Harry Kane says the bitter pill of Bayern Munich’s doomed Bundesliga title defence and the prospect of a Wembley final is fuelling his desire for Champions League glory.

Former Tottenham star Kane returned to haunt familiar foes Arsenal by converting a first-half penalty in Tuesday evening’s thrilling quarter-final first leg which ended tantalisingly poised at 2-2.

Bayern’s 11-season run as German champions could be over before next week’s return match with the Gunners as unbeaten runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen sit 16 points clear with only 18 left to play for.

England captain Kane has understandably written off domestic silverware but retains hope of ending the season on a high under the arch of his country’s national stadium on June 1.

“Look, it’s a competition that the club want to win,” he said.

“Not winning the Bundesliga this year is a tough pill to swallow and it makes this competition even more important but we know there’s still a long way to go.

“We have to find that togetherness, we have to find that team ethic where we grind out games because we haven’t done it enough this year.

“In the Champions League, we’ve done well, had a good campaign but we will need more of that if we want to go all the way to Wembley.”

Kane was cast in the role of pantomime villain at a raucous Emirates Stadium and responded with his 15th career goal against the Gunners to help keep Bayern’s season alive.

The 30-year-old, who now has a remarkable tally of 39 goals this term, sees parallels between his current team’s predicament and when Spurs reached the 2019 Champions League final despite finishing 27 points adrift of champions Manchester City in the top flight.

“That campaign itself is similar because we weren’t having a great time in the league if I’m totally honest,” he said

“But we found some passion and togetherness in the Champions League and we managed to get to the final.

“That experience gives me hope that we can find that again, we know we can perform in the big games and try to get back to the final.

“Being at Wembley is also extra motivation for me personally being my national stadium and it’s still there to try and achieve.”

Bayern departed north London feeling aggrieved after Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg opted against penalising Arsenal defender Gabriel for inexplicably picking up the ball in his own box after a David Raya goal kick in the 67th minute.

Manager Thomas Tuchel branded the decision “horrible”, while Kane and fellow ex-Spurs man Eric Dier were both left bemused.

Arsenal later appealed for an added-time penalty when Bukayo Saka tumbled under a challenge from visiting goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

“It was a stonewall penalty and I don’t know why the ref didn’t give it,” Kane said of the Gabriel incident.

“It would have been strange. But the ref blew the whistle (for play to resume), he (Raya) passed it, he (Gabriel) picked it up, it would have been child like but that’s not our problem.

“The rules are the rules. Maybe they should have had one, we should have had one.”

Bayern’s sense of injustice was heightened by Leandro Trossard’s 76th-minute equaliser after goals from former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry and Kane overturned Saka’s early opener.

Kane hopes to harness the passion of a packed out Allianz Arena in the second leg, having been relentlessly jeered by home supporters as the six-time European champions played in the absence of travelling fans due to a UEFA sanction.

“I think they have a soft respect for me, the Arsenal fans,” said Kane. “I was a fan when I was younger so I know how it goes and, for me, I just try to perform.

“For some reason, I get a lot of penalties at the Emirates and I’ve been happy I’ve been able to put them away and it will be nice to be at home next and in front of the Munich fans.

“It was hard with no fans, strange to have no-one there for us but I thought we dealt with it well and I think you’ll see them even more excited next week having not been to this game and maybe even louder than they usually are.

“Hopefully we can use that energy to our advantage and really try to put the pressure on.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson deflected to the club’s decision-makers when asked if his side’s crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal could raise questions about his job security.

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli buried the Eagles with two goals inside two minutes of second-half stoppage time, adding to Gabriel and Leandro Trossard’s earlier efforts and a Dean Henderson own goal that all-but guaranteed the hosts victory before half-time.

As Palace defender Chris Richards nodded over a chance to claw back a late consolation, away supporters raised a banner reading “wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards” while another protested “no shared vision, no structured plan”.

Hodgson, when asked if he felt he had unified support of his boyhood club’s board and those above, replied: “That’s a question for them, isn’t it? But if you’re asking me if I’ve ever felt a lack of support from them, then the answer is no.

“I think they’ve been good, but I mean now in [the] situation that you’re obviously discussing, in this scenario you’re envisaging, that’s going to be a question for them.”

He later added: “When a team isn’t doing as well as it should be doing, someone needs to be held responsible, and that’s the manager.”

