MY ACCOUNT
Gabriel Magalhaes ended Arsenal’s five-game winless run but they were forced to cling on for a 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolves after Gabriel Martinelli saw red.
A disappointing start to 2022 saw Arsenal eliminated from the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest and miss out on a place in the EFL Cup final at the hands of Liverpool, but they got back to winning ways on Thursday.
Gabriel punished Wolves’ inability to turn their superiority into chances with an opportunistic finish as claims for a foul on goalkeeper Jose Sa were ignored by referee Michael Oliver.
Martinelli receiving two yellow cards in the space of five seconds gave Wolves hope late in the second half, but they were unable to avoid slipping five points behind Arsenal in a blow to their top-four chances.
Openings were few and far between in the first half but Gabriel took his chance in the 25th minute to put the Gunners in front against the run of play.
Alexandre Lacazette just about beat Jose Sa to Ben White’s knockdown and knocked the ball on to Gabriel, who was left with a simple finish from inside the six-yard box.
Wolves were handed a boost when Martinelli reacted to not being awarded a free-kick by fouling Daniel Podence at a throw-in and sending Chiquinho to ground after following the ball, earning two quick-fire bookings.
Bruno Lage’s side saw an own goal by Granit Xhaka from the resulting free-kick ruled out for offside against Raul Jimenez, while Lacazette missed a chance to put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd minute.
Rob Holding replaced Bukayo Saka as Mikel Arteta looked to tighten things up at the back and he made an important block to keep Chiquinho out, ensuring the three points went back to north London.
What does it mean? Arsenal stay on track
A poor run of form has led to questions about whether Arsenal have what it takes to finish in the Premier League’s top four.
Defeating a direct rival will do their hopes the world of good, and they are now just one point behind fourth-placed West Ham with two games in hand – win both of those and they will only be two points adrift of Chelsea.
Glorious Gabriel
Not only did he score the winner, but Gabriel also managed to supply two key passes from centre-back. No Arsenal player made more than his 35 successful passes and he managed to see out the 90 minutes despite seemingly struggling with a niggling injury.
Lacklustre Laca
He may have technically assisted Gabriel’s goal, but Lacazette was far from impressive. He is now Arsenal’s undisputed first-choice striker but he only managed to hit the target once from four shots here and wasted a great chance to put the game beyond doubt in the 72nd minute.
What’s next?
Arsenal are not back in action until a week on Saturday when they face Brentford at home. Wolves, meanwhile, travel to Tottenham this Sunday.
