"Michael Oliver, it's all about you," sing BOTH sets of fans - as Arsenal stay six points behind Liverpool with 1-0 win at Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Arsenal 1 (Calafiori 74)
Att: 31,503
Arsenal produced a dogged rearguard display to leave Molineux with all three points thanks to Riccardo Calafiori's second-half strike.
The Gunners remain six points behind Liverpool at the top of the Premier League after this bruising encounter, which saw both sides finish the game with 10 men - Arsenal again in bizarre, controversial fashion.
Referee Michael Oliver, the man who issued Gabriel Martinelli with two yellow cards in the same phase of play here four years ago, dismissed Myles Lewis-Skelly towards the end of the first half.
Lewis-Skelly knew what he was doing when he brought down Matt Doherty as the former Spurs man broke clear following an Arsenal corner. But it was hard to justify Oliver's violent conduct call - presuming that was what it was considering the foul happened just 10 yards outside the Wolves box. It looked cynical at worst.
Oliver evened things up in the second half, showing Joao Gomes his second yellow for a bad foul on Jurrien Timber.
And shortly afterwards Caliafiori slammed home from the edge of the box to send the visiting Gooners wild.
"Michael Oliver, it's all about you," sang both sets of fans.
Wolves had the first chance after 10 minutes, a surging run and cross by Nelson Semedo down the right was met on the volley by Pablo Sarabia, but flew over David Raya's goal.
After 19 minutes Arsenal's fans occupying the length of the lower tier of the Steve Bull Stand thought their team had scored, but Kai Havertz's header from Leandro Trossard's cross dropped just the wrong side of the post for the Gunners.
Havertz had an even better chance five minutes later, again meeting Trossard's centre from the left, but seeing his header saved by the legs of Jose Sa as the Gunners bagan to gain the upper hand.
But then came the massive moment of controversy when Oliver waved his red at Lewis-Skelly.
The only possible reason there could have been for it was violent conduct, as it was clearly not denying a goalscoring opportunity. It was cynical, no doubt, but the sort of trip you see in the middle of the park a dozen times in most games. But again the Arsenal man was sent off.
The red card seemed to inject some fight into Arsenal in the second half and the Gunners pushed forward.
Declan Rice saw a shot beaten away by Sa after 54 minutes before substitute Hee Chan Hwang's shot from just outside the area was kept out by Raya.
The Wolves fans then came to life as their side had their best period of the game. Serabia sliced a cross-shot across the Arsenal six-yard box but there was nobody there to turn it in, before Matheus Cunha's deflected shot was well saved by Raya. Cunha, a reported target for the Gunners in this transfer window, then failed to convert the resulting corner when the ball fell invitingly to him 15 yards out.
Back came Arsenal, Havertz heading just over from Rice's inswinging cross from the right.
Oliver then issued his second red card of the afternoon, to Gomes. And soon after Arsenal scored the winning goal. Martinelli's cross from the right was headed more up than away by Semedo, and Calafiori, returning to the team after injury, met the ball on the half-volley and steered it past Sa into the far right-hand corner.
Wolves could have equalised on 84 minutes but again Raya saved well, this time from Rayan Ait-Nouri's effort when through on he left side of the penalty area. Raya saved again shortly afterwards - again from Cunha's shot from outside the box.
But the Gunners held on. One-nil to the Arsenal. George Graham would have been proud.
Teams:
Wolves: Sa, Doherty (Gomes 87), Bueno, Agbadou, Semedo, Andre (Doyle 87), Joao Gomes, Ait-Nouri (Guedes 87), Sarabia (Bellegarde, 75), Cunha, Strand Larsen (Hwang 32)
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri (Calafiori h/t), Partey, Rice, Marinelli (Tierney 87), Havertz, Trossard
Referee: Michael Oliver
Comments