The Eagles’ vital victory over Brentford to end 2023 and snap an eight-game winless streak seemed to subdue Hodgson’s critics, but Saturday’s result will no doubt loudly revive that chorus, particularly following on from their midweek third-round FA Cup replay loss to Everton in which the former England manager controversially substituted the influential Eberechi Eze.

While he and his players felt there were “infringements” ignored by referee Paul Tierney in the build-up to the opening pair of goals, Hodgson took the blame for Martinelli’s quickfire brace, admitting he had perhaps erred in removing some of his tiring starters in favour of “young lads, and it was too much to ask them to go on and deal with a rampant Arsenal”.

Hodgson understood the frustration from the disillusioned Palace fanbase, adding: “All I can say is I think they are totally entitled to their opinion in that respect. I do understand their frustration, even anger and disappointment, and things haven’t gone better.

“We can make our excuses which we’ve been doing because certain things have worked against us in this period of time, but the bottom line is that if we’re going to go forward and avoid relegation and do well, we need those fans with us. Hopefully we can do our best to keep them on board.”

Arsenal, meanwhile, avoided a fourth-straight defeat across all competitions and kept within striking distance of the Premier League title.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta was particularly pleased with the way his side worked their set-pieces in their first top-flight meeting of 2024, saying: “Credit to all the coaches, to Nico [Jover, set-piece coach] for the amount of time and belief we put in.

“It’s got a huge impact. We’ve seen that as well in recent games that we’ve lost when we’ve conceded set-pieces, so the outcome is very different when you don’t concede and score.

“We wanted to start the second part of the season with a great performance, with a great result, and build that positivity and momentum again, and I think the boys did a good job today.”

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored a late double to consign Crystal Palace to a crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal which increases the pressure on Roy Hodgson.

Gabriel nodded in the opener for the Gunners, while Eagles keeper Dean Henderson was credited with an own goal and Leandro Trossard grabbed the third on an afternoon that rarely saw Hodgson’s side pose a threat.

Eberechi Eze marked a century of Premier League appearances after he was controversially replaced in the 64th minute of Wednesday’s FA Cup third-round replay loss to Everton and provided the occasional bright spark for the visitors.

It was hardly enough to please the away supporters, who raised banners protesting against the direction of their club before Martinelli buried their side moments later.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko returned to Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up for the Gunners, who were ahead seconds after the 10-minute mark when Gabriel leveraged the shoulders of Palace defender Chris Richards to rise highest and head home Declan Rice’s corner.

Palace were lucky to avoid falling further behind when a dangerous deflection off midfielder Jefferson Lerma flew towards the top left corner of his own net only to clip the woodwork.

That sigh of relief did little to relieve the overall pressure, Palace rarely finding themselves in the vicinity of the Gunners’ goal until the half hour, when Eze fired a free-kick from a dangerous position straight into a wall of red shirts.

David Raya was finally called into action when his own clearance only travelled as far as Lerma, who forced the Arsenal keeper into a low, diving save at his left post.

The Gunners doubled their advantage in the 37th minute when Gabriel nodded Bukayo Saka’s corner towards Henderson’s net and was initially awarded the goal, which stood after a VAR check but subsequently changed to an own goal for the Palace keeper.

There was a late attempt by Lerma, who had just been treated for what initially looked to be a head or neck injury, comfortably saved, while an onrushing Trossard failed to find the back of the net in first-half added time.

Palace had scored two or more goals in just five of their Premier League meetings going into this 21st encounter and desperately hoped to make it six after the break, when Henderson denied Rice and Raya safely handled Eze’s effort.

The chances kept coming for Arsenal, who were denied a possible penalty after a VAR consultation, and they were soon three goals to the good after Jesus’ pinpoint pass found Trossard, who weaved around Nathaniel Clyne and neatly finished to the top left.

Richards nodded over in added-time, in full view of supporters in the away end who raised a banner reading “wasted potential on and off the pitch, weak decisions taking us backwards”.

Moments later, substitute Martinelli fired in the hosts’ fourth, then a near-identical fifth.

Arsenal defender Ben White has hailed the influence centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel are having on the Gunners’ season.

The form of the pair has helped Arsenal to the top of the table with the joint-best defensive record and although they did not manage to keep out Liverpool, with whom they share the record, the security they offered gave the visitors the confidence to take a positive approach in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Anfield.

