Arsenal survived a late scare in their 1-0 victory against Wolves on Thursday night after Gabriel Martinelli was shown a red card in the closing stages of the match.
Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal at Molineux in the first half to secure all three points for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Arsenal made three changes to the starting line-up that played a goalless draw at Burnley while Wolves on the other hand made five changes to the team that fell to a 1-0 defeat to Norwich in FA cup last week.
Match Report
Both teams started the game tenaciously with Arsenal pushing hard at the Wolves defense in the early minutes of the game but the hosts’ early resistance kept them at bay.
Wolves made a huge effort towards scoring in the 22nd minute when Saiss beat Lacazette to a ball which he smashed straight to the goal but the attempt was blocked by Ben White and Gabriel.
The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute when Gabriel struck from six yards out after a scramble in the box.
Wolves didn’t allow the lead weigh them down as they kept warming up in an attacking approach.
Raul Jimenez almost got an equalizer in the 37th minute from a Semedo cross but was denied by goalkeeper Ramsdale.
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In the 69th minute, Martinelli was shown a red card after the Arsenal man was shown two yellow cards at once for committing two fouls on Podence and Chiquinho who were involved in a Wolves counter attack.
The Gunners have now seen four of their players shown a red card in four of their last six games in all competitions in 2022.
However, their numerical disadvantage didn’t prevent the Gunners from creating goal scoring chances as Lacazette shot wide of the post.
The host kept searching for an equalizer in the closing stages but Ramsdale once again proved to be at his best in goal.
Speaking to the media after the match, Arteta said:
“I am really happy with the result because it is a massive result for us away against a very good team that makes few errors and is very dangerous.”
When quizzed on the Martinelli sending off, he added:
“I’ve never seen that. I’ve been 18 years in this country and I’ve never seen something like it.
“We made it even more difficult for ourselves playing with 10 men. We suffered a lot in the last 10 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“The red card changes the context. We had to dig in, show resilience, and we have defended the box really well.”
Implications of the match on both teams
With the win, Arsenal’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot was strengthened. They currently sit in fifth place on the log with 39 points after 22 games.
The Gunners will play hosts to Brentford at the Emirates stadium on Saturday February 19.
Wolves on the other hand are eight on the log with 34 points from 22 games. They will travel to White Hart lane on Sunday, February 13.
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