Nine-man Arsenal beaten by Wolves

Arsenal’s ill-discipline cost Mikel Arteta’s men again as the nine-man Gunners were beaten 2-1 at Wolves on Tuesday to halt their charge towards the Premier League’s top four.

A seven-game unbeaten league run had propelled Arsenal back into contention for a return to the Champions League next season and they could have moved to within five points of the top four after Nicolas Pepe’s strike opened the scoring at Molineux.

But David Luiz’s third red card in two seasons as an Arsenal player for clipping Willian Jose on the stroke of half-time turned the game around.

Ruben Neves converted the resulting penalty before Joao Moutinho’s stunning long-range strike early in the second half put goal-shy Wolves in front.

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno then rounded off a miserable night for the visitors when he was also dismissed for handling outside his box.

Arsenal have now been shown nine red cards since Arteta took charge in December 2019, three times more than any other Premier League club.

A much-needed victory for Wolves ended an eight-game winless run and takes them 12 points clear of the relegation zone.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men also completed a first league double over Arsenal in 42 years.