Arsenal win their first game of 2022 as Gabriel’s tap-in is all that separates the Gunners against Wolves. The game ends 1-0 with Arsenal clinging on to their lead for 20 minutes after Gabriel Martinelli receives a bizarre red card.

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Brazilian centre back Gabriel prodded home the one and only goal in the 25th minute from a scrappy set piece. Lacazette earned the assist as he got enough on the ball before being taken out by Sa. Gabriel simply stabbed the ball into the empty net. Wolves squad were left very unhappy as Jose Sa felt he was fouled in the build up to the goal.

With only 20 minutes remaining of the match, Gabriel Martinelli received two yellow cards inside 10 seconds. The young winger shoved Podence as he took the throw in and a few moments later fouled Chiquinho. Michael Oliver carded Martinelli twice for the separate offences, resulting in the Gunners dropping down to 10 men. This controversial incident left his teammates defending for their lives to take the 3 points back to North London.

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Wolves test Arsenal defence early

Wolves begun the match positively by passing the ball around the park nicely, searching for an opening. Ruben Neves brings the ball under control on the right-hand side and whips it into the penalty area towards Raul Jimenez.

Thomas Partey gets there first, getting the touch to bring it away from the Wolves striker, allowing the ball to fall into the grateful hands of Aaron Ramsdale.

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Arsenal pressuring Bruno Lage’s back four

Shortly after the 15-minute mark, Arsenal defended well and cleared away the Wolves cross prior to almost catching them out on the counter attack.

The ball fell to Martinelli who drove through the middle of the park looking to catch out Wolves who had multiple players forward however as he approached the oppositions 18-yard box he found himself without any support.

The attack petered out as the Wolves defence swarmed the Brazilian, forcing him to release the ball.

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Another chance arose for the Gunners in the 22nd minute as they caught out Wolves again, this time with a quickly taken short free kick. The foul was originally won by Alexandre Lacazette as he was fouled by Roman Saiss after chasing a loose ball.

Tierney’s cross was poorly punched away by Jose Sa allowing Arsenal to attempt various shots on goal. Despite these opportunities, Partey, Martinelli and White were all unsuccessful, as their shots on goal were blocked.

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Gabriel breaks the deadlock

At the half way point of the first 45, Gabriel put Arsenal 1-0 up after Martinelli won his side a corner. Arsenal managed to win the first ball; Ben White then headed the ball back into the 6-yard box.

It fell to Lacazette who managed to get enough on the ball ahead of being taken out by Sa, therefore claiming the assist for the goal as Gabriel lunges to poke the ball into the back of a deserted Wolverhampton net.

Wolves’ fans and players were left infuriated as they felt that Jose Sa had been fouled in the area as the goal was scored, however after a check from VAR, they agreed with Michael Oliver that there wasn’t a foul and the goal would stand.

Finally some real action after a lack of it at the beginning of this fixture.

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Wolves search for the equaliser

Wolves continued to create opportunities in an attempt to bring the score back level, one of which occurred on the right-hand side as Nelson Semedo lofted a cross into a busy 18-yard box.

The ball came to Wolves striker Jimenez who got the header on target although he wasn’t able to convert his attempt into a goal as he had far too much to do.

The floating cross resulted in the Mexican having to produce all the power himself, therefore the ball went straight at Ramsdale.

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5 minutes later, Wolves cleared an Arsenal corner and broke forward on the counter attack; Arteta’s men raced back to prevent an equaliser before the interval.

Nelson Semedo got involved again however this time he didn’t set his teammates up, he went for goal himself. His powerful left footed strike went just wide of the near post from 20 yards out.

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Perfect play

The final move of the 1st half was by far the best of the entire game however the chance couldn’t quite materialise in the end.

Saka danced past Marcal – tapping the ball through his legs – before releasing it for a one two with Martin Ødegaard. The slick winger fizzed a low cross into the box for Lacazette.

Unfortunately, Arsenal’s captain wasn’t able to top off the delightful phase of play as his first time strike was directed straight at Jose Sa.

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Penalty shout dismissed

The first piece of action in the 2nd half arose when Bukayo Saka and Cedric linked up on the right. Nothing came from the first cross but the second fell to Lacazette.

