Arsenal clinched an important 3 points in their quest to finish in a Champions League spot with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium on Thursday.

The Gunners got off to a good start despite stubborn defending by Bruno Lage’s side and got their goal in the 25th minute after their Brazilian centre-back, Gabriel, capitalised on chaos in the Wolves box to prod the ball into an empty net.

The hosts, however, grew into the game as the half went on, and came agonisingly close to an equaliser before half-time.

Also read | PL: Jota brace seals 2-0 Liverpool win over Leicester City as Salah returns

Yet, the game remained 1-0 in Arsenal’s favour at half-time, and the second half had plenty of drama in store.

A quick succession of fouls by Arsenal’s 20-year-old Brazilian forward, Gabriel Martinelli, saw him being sent off in the 69th minute, putting the Gunners in a precarious position.

However, the Gunners rallied following Martinelli’s dismissal, and came close to extending their lead several times.

Also read | ‘Is it worse than racism?’: Michail Antonio hits back at Kurt Zouma critics

Wolves, meanwhile, brought in more firepower in the form of youngster Fabio Silva in the 80th minute, and almost scored minutes later through a Nelson Semedo attempt, which was cleared dramatically off the line.

Wolves forward Raul Jimenez was presented with an opportunity in stoppage time, but a hit a scissor-kick that went disappointingly off target.

Pressure by the home side, however, did not earn them the equaliser that they needed, and Arsenal finished the game 1-0, clingling on to a crucial three points.

Also read | Tottenham coach Antonio Conte open to working with Christian Eriksen again

The win saw Mikel Arteta’s side leapfrog Manchester United to go fifth on the Premier League table: while both Arsenal and United have the same points (39), Mikel Arteta’s side has a marginally better goal difference.

Arsenal are now a point behind fourth-placed West Ham, and have two games in hand over their London rivals.

Wolves, meanwhile, are eight the Premier League, with 34 points from 22 games.