EPL: Arsenal Grab First Win Of 2022 With 10 Men

Arsenal have finally secured their first win of the new calendar year after their sixth game following a 0-1 victory away at Wolves, despite going down to 10 men after Gabriel Martinelli was shown two instant yellow cards.

A first half goal from Gabriel Maghaeles proved enough to earn the Gunners a much needed three points and set them back on course for their charge for the top four.

Bruno Lage restored his team with five changes made from their loss in the FA Cup to Norwich as they looked to win consecutive home league games against Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta made three changes to his team from their last game against Burnley. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka both returned to the Arsenal fold after serving their respective match bans, with Takehiro Tomiyasu still missing and had Cedric Soares in his place.

There was pressure from Arsenal early on as they looked to unsettle their hosts, who tried to contain their guests, with real goalscoring opportunities hard to come by.

Wolves finally bowed to superior pressure a quarter of an hour into the game. An Arsenal corner was not properly dealt with by the Woves defence, allowing Ben White return the ball into a dangerous spot with his header. Alexandre Lacazette got to the ball first, but could not get a clean shot as he was scuttered by Jose Sa. The ball fell to Gabriel Maghaeles, who stretched to poke home. Expectedly, the goal was subjected to a VAR check for a possible foul by Lacazette, but none was found.

The hosts began to grow into the game and tried to trouble Arsenal aerially, but the Gunners kept them at bay. Raul Jimenez met a cross from Nelson Semedo, but could only direct his header straight at a well-positioned Aaron Ramsdale.

On the other end, Bukayo Saka took on the Wolves defence, playing a quick one-two with Martin Odegaard, before sending a low cross behind the Wolves defence, which Lacazette struck well, but straight at Jose Sa.

The game took a different dimension in the 69th minute when Gabriel Martinelli was shown two yellow cards for two fouls in the same play. The Brazilian had lost the ball close to Wolves' area. He shoved Daniel Podence with his hand, who tried to restart the game with a quick throw before tracking back as the referee played the advantage for Wolves, to bundle down Chinquinho. Referee Michael Oliver instantly booked him a yellow card each for the two offences as the Gunners were reduced to 10 men in controversial fashion.

Not minding their being one man down, Arsenal almost immediately scored their second that would have killed the game, but for the profligacy of Lacazette, who fired inches wide after being played through by Gabriel.

Lage's men charged late on with barrage of attacks, but they were met either by a stoic Arsenal defence or a determined Ramsdale, who put in good saves to keep his 11th clean sheet in the league.

Concluding Thoughts

It looked like the break really did Arsenal a lot of good as well as their training holiday in Dubai as they liked fresh and raring to go from the get-go.

Martinelli was a very bright spot for the Gunners as he tormented the Wolves defence before that moment he looked to have had a brain freeze to get sent off in that manner. Nonetheless, I must confess that I have never seen such a thing as done by Michael Oliver, giving a player two yellow cards for two fouls in the same play.

According to the FA rule on playing an advantage:

If the referee plays the advantage for an offence for which a caution/sending-off would have been issued had play been stopped, this caution/sending-off must be issued when the ball is next out of play. However, if the offence was denying the opposing team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, the player is cautioned for unsporting behaviour; if the offence was interfering with or stopping a promising attack, the player is not cautioned._

Either challenge was neither one that required sending off nor one that denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, but definitely, halted a promising attack, which did not warrant a sending off. This brings questions of what has looked as deliberate actions by officials against Arsenal.

Again, Ramsdale was at his best, pulling fine saves that kept Arsenal alive in the game. With every game, he keeps growing and establishing himself in that Arsenal team and looks to have created a special bond with the fans.

Mikel Arteta should be worried about the discipline level of his team. Martinelli's sending off was their fourth in just six matches this year. They need to get their composure if they are to go any far this season.

Daniel Podence was a definite bright light for Wolves as he proved a thorn in the flesh of the Arsenal defence. Every good thing that happened to Wolves had his signature. His mesmerizing runs gave the Arsenal defence a lot of problems. I wouldn't be surprised if he's poached from them in the nearest future.