The Frenchman twisted and turned however his Cruyff turn attempt didn’t go as planned. Wolves defenders dispossessed Lacazette as he went to ground. Michael Oliver wasn’t having any of it and didn’t give the penalty.

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Down to 10

Gabriel Martinelli was sent down the tunnel early when he controversially got two yellow cards inside ten second, during the same phase of play. The first yellow was given for his shove on Daniel Podence as he took the throw in, however the referee allowed play to continue.

Advantage was played with the ball falling to Chiquinho who drove forward, Martinelli hunted down the winger and barged him to the ground with no intent to win the ball, earning himself the second yellow.

Martinelli was dismissed from the field, leaving his teammates to hold on to the narrow lead with only 10 players.

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Instant impact

From the freekick given after Martinelli’s second foul on Chiquinho, Wolves put the ball into the back of the net.

Ait-Nouri’s cross reaches Jimenez who headed the ball past Ramsdale however the celebrations were cut short as the linesman raised his flag.

The red card had immediately changed the dynamic as Wolves began to go all guns blazing to find the leveller.

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Arsenal ride the wave

The one-man advantage proved to be just what Wolves needed to change momentum, with all the chances occurring in Arsenal’s defensive third.

In the 74th minute, Roman Saiss drilled a shot toward the bottom right corner, however Ramsdale saved the Moroccan’s effort.

Shortly after, Ramsdale was called in to action again as Nelson Semedo questioned the Gunner’s defence once more by swinging the ball into the box. The Englishman punched it away with ease, clearing away the danger; Ramsdale hadn’t put a foot wrong all night!

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Still clinging onto the lead

With only 7 minutes left of normal time, Arsenal continued to put everything on the line to keep all 3 points, whilst Wolves did all they could to get a goal back.

Semedo again charged forward, sending another ball into the box. Ramsdale tipped the cross away but it comes back out to the Wolves attackers. It eventually fell to Semedo who somehow didn’t score as his header was cleared off the line.

Dendoncker was the next Wolves player to go for the header but Ramsdale flicked his attempt over the crossbar.

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Time running out

5 minutes of additional time was given by the 4th official, much too the liking of the Wolves fans who encouraged their players right to the end. The Molineux was roaring with the dream of getting one in being still very much alive.

Chiquinho kept running riot down the right, providing Jimenez with plenty of service. Again, the cross reached Jimenez although he chose the wrong moment to be fancy as his acrobatic attempt to strike the ball past Ramsdale didn’t work out as he had hoped. The bold attempt goes wayward with only one minute remaining.

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Now or never

Wolves were gifted one final opportunity; their corner was the last moment of the game. Every single fan – home and away – sat on the edge of their seats with agonising nerves. Some were praying for the equaliser, others for their team to hold on for one last time. Jose Sa came up for the corner. The ball was played in and Arsenal cleared it away; Michael Oliver then blew the final whistle. The Gunners had done it!

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Gunners back on track

Gabriel’s first half tap in is all that separates the two sides tonight, with Arteta’s side getting back on track with their first win of 2022.

The Gunners fought hard for the narrow win with Aaron Ramsdale’s goalkeeping being instrumental after Martinelli’s unnecessary red card. Arteta stated “we suffered a lot in the last 20 minutes, thank God we managed to win the game.”

Despite a vast number of chances created for Wolves, they were unable to get the equaliser and salvage a point.

Arsenal go back to North London with another 3 points under their belt taking them into 5th place and with some games in hand over surrounding sides, the mission to achieve a Champions League finish is now looking all the more likely.

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What’s Next?

Next match report = PSG vs Real Madrid

Tuesday 15th February 20:00

Line-ups:

Wolves – (3-4-3) Sa, Saiss, Coady (Fabio Silva 81’), Kilman, Marcal (Ait-Nouri 62’), Semedo, Dendoncker, Podence, Trincao (Chiquinho 62’), Jimenez

Arsenal – (4-2-3-1) Ramsdale, Tierney, Gabriel, White, Cedric, Xhaka, Partey, Martinelli, Odegaard (Smith-Rowe 68’), Saka (Holding 71’), Lacazette (Nketiah 81’)

Referee: Michael Oliver

Attendance: 31,523

MOTM: Gabriel

Written by Isabelle Newnham