A week ago a struggling Manchester United side left Liverpool with a point after a dour defensive display in which the home side had 34 attempts on goal.

By contrast Arsenal restricted Liverpool to 13, the same as they had themselves.

“They are unbelievable together. They are so strong and powerful. They make it easier for everyone around them,” White said of the centre-back pair.

“They just don’t do too much wrong, do they? They are so consistent every game.

“No one is dominating them speed-wise or strength-wise. It’s hard for strikers to come up against and find anything positive to come out of the game.”

Arsenal also benefited from their willingness to take the game to Liverpool, who had won 11 in a row at home before the United draw.

“I think when you come here it’s so, so tough and to come away with a point is probably a positive,” added White.

“That’s what we have got now, we are such a positive team. We wanted to come here and win, and I think you see that from our performance.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was bemused as to why his side did not get a penalty for Martin Odegaard’s handball in the first half of their 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Anfield.

VAR ruled referee Chris Kavanagh had not made a clear and obvious error in not penalising the Gunners captain after his low hand prevented Mohamed Salah getting past him.

Klopp disagreed, telling BBC Sport: “The penalty situation is a weird situation, I don’t know if the ref can see it, but you look at it and I’m not sure how you can say it’s not a penalty.”

In his post-match press conference the Liverpool manager added: “I didn’t see it in the game, I saw it after and I think we all agree it was handball.

“But I always wait until Mr Dermot (Gallagher) explains it the next day (in his role as a TV analyst) what’s really the case.

“He will find a way to explain to me why it was not handball. For me it’s a clear handball. I have no idea if it would have influenced the result.”

Gabriel’s early header was cancelled out by a brilliant goal by Salah to earn a point and leave the two teams first and second in the table at Christmas.

However, the hard-earned point was not without cost as Klopp has a big problem at left-back now as Kostas Tsimikas, deputising for Andy Robertson who has been out since October with a dislocated shoulder, broke his collarbone in a collision which also floored his manager after being pushed by Bukayo Saka.

“The problem I had in that moment, I thought, ‘OK, I am fine,’ so I was assuming that Kostas was fine as well and he’s actually obviously not fine,” said Klopp, who is hopeful a knee injury to Luis Diaz is only minor.

“He’s broken his collarbone at least. It’s really bad for us. I cannot say anything about that (Saka challenge). You have to judge that, not me.”

Mikel Arteta, who played in the last Arsenal team to win at Anfield in the league in September 2012, is hopeful the experience of being in a title race last season will stand his side in good stead as they hold top spot on Christmas Day.

That will be particularly important as three of the last six occasions a team top on December 25 did not go on to win the league involved the Gunners.

“They are certainly more experienced. What they have done today on this pitch, in this stadium, with the atmosphere they created as well, that was something else,” he said.

“The maturity and the courage that we showed I think we should be really proud of our players. We have experience of being where we are today.

“We should be really happy because that shows a lot of consistency for this new group in the best league in the world to lead two years in a row.

“But that’s it. We are where we want to be right now, both in the Premier League and the Champions League.

“Of course there are things that we have to improve, especially killing games. With the amount of dominance we are showing, some of the games are too close.”

Arsenal reclaimed top spot in time for Christmas but their wait for a win at Anfield stretches into a 12th year after an absorbing 1-1 draw which ensured Liverpool kept pace in the title race.

Gabriel’s early goal was cancelled out by a Mohamed Salah stunner and, despite both pushing for victory, the Premier League’s top two deservedly shared the spoils.

Being top for December 25 is no guarantee of future performance, however, as both these clubs are well aware; on the last six occasions a team has failed to go on and lift the trophy from this position it was one of them.

So while nothing has been decided, it at least provided some early festive fun and was the very antithesis of last weekend’s game here when Manchester United showed no attacking intent.

Arsenal were fully engaged, and while they left with the same point United did, it was achieved in a much different manner during a draining 90 minutes of high press and high intensity.

For the hosts centre-back Ibrahima Konate was imperious, Trent Alexander-Arnold visionary and Salah threatening, while Arsenal had their own rock at the back in William Saliba, with Declan Rice covering plenty of ground just in front of him.

On the bench Jurgen Klopp had a wry smile to himself as the atmosphere ramped up just before kick-off, just as he had planned with his carefully chosen comments about fan apathy.

But that smile was soon wiped off his face when Gabriel headed home Martin Odegaard’s fourth-minute free-kick.

