Arteta ecstatic as 10 man Arsenal clinch a narrow victory

Arsenal inch closer to their the top four ambitions by securing a hard-fought win away to Wolves tonight

The game got off to a sluggish start, with neither side appearing securely in control and without any offensive intent.

Arsenal would spice things up in the 25th minute, though, as Brazilian center-back Gabriel gave them the lead. Gabriel Martinelli had whipped in a corner from the left, which Wolves failed to clear, allowing the Brazilian centre-back to tap home into an empty net from only a few yards away.

Going down appeared to spark the home team and fans into action, with Arsenal’s centre-back combination of Ben White and Gabriel quickly called into action to clear a slew of threatening deliveries from either wing.

Clear-cut chances were few in the second half, but Wolves’ prospects of equalizing were boosted on 69 minutes when Martinelli was sent off in unusual circumstances. In an unusual turn of events, the teenager was issued two yellow cards at the same moment after twice attempting to block the same Wolves counter-attack.

Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal’s captain, squandered a golden opportunity to score a vital second goal for his team.

“To win football matches like that [with 10 men] is extremely difficult and we have to stop it,”