Gabriel bundles Arsenal past Wolves despite Martinelli’s remarkable red card

Same old Arsenal. This may have been their first game for two-and-a-half weeks, a few days of which they spent in Dubai, but they ended it with a fourth red card in six matches.

If ever there was an episode that epitomised what threatens to undermine Mikel Arteta’s attempt to restore Arsenal to the Champions League, it arrived with 21 minutes left to play. Wolves, for all of their good intent, were at arm’s length, but then Gabriel Martinelli picked up two yellow cards in a matter of seconds – the first for obstructing a throw-in and the second for a hot-headed trip on Chiquinho – and the visitors were reduced to 10 men. It ensured a nervy crescendo for an Arsenal side that looked comfortable after opening up a first-half lead through Gabriel.

Wolves made life difficult in the closing stages but could not find an equaliser. Ben White cleared off the line after Raúl Jimenez clawed a ball back into the box and Aaron Ramsdale tipped a Leander Dendoncker header on to the roof his net. Bruno Lage was livid, punching the air and kicking the perfectly-landscaped ground of his home dugout as the substitute Fábio Silva elected to cross rather than shoot five minutes into second-half stoppage time.

After a dry and all-round miserable January – Arsenal picked up three red cards and were sent packing in both domestic cup competitions – Arteta recognised the need to reignite their season, especially given Wolves are among those in the conversation for a top-four berth. Thomas Partey returned to the base of the Arsenal midfield alongside Granit Xhaka, himself back from a ban, and Cédric Soares at right-back, allowing White to partner Gabriel in the heart of defence.

White had Arsenal’s first real glimpse of goal. Martin Ødegaard slid