Two weeks before the clash at Molineux, Arsenal had beaten Tottenham in the North London Derby, but the way the Gunners' players and coaching staff celebrated after the win over Wolves showed how significant it was.
After the final whistle, Mikel Arteta hugged his staff passionately. He then walked around the pitch to help his exhausted players up. As for Gabriel Malgahaes, he took off his shirt and ran to the away end to celebrate. David Raya and Declan Rice even gave away shirts to Gooners who came to watch the match.
The scene looked as if The Gunners were celebrating a title. The victory over Wolves did not help Arsenal surpass Liverpool in the rankings, but it made the "Gunners" efforts to catch up still meaningful. If they continue to lose points, the two-horse race with The Kop may end after round 23 at Molineux.
Just before the break, Arsenal received a painful blow when Myles Lewis-Skelly received a red card. It was a somewhat unjust situation and left a lot of controversy in the media after the match. Arsenal went from being in a position to pressuring Wolves right on the away field, they were suffocated by a lack of players.
It was not until the 70th minute that the balance was restored when Wolves' Joao Gomes received a red card. Just four minutes later, Riccardo Calafiori unleashed a dangerous volley from inside the box that found the back of the home team's net. After that only goal, Arsenal took the initiative to play deep and secure the victory.
With a thrilling win over Wolves, Arsenal now has 47 points after 23 matches, 6 points behind Liverpool and having played 1 more match. If The Kop wins against Everton in the make-up match, the gap will be 9 points. However, Arsenal has not thought about that scenario, they need to win to avoid being overtaken by Liverpool in the championship race right from round 23.
"I'm very proud of the players. This is a game where people can talk about our courage, our spirit of not giving up and our intelligence. To see the players control their emotions for the whole 90 minutes, it's unbelievable.
Those are the qualities of Arsenal players when facing a big challenge. It is easy to understand why when the match ended, the fans celebrated so enthusiastically. The players also felt the love coming from the stands" - Mikel Arteta shared.
The win over Wolves was the fourth Premier League game of the season in which the Gunners have had to play with 10 men. They dropped points in the previous three games. Therefore, a win at Molineux will create more confidence and motivation for The Gunners not to give up.
The win over Wolves brought three points but the physical cost for Arsenal was quite high. After the match ended, Kai Havertz collapsed on the pitch and needed the medical team to get up. On the bench at Molineux, Arsenal had two goalkeepers and four left-wingers. Mikel Arteta has few options left after a series of injuries and a serious physical deterioration.
Arsenal's upcoming fixtures are very tight as they face Girona in the final round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying round. Then this weekend they will face Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. Four days later, they face Newcastle in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final, having lost 0-2 at home in the first leg. The League Cup may be a secondary competition, but since Arteta took charge of Arsenal, they have only won one FA Cup title, in 2020. Therefore, this semi-final second leg at St. James' Park is very important.
January will be a very tough month for Arsenal as they have to play 9 games, an average of 3 games per day. If they cannot hold on during this period, Arsenal will once again be empty-handed after previously being eliminated from the FA Cup by Man United.
