not scored a header since his return. It cost them here.
