Trossard and Odegaard send Arsenal back top of the table

The Belgium international was recalled to the starting line-up along with Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus and it was Arteta’s dynamic duo who combined to make the difference in an otherwise unmemorable match.

Captain Martin Odegaard added a late, late second but the match was well won by then.

Arsenal simply had to win after last week’s surprise home defeat by Aston Villa and midweek Champions League exit away to Bayern Munich.

Win again against Chelsea on Tuesday and they will be four points clear before defending champions Manchester City play the first of their two games in hand, away to Brighton.

With five games to go for Arteta and his men, maybe this title race will go all the way after all.

Trossard scored right at the end of a first half in which Wolves more than held their own. Arsenal had all the early running and half-decent chances for Declan Rice and Trossard, but it was a dogged Wolves side that went closest to taking the lead.

Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes dispossessed the recalled Jakub Kiwior wide on the left and cut in to blast a shot from close range which David Raya saved superbly, with the help of the woodwork, at his near post.

The match was played in a lively atmosphere, largely thanks to the very excited home supporters, but they were outraged when referee Paul Tierney entered the fray with a booking for captain Max Kilman for a foul on Kai Havertz, moments before Declan Rice was cautioned for a foul on Hugo Bueno.

Replay on the press box monitors indicated they should have thanked the ref for not sending Kilman off for a ruthlessly dangerous tackle.

Either way, both teams seemed frustrated as they struggled to find a rhythm to their play. A lot of effort, but not a lot of quality.

Then, as the match clock hit 45 minutes, Trossard scored a goal of such rare quality it looked like a mishit.

Only the Belgium international will know. Jesus won the ball on the floor and laid it back to Trossard, who swung a straightish right leg at the ball and sent it curling into the top right hand corner and in off the post with a ton of side spin.

Wolves lifted their game a level when Mario Lemina came on shortly after half-time, but Arsenal managed the match superbly. They restricted Wolves to only three attempts on target and a sixth successive away clean sheet sets a club record in the league dating back to when the club was founded 137 years ago.

Scoring more goals and being more dynamic going forward would have made their task easier, but having the meanest defence in the league helps.

It also allowed the travelling support to have the last word by rolling out one of their favourite chants … …’One-nil to the Arsenal!’

Odegaard then went and changed the tune with a brilliant finish five minutes into time added on at the end as Arsenal were rewarded for pressing for more goals when many other teams might have sat back and hung on.

Wolves: Jose Sa 6, Santiago Bueno 6, Kilman 6, Gomes 7, Doherty 6 (Ait Nouri 75), Traore 6, Joao Gomes 7, Hugo Bueno 6, Chirewa 6 (Sarabia 75), Doyle 6, Hwang 6 (Lemina 51).

Unused subs: Holman, Mario, Bentley, Barnett, Okoduwa, Fraser, Ojinnaka.

Arsenal: Raya 7, White 6, Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Kiwior 5, Odegaard 7, Rice 6, Havertz 6, Saka 6, Jesus 6 (Partey 80), Trossard 7 (Martinelli 72).

Unused subs: Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Jorginho, Vieira, Nelson, Zinchenko.

Referee: Paul Tierney 6.