Arsenal 2 Wolves 1 - Report

Hwang Hee-chan superbly intercepted a Gabriel back pass within the opening 10 minutes to give Wolves the lead, before Raul Jimenez missed a glorious one-on-one chance.

But from that moment it was all Arsenal as the hosts cut through Wolves’ defence. Several chances, in both halves, came and went as the visitors hung on.

The attacking onslaught was relentless and in the 82nd minute they found a way through when Pepe finished from close range.

Wolves went from potentially moving into fifth to staying in seventh when Lacazette squeezed home a dramatic late winner to leave the Wolves players out on their feet.

Bruno Lage made one change to his team as he changed back to the 3-4-3 formation.

Hwang made his first start since returning from the hamstring injury he sustained in mid-December, as Leander Dendoncker dropped to the bench.

No changes to the squad meant Ki-Jana Hoever, Willy Boly, Yerson Mosquera and Chiquinho all missed out.

Mikel Arteta also made one change to his side, which started in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Gabriel Martinelli came back in following his suspension, after his red card at Molineux two weeks ago, and replaced Emile Smith Rowe who was not involved in the squad.

Within seconds of the game starting Wolves needlessly gave the ball away as the hosts launched an attack. The home supporters were calling for a penalty following a coming-together between Nelson Semedo and Martinelli, but there was little in it.

Romain Saiss then turned home from a Neves cross, but it was chalked off for offside. VAR then took two minutes checking the decision, giving the Wolves fans some hope, before it was confirmed as offside.

But moment later, in the 10th minute, Hwang put Wolves ahead. The winger had excellent anticipation, speed and composure to steal a Gabriel back pass, round Aaron Ramsdale, and tap into an empty net.

It could have got so much better only three minutes later when a sublime Daniel Podence pass put Raul Jimenez through on goal. Back at the stadium for the first time since he suffered a fractured skull in November 2020, the striker pulled his effort wide, when he should have at least hit the target.

Following that golden chance Arsenal had all the momentum, with the home crowd behind them. Conor Coady made a vital tackle on Lacazette in the box, before Saiss made a big block to deny Martin Odegaard.

Wolves were desperate to exert some control of the match but Arsenal were picking their attacks carefully. A lovely ball over the top from Gabriel put Bukayo Sako through, but Coady once again did well to come across and deflect his shot wide.

The onslaught kept coming and this time a poor Coady pass set Arsenal on their way, as Martinelli came closest with a poke that crashed just over the bar. Another big chance then saw Martinelli attempt to chip Jose Sa, but the goalkeeper managed to get a hand to it and collected it at the second attempt.

With half-time looming Wolves finally managed to fashion a chance as Jimenez headed just wide from a Podence cross.

Considering the plethora of Arsenal chances, somehow Wolves survived until half-time with their lead in-tact and with a potentially season-defining second half to come.

Despite the difficult first half, Wolves almost doubled their lead within seconds of the start of the second half. A cute reverse pass from Podence put Hwang in but his low shot was deflected inches wide of the post by Ramsdale.

But following that chance, Arsenal were right back on top and some half chances saw them a whisker away from creating something substantial.

After an hour, some terrible luck for Semedo saw him pull up with a suspected hamstring injury and he was forced to withdraw – receiving help from the medical staff as he limped off the field. Jonny Castro Otto came on in his place, making his return following 10 months out with an ACL injury.

As the game creeped into the final 10 minutes of normal time, Arsenal’s pressure finally paid off as substitute Pepe turned in the box and finished off a fine move.

With six minutes of added time the hosts continued to press for a winner as Wolves defended deep and flattered to deceive when they did break forward.

In the 96th minute the hosts then snatched all three points. Lacazette attempted a cross from a tight angle but with Sa expecting a shot the goalkeeper got a palm to the ball and turned it towards the far corner.

That cruel twist handed Arsenal the win as Wolves slumped to a disappointing defeat, in which they failed to get going on the ball or in attack.

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo (Jonny, 60), Neves, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri, Podence (Dendoncker, 89), Jimenez, Hwang (Neto, 75).

Subs not used: Ruddy, Gomes, Marcal, Cundle, Trincao, Silva.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Cedric (Nketiah, 76), White, Gabriel, Tierney (Tavares, 92), Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli (Pepe, 71), Lacazette.

Subs not used: Leno, Holding, Swanson, Elneny, Lokonga, Hutchinson.