Riccardo Calafiori’s decisive goal secured a 1-0 victory for Arsenal at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, maintaining their Premier League title aspirations.
The match ended with both teams reduced to 10 men, keeping the Gunners in second place, six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Arsenal’s win moves them three points ahead of Nottingham Forest, while Wolves are struggling in 17th place, just above the relegation zone with 16 points.
The game saw Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly controversially sent off just before halftime, and João Gomes of Wolves followed him with a red card 20 minutes from the end. Calafiori’s goal came four minutes after Gomes’ dismissal.
Wolves created the first real chance when Nélson Semedo delivered a perfect pass into the area, which Pablo Sarabia met with a volley that sailed over the bar.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz had two header attempts, both from Leandro Trossard crosses, but missed the first narrowly and saw the second saved by keeper José Sá.
The turning point came just before the break when referee Michael Oliver brandished a red card to Lewis-Skelly after a foul on Matt Doherty, who was making a counter-attack.
The decision, for serious foul play, was met with disbelief from the Arsenal players, especially as it did not seem to prevent a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
“We are absolutely fuming but I leave it with you,” Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports after the game, when asked about the red card. “I don’t think my words are going to help.”
Despite being a man down, Arsenal continued to push forward in the second half. Declan Rice forced a save from Sá with a powerful shot, and Havertz headed over from a free-kick.
Wolves responded with some threatening attacks. Hwang Hee-chan fired from outside the area, but Arsenal keeper David Raya made the save, and Matheus Cunha had two golden opportunities.
His first deflected shot was saved by Raya, and his second, from a corner, was blasted wide when he was unmarked at the back post.
Wolves’ efforts were further undone when Gomes received his second yellow card, and Arsenal capitalized.
A cross from Gabriel Martinelli was not cleared, and Calafiori fired home a first-time shot past Sá to give Arsenal the lead.
Wolves had one last chance when Rayan Aït-Nouri tried to salvage a point, but Raya made a crucial save, ensuring Arsenal held on to secure all three points.
“From the bench, it was clearly not a red card. I saw him at halftime and he was so disappointed for the team,” Calafiori told Sky Sports. “But in the end we won, so nothing happened. The strategy was not to put ourselves in a defensive mode. We wanted to try and win the game and we did.”