It was a perfectly executed training ground routine to expose Liverpool’s high line; the four furthest-advanced players dropping back just before their captain delivered the cross which resulted in Cody Gakpo playing the Gunners centre-back onside.

The visitors sensed an opportunity and their midfield press created a three-on-three which saw Gabriel Jesus fire over.

But roared on by an Anfield crowd which still had Klopp’s admonishment ringing in their ears, Liverpool could have had a penalty when Odegaard stuck out a low left hand to stop Salah going past him, with only thing possibly saving him in the eyes of VAR was his loss of footing.

The equaliser was not long in coming, however, with Alexander-Arnold, at times dropping so deep in his hybrid role to almost be a third central defender, unsurprisingly the architect.

From 20 yards inside his own half his searching pass dropped over the head of Oleksandar Zinchenko, which Salah anticipated, who was then beaten easily as the Egypt international executed a trademark cutback to beat David Raya for pace at his near post.

Liverpool soon had left-back problems of their own when Bukayo Saka pushed Kostas Tsimikas, deputising for the long-term injured Andy Robertson, into Klopp and while both took a tumble in the technical area the Greek came off worse as he departed with what appeared to be either a shoulder or collarbone injury.

Replacement Joe Gomez saw Saka race past him to cut into the penalty area where Gabriel Martinelli fired wide with Alisson Becker out of his goal and only Gomez and Alexander-Arnold guarding the goalline.

Gomez, who has never scored a senior goal, almost ended his nine-year drought by curling a shot just wide early in the second half with Dominik Szoboszlai also off target as the hosts began to dominate the chances created.

The triple 68th-minute substitution of Darwin Nunez, Harvey Elliott and Ryan Gravenberch added new impetus as both sides started to show signs of having run themselves into the ground, with Leandro Trossard replacing Martinelli.

Elliott and Nunez both had chances either side of a five-on-two counter-attack launched by Salah after Odegaard and Zinchenko collided on the edge of Liverpool’s penalty area.

There were three team-mates queuing up to shoot but when Alexander-Arnold was teed up the ball bobbled and his shot smashed against the crossbar.

Kai Havertz’s penalty claim was quickly dismissed by VAR as neither side paused for breath in a thrilling finale.

Mikel Arteta has been given until Friday to respond to his Football Association charge for comments he made after Arsenal’s defeat by Newcastle earlier this month.

The Gunners boss branded the VAR decision not to rule out Anthony Gordon’s goal in his side’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park “an absolute disgrace”.

Arteta has been charged with a breach of FA rule E3.1 and initially had until Tuesday to offer his response.

However, that deadline has now been extended until Friday at the Gunners’ request, the PA news agency understands.

VAR made a triple check to see whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel and whether Gordon had been offside.

Arteta could not hide his anger after the match, saying: “You have to talk about how the hell did this goal stand up? Incredible. I feel embarrassed.

“I have to now come in here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because it’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. An absolute disgrace.”

Kepa Arrizabalaga looked to be yesterday's man at Chelsea, but such has been his recent form the goalkeeper might have a long-term role to play for the Blues.

He might also be a quick fix this weekend if your fantasy league goalkeeper is having a rough time of it.

In north London, title-chasing Arsenal have a pillar of strength in their backline, and a goal threat too, as Gabriel Magalhaes makes his presence felt at each end of the pitch.

Chelsea face Everton this weekend, while Arsenal tackle Crystal Palace, and away from the capital there is a chance for Ollie Watkins to show his prowess as Aston Villa take on Bournemouth.

Tottenham, still in the hunt for a Champions League place, travel to Southampton with Son Heung-min facing perhaps his favourite opposition.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has assessed why these four players could help your fantasy league team bring in useful points this weekend.
 

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea v Everton)

The turnaround in Kepa's Chelsea career has been astonishing. From looking destined to be a permanent understudy, he has responded to Edouard Mendy's injury absence by making a huge impression and staking a strong claim to keep his place for the long term. Since the World Cup, only Alisson and David de Gea, each with six shutouts, have kept more clean sheets than Arrizabalaga (5).

Spaniard Kepa's 79.55 per cent save rate in this period has been bettered only by Brentford's David Raya (84.62), and this weekend he faces an Everton side who have a joint-worst goals-per-game record this season. The Toffees have 20 goals in 27 Premier League games, or just 0.74 goals per game, the same record as Southampton and Wolves.

Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal v Crystal Palace)

Gabriel got Arsenal's opener in the 3-0 win at Fulham last week, and the central defender can be a set-piece threat in another London derby on Sunday.

The Brazilian's goal at Craven Cottage was his 10th in the Premier League, more than any other defender has managed since his debut in 2020-21. This season, no defender has more Premier League goals (3) or clean sheets (12) than the Brazilian, so can you really afford to be without him?

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa v Bournemouth)

Villa striker Watkins netted his 100th English league goal last time out (excluding play-offs) and is one away from reaching 10 Premier League goals for a third successive season.

Bournemouth will be on their guard, no doubt, a week on from shutting out Liverpool. Watkins has scored six goals in his last seven Premier League games, with only Marcus Rashford (8), Erling Haaland and Harry Kane (both 7) netting more in 2023.

Watkins has missed out on selection for the latest England squad, so he may also feel he has a point to prove this weekend.

Son Heung-min (Southampton v Tottenham)

Son hit four for Tottenham at St Mary's in September 2020, when the pandemic made it a behind-closed-doors game.

The South Korean forward has more goals (10) and more goal involvements (14) against Southampton than he has against any other side in the competition, including eight goal involvements in his last six games against them (6 goals, 2 assists).

He scored in the win over Nottingham Forest last weekend, and will fancy it against struggling Saints.

Barcelona's off-season has the potential to become even more complicated than what it already is.

Trying to balance their ambition with the economic realities of their situation is creating a tricky environment with the players to have departed and are still at the club this off-season.

According to reports, one player whose departure can ease the financial burden Barcelona have placed on themselves does not want to leave.

TOP STORY – BARCELONA INFORM DE JONG OF MANCHESTER UNITED MOVE

Frenkie de Jong has reportedly been told by Barcelona they want him to leave for Manchester United, according to The Athletic.

The Blaugrana are trying to convince De Jong that while they believe he is a talented footballer, they must sell him in order to balance their excessive wage bill.

The clubs have reportedly agreed on a guaranteed transfer fee of £63million (€75m) but the 25-year-old has no apparent desire to leave club, given Barcelona still owe him a deferred salary payment.

Meanwhile, the arrivals of Raphinha and Franck Kessie this off-season complicate the club's pitch of De Jong's transfer being economically necessary, as opposed to the sale being a purely sporting decision.

ROUND-UP

– Juventus have approached Arsenal over signing Gabriel Magalhaes as they eye a potential replacement for Matthijs de Ligt, The Independent reports.

– Meanwhile, the Gunners are working on a deal to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City, per The Athletic

– Leeds United are close to agreeing terms with PSG over 20-year-old striker Arnaud Kalimuendo, Sport is reporting.

– At the same time, PSG have been joined by West Ham in the race to sign Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca, according to Fabrizio Romano.

We are in the home stretch in the Premier League, which means everything is at stake – in the fantasy leagues, that is.

It is that time of the year when fantasy managers start to go over which games matter at opposite ends of the table to maximise points hauls.

Stats Perform has you covered with some Opta-powered recommendations below, so here are our suggestions for a new goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker.

EDERSON (Manchester City v Newcastle United)

Following their dramatic Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid, there is a possibility Manchester City players might actually breathe fire on Sunday against Newcastle United.

It will likely mean sporadic and low-quality opportunities for the Toon and, ultimately, light work for Ederson in City's goal.

Another clean sheet for the Brazil international will see him record at least 20 in a Premier League season for the second time, the last being in 2018-19. The next best to Ederson's 90 clean sheets since 2017-18 is Liverpool's Alisson, with 64.

GABRIEL MAGALHAES (Arsenal v Leeds United)

Arsenal's Champions League hopes could hinge on this weekend, with nearest rivals Tottenham coming up against Liverpool. The Gunners need points against favourable opponents.

Only Chelsea's Reece James (five) has scored more Premier League goals for defenders this season than Gabriel's four for Arsenal, with all of them coming from corner situations.

With that in mind, Leeds are one of the five sides in the Premier League this season to have conceded at least 10 goals from corners.

DEJAN KULUSEVSKI (Liverpool v Tottenham)

However, Arsenal's need to pick up points against Leeds does not mean Tottenham players are off-limits, and Antonio Conte's side on the counter-attack are a tough proposition for any club in Europe.

