Wolves 0-1 Arsenal: 4 positives from Premier League win

Arsenal moved to within a point of the Premier League top four on Thursday with a hard fought 1-0 win over fellow Champions League chasing Wolves.

18 days since their previous match, it was imperative that Mikel Arteta’s side took advantage of the slip-ups around them to avoid falling further afield in the hunt.

With Spurs and Manchester United both hilariously dropping points, while West Ham are wobbling slightly of late and were also unable to bolster their squad in January, beating Wolves at Molineux could go down as a huge three points in the context of the season.

It wasn’t pretty, but that’s beside the point. If every game has to be a grind like this one then so be it, as long as the wins follow.

Wolves 0-1 Arsenal: 4 positives from Premier League win that moves Mikel Arteta’s side closer to the top four

Arsenal have a defined style, just as they have a limited squad. Getting players sent off, again, doesn’t help the latter point.

But there will be more matches like the one on Thursday where digging deep for a result will be a greater test of resolve and character than it will be quality and tactical execution. It felt like a cup final, and Arsenal do like those.

Gabriel proved to be the match winner with a poked effort on 25 minutes, and as the Wolves onslaught arrived late on it wasn’t enough to deny the Gunners their 12th win of the season.

Under those circumstances, barring the obvious sending off, it’s almost only positives to draw from the 1-0 victory, one that narrowly gives Arsenal the top four advantage after 22 matches.

1. Win When You’re Not at Your Best

It’s a classic adage that any team who can win when they’re not near their best is the sign of a strong side. It is fair to say Arsenal were not physically below their usual level on Thursday.

The reasons for that were clear, and expected: Arsenal hadn’t played a game for 18 days and Granit Xhaka, for example, hadn’t kicked a ball since 24 minutes into January 13th’s Carabao Cup first leg.

There was a lack of sharpness from a number of the players, with Kieran Tierney having a tough first half and even the central defenders struggling to progress the ball as they normally would.

Players grew into the game, like Tierney, but the overriding emotion was that this was a group who were not yet at full fitness. It made that goal after 25 minutes even more crucial as it allowed Arsenal to focus on natural instincts in defensive situations, but they held on despite their lack of freshness.

It wasn’t a kind fixture to be welcomed back to, even if the team would have been sharp. Getting three points under those circumstances, and the red card, makes it an extra special win.

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2. Goals From Other Sources

As will be the case on a number of occasions across the remainder of the Premier League season, it was impossible not to watch the game and envisage the lift in quality that will come once Arsenal sign a new striker.

Everyone loves Lacazette the man but he just isn’t a goal threat. There was a cross in the first half he didn’t attack with any purpose, a couple of spells in the second half where he contrived to do everything other than shoot when he had the ball in the box, and then the big chance missed shortly after Martinelli’s red card.

When he isn’t on the scoresheet fortunately there are others who can step up in the forward line, yet even they weren’t able to find the net at Molineux.

This is why goals have the be shared, and why set pieces are so unbelievably crucial in this division. Nicolas Jover has transformed Arsenal as an attacking threat from dead balls, and to score from a corner against a side who hadn’t conceded from one in the league up until this point demonstrates the Gunners’ newfound strength.

Having that additional edge to their game, as well as central defenders with an eye for goal, proved to be the difference between one and three points. Arsenal will need more of that this season.

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3. Gabriel Martinelli’s Red Card Not the Most Damaging

The debate over whether Gabriel Martinelli should have been sent off has been rumbling on ever since Michael Oliver flicked his right wrist for the second time.

Only with Arsenal do these event happen, prompting the usual response calling for a conspiracy or admitting that this team shoots itself in the foot. It’s arguably a bit of both: could Oliver book Martinelli twice if he didn’t know he was booked the first time, and does the reputation of this team precede itself?

Whichever side of the fence one sits on, the matter is over now and Martinelli will miss the upcoming game with Brentford. With the form he’s in he will be greatly missed.

But it could be worse.

Emile Smith Rowe will come into the team on his favoured left side and Arsenal will not be especially weakened. Smith Rowe is the top scorer at the club and it’s been a while since he’s had the chance to impress out on that side from the start when not carrying injury.

In terms of people in the squad, there could have been worse suspensions to deal with. And while Martinelli is still a loss, it opens the door for someone like Omari Hutchinson to get on the bench and Nicolas Pepe to impress in some capacity.

With a home game against Brentford coming up, again, it could have been worse.

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4. An Impressive Work Event at No. 10 Downing Street

In an opening to the game where there were players misplacing passes and generally looking off the pace, Thomas Partey stood out as one of the cleaner players on the ball from a technical standpoint.

He’d pick up possession, be willing to turn, move into space, and progress the ball. The Partey we saw in early December time was shot of confidence and miles off his best level, while 2022 has offered a far more exciting and encouraging version of the Ghanaian.

While he might not have impacted the game in an attacking sense as much at Molineux, with him also guilty of some sloppy moments, defensively he was outstanding.

As far as managing the transitions this was one of his tidier games. His feints with and without the ball were superb press releasing moments that stopped Wolves attacks short and kept the pace of Arsenal’s attacks up. He sat the deepest of the midfield two by some distance, but always closed down the spaces and got back into his own box on a few occasions for some vital late interventions.

Between now and May Arsenal will need Partey to dominate central areas more than he did at Molineux. From a defensive perspective, which was near enough his entire remit on Thursday, they couldn’t have asked for much more.