Tough battle against Wolves puts the gunners within touching distance of Champions League spot.
Arsenal beat Wolves 1-0 away from home in a scrappy win which saw an unusual sending off of Martinelli.
The goal was scored by Gabriel Magalhães in the 25th minute of the first half after a corner from Martinelli which resulted in a pinball inside the box and a simple tap-in for the Brazilian defender.
It was a well deserved goal by Arsenal after controlling the majority of the first 20 minutes.
Wolves however, came back into the game having more of the ball and coming very close to a goal scoring opportunity, after Semedo’s shot from just outside the box skimmed the outside of the net.
Arsenal went into halftime with two midfields, Partey and Xhaka on yellow cards.
A worrying sign, considering the gunners had 3 red cards in 2022 going into this game.
But it ended up being Martinelli who picked up two yellows within seconds of each other, in one of the most bizarre sending offs you will ever see.
The Arsenal winger pushed Podence who took a quick throw in, Michael Oliver waved for play to carry on, Martinelli then fouled Tomas Oliveira immediately after.
The 2 incidents took place 5 seconds between each other and Michael Oliver cautioned Martinelli twice after the second foul.
There was a huge debate after the game about whether the sending off was the correct decision.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said:
“This is the first time I’ve seen a red card like this in the 18 years years I’ve been in this league”.
Whereas former Premier League referee Peter Walton said:
“ In Law, Michael Oliver has done nothing wrong.”
Arsenal will most likely appeal this red card and the debate will certainly continue.
Arsenal held on for the last 20 minutes of the game, putting up a very strong defensive performance.
This leaves the gunners just one point off 4th place West Ham, with 2 games in hand.
Zakaria Taibi 