Dejan Kulusevski has come to life at Spurs after a middling spell at Juventus, with no player in Europe's top five leagues providing more assists since his first start in the Premier League. 

On top of Kulusevski's eight assists, only Son Heung-min (15) and Harry Kane (14) have been involved in more Premier League goals than him (11) over the same period.

RICHARLISON (Leicester City v Everton)

Leicester's struggles in possession once again came to the fore on Thursday against Roma, and on Sunday they will have to back up against one of the Premier League's most dynamic players in transition.

Richarlison has almost single-handedly propelled Everton's push for Premier League survival, with six involvements in their last eight goals.

At this rate (12 goal involvements), the Brazil international is on track to match his tally of 16 from the 2019-20 season.

Mikel Arteta wants to talk to the Premier League officials after Gabriel Martinelli's unusual dismissal in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Wolves. 

Gabriel Magalhaes put Arsenal in front against the run of play at Molineux on Thursday but the Gunners were forced to cling on for a first victory of 2022 after Martinelli saw red. 

The Brazilian lost his composure after being denied a free-kick and was shown two yellow cards at once by referee Michael Oliver in the 69th minute. 

The first was for attempting to stop Daniel Podence taking a throw-in and the second was for barging Chiquinho over after chasing the ball back. 

It was the 15th red card Arsenal have received in all competitions since Arteta took over in December 2019 – seven more than any other Premier League side in that time frame. 

The Spaniard is eager for an explanation after what he considered an unprecedented dismissal. 

"It's the first time I've seen a red card like this in 18 years that I've been in this league. I think you have to be pretty willing to give a red card in that situation," Arteta said. 

"But it's what happened. We know that playing with 10 men in this league you're not going to get the points that we want and we have to stop it. 

"But to be fair, it's difficult to find more arguments and more ways to transmit that to the players. Everybody says it's the most disciplined group they've seen in the last 15 years, but still we are getting red cards for other things. 

"If you ask me if I'm happy with the decisions we've had this season, I'm not at all. But that's a conversation I will have privately with the officials. We need explanations, we need explanations with what happened in VAR and I need explanations with what happened today." 

Wolves boss Bruno Lage also complained about the officiating at Molineux.

He felt Gabriel's goal – the first his side have conceded from a corner in the top-flight this term – should have been disallowed for a foul by Alexandre Lacazette on goalkeeper Jose Sa. Lage also questioned why an own goal by Granit Xhaka was chalked off for offside against Raul Jimenez. 

"I think there were two strange decisions, especially for our 'goal'. But we continue to work," said Lage. 

"I saw the Arsenal goal and the striker kicked Jose Sa's hand. It's clear, so clear. When you look at the image it's a strange decision. 

"I'm disappointed because I thought we were the better team. Our tempo was very good and we managed the game well but we didn't score our chances and we suffered from a set piece." 

Gabriel Magalhaes ended Arsenal's five-game winless run but they were forced to cling on for a 1-0 Premier League victory over Wolves after Gabriel Martinelli saw red. 

A disappointing start to 2022 saw Arsenal eliminated from the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest and miss out on a place in the EFL Cup final at the hands of Liverpool, but they got back to winning ways on Thursday. 

Gabriel punished Wolves' inability to turn their superiority into chances with an opportunistic finish as claims for a foul on goalkeeper Jose Sa were ignored by referee Michael Oliver. 

Martinelli receiving two yellow cards in the space of five seconds gave Wolves hope late in the second half, but they were unable to avoid slipping five points behind Arsenal in a blow to their top-four chances. 

Openings were few and far between in the first half but Gabriel took his chance in the 25th minute to put the Gunners in front against the run of play. 

Alexandre Lacazette just about beat Jose Sa to Ben White's knockdown and knocked the ball on to Gabriel, who was left with a simple finish from inside the six-yard box. 

Wolves were handed a boost when Martinelli reacted to not being awarded a free-kick by fouling Daniel Podence at a throw-in and sending Chiquinho to ground after following the ball, earning two quick-fire bookings.

Bruno Lage's side saw an own goal by Granit Xhaka from the resulting free-kick ruled out for offside against Raul Jimenez, while Lacazette missed a chance to put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd minute. 

Rob Holding replaced Bukayo Saka as Mikel Arteta looked to tighten things up at the back and he made an important block to keep Chiquinho out, ensuring the three points went back to north London.