Premier League Roundup: Arsenal’s unbeaten run ended by Wolves

Arsenal‘s fine run of form was halted by Wolves on Tuesday as red cards to David Luiz and Bernd Leno saw nine-man Arsenal lose 2-1 to hand Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side victory at Molineux.

The Gunners were cruising in the first half, could have been a couple of goals up but tough luck didn’t give room for more than one strike thanks to Nicolas Pepe.

However, things turned from good to worse for Arsenal in first-half stoppage time as David Luiz was controversially shown a straight red card for bringing Willian Jose down in the box with Ruben Neves scoring the resulting penalty.

The momentum was further swung in Wolves’ favour two minutes after the restart as Joao Moutinho scored a stunning first Molineux goal to put the hosts in control.

The game was put beyond the Gunners 18 minutes from time when goalkeeper Leno was given his marching orders after inexcusably handling the ball outside his area.

Arsenal’s captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a late chance to snatch a point for his side but their seven game unbeaten run was doomed to end on the night as Wolves held on for a vital first victory since December 15, which sealed a first league double over the Gunners since the 1978/79 season.

Watch the highlights of the match below

Managers reactions…

Mikel Arteta: “I’ve seen the replay [of David Luiz’s red card] 10 times from five different angles, and I cannot see any contact. I would like to see if VAR have different angles. I don’t want to think that [the decision was made on David Luiz’s reputation] I’m sure they made the decision based on seeing something. I was expecting to see something but didn’t see anything.

“I am super proud about our team, the way we played and how we dominated in the first half. We should have been three or four goals up, we didn’t do that, and then we put ourselves in a really difficult position conceding a goal and going a man down.

“The way we lost the game really hurts, it’s painful But I have to take the positives from the way the team is evolving, the way the team played against this opponent and the amount of chances we created.”

Nuno Espirito Santo: “It’s a very welcome win, it means a lot. We are in a tough moment and it is important. We did many beautiful things in the past seasons and we want to emulate them again.

“The game was very difficult, Arsenal played some very good football; they broke, counter-attacked, had possession, it was a tough first half.

“Everything changed with the penalty, the dynamic of the game changed. The referee didn’t have any other option [but to show a red card] in both situations.”

Stats and facts from the match (Backed by Opta)

• Wolves registered their first win in nine Premier League games (D3 L5), since a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in December.
• Arsenal suffered their first defeat in eight Premier League games (W5 D2), conceding as many goals today against Wolves as in their previous seven in the competition (2).
• Wolves completed their first league double over Arsenal since 1978-79.
• Since Mikel Arteta’s first game in charge of Arsenal on Boxing Day 2019, the Gunners have been shown nine Premier League red cards, six more than any other side.
• Arsenal winger Nicolas Pépé has scored in three consecutive away league appearances for the first time since January 2019, when he scored in four in a row on the road for Lille.
• Since making his Premier League debut for Arsenal in August 2019, David Luiz has picked up more red cards (3) and conceded more penalties (6) than any other player in the competition.
• João Moutinho scored his first home goal for Wolverhampton Wanderers in all competitions (61 games at Molineux), while all three of his Premier League goals have come from outside the box.
• Bernd Leno became only the second Arsenal goalkeeper to be sent off in the Premier League, after David Seaman in November 1993 against West Ham.