At half-time, Mikel Arteta must have feared that Molineux was going to be the graveyard of Arsenal’s title dreams.

After the most controversial red card of the season, with Myles Lewis-Skelly’s dismissal late in the first half, the manager surely thought the intervention of referee Michael Oliver was going to prove significant. Yet, having gone on to triumph over adversity, Arteta departed the Black Country with renewed confidence that his team can go the distance.

Any title contender needs to prevail when factors conspire against them, and this performance underlines the mentality of Arteta’s players, who have gone 13 league games unbeaten to remain on Liverpool’s tails.

Six points to the league leaders remains a hefty gap but it could have been far worse if Riccardo Calafiori – introduced as a second-half substitute following Lewis-Skelly’s red card – had not provided such a crucial contribution.

At the final whistle Arteta and his coaching staff celebrated with great exuberance, and this certainly feels like a big moment in their season. It also prevented the Arsenal manager from a full-blasted assault on refereeing standards, while saving us from a litany of new conspiracy theories from their supporters.

Arteta said: “I am extremely proud of the players. You can talk about our courage and spirit but intelligence as well, and the way they managed the game emotionally was unbelievable. You have to continue to have that desire and will to win. You cannot throw it out of the window.”

Wolves have now lost four matches in a row and suffered a red card of their own, with midfielder João Gomes dismissed for two bookable offences shortly before Calafiori’s winner. While there could be no complaints over the Gomes decision, the furore surrounding Lewis-Skelly’s departure will go on for days.

The flashpoint came two minutes before half-time and will polarise opinion. For this observer, it was a clear yellow-card offence, but never “serious foul play”, as the Premier League’s Match Centre insisted. For the VAR official Darren England to back Oliver should be a concern to all football supporters over what direction our game is heading.

As Matt Doherty broke clear of the Wolves penalty area he was brought down, cynically, and the foul was above the ankle. Yet Doherty was still 70 yards from goal and there were Arsenal players in close proximity.

To the amazement of both sets of players and thousands inside the stadium, Oliver immediately showed the teenager his red card. Arteta stood in the technical area with his arms out, struggling to comprehend what had just unfolded. Arsenal’s players were stunned, with captain Gabriel leading the inquest in front of Oliver. Lewis-Skelly was clearly upset and had to be escorted down the tunnel by members of Arsenal staff. Their fans had already been fuming with Oliver’s appointment as a result of the game against Wolves in 2022 when he controversial booked Gabriel Martinelli twice within 10 seconds.

Arteta took decisive action at half-time, introducing Calafiori for Ethan Nwaneri for the second half. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Arsenal remained the dominant team.

Wolves did respond after the hour, with Hwang Hee-chan and Matheus Cunha forcing the first saves from David Raya. Yet their momentum was halted when Gomes was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 70th minute. The midfielder had been booked for kicking the ball away in the first half before the crude challenge on Jurrien Timber.

Calafiori’s moment came after a Nelson Semedo clearance 16 minutes from time, with the Italian directing a crisp half-volley across Wolves goalkeeper José Sá into the far corner. Wolves could not find an equaliser and remain in deep trouble under head coach Vitor Pereira.

These are testing times for the club, with their ownership Fosun under intense scrutiny. Supporters chanted “Back the team or sell the club” while chairman Jeff Shi was also targeted.

Jorgen Strand Larsen, the forward, came off with an injury in the first half and Pereira repeated his desire to sign a powerful midfielder before the transfer window closes. Wolves are also counting down the days until Feb 3 in a different way, with the future of Cunha still a big talking point.

The Brazil forward has emerged as a pre-deadline target for Arsenal, but Wolves insist the Cunha is not for sale. To lose such an influential player now, with the team outside the bottom three only on goal difference, would be crazy.

Pereira said: “We tried everything to get points from the game but in the end I have only frustration from the result. We cannot compare this game to the one against Chelsea because today we played as a team, confident and trying to force our game. In my opinion the result doesn’t reflect what happened on the pitch. Next season we will be in the Premier League, I am confident and feel it inside.”