David Hytner was at the Emirates Stadium tonight. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM.

Mikel Arteta’s turn to talk to TNT. “We knew it was going to be a tough match … we had a lot of situations in the first half … we struggled in the danger zones … we didn’t generate many clear chances … in the second half we did better and scored the goal … but then we had a period of three minutes in deep … so passive … really poor defensive habits … not acceptable for our level … we hadn’t conceded a single shot until that point … the first time they do, they score a goal … that’s the Premier League, and we need to be very much aware of that … improve that … in the end we relied on a very individual action, a chaotic action, to score the goal and win the game … the margins should have been bigger … we need to generate more … [this win] gives you belief that you can always find a solution.”

He also reports that Ben White felt “something in his hamstring … not good news.”

An extremely disappointed Rob Edwards speaks to TNT Sports. “It’s really difficult … it’s hard to come out and talk to you, I’m not gonna lie … ultimately we’ve lost another game … it’s our fault … the lads carried the gameplan out well … they limited Arsenal to quite little by their high standards … the two goals we conceded are quite bizarre … to get back in it, work that hard … show a lot of spirit and courage … and then to lose it late on hurts … there’s a lot there to like, but right now, I hate losing … we’re going the right way about it … it is a positive tonight … but we’re in the results business … congratulations to Arsenal … that’s why they are where they are, they find a way … that’s why we are where we are, we found a way to lose it … I saw a lot of good things … proud of many aspects … I feel for the supporters … to travel all this way, late … I feel for them as well … we are going about it the right way … you hope things will turn.”

Post-match postbag. “According to the Wolves website, their away kit is engineered to embody ‘raw power’, but it would have been Arsenal that came away looking like right Stooges if they hadn’t snaffled all three points” – Grant Tennille

“Can’t help thinking this is another year of Arsenal as nearly-rans. They’ve not beaten a domestic peer yet and struggled to see off the league’s bottom team” – Stephen in Shelford

“Gritty performance by Wolves. It’s a shame they can’t catch any breaks and are being undone, in part, by operatic mishaps. It’s fitting that Arias came on, because the fat lady is starting to sing - and it’s not even Christmas” – Peter Oh

“Hi Scotty Boy, I’m high on drugs and whisky life after Dundee United secured a famous point at home to Motherwell today while Dundee blew a 2-0 lead at Livingston. And now I’m watching Wham on the telly. I hope you and all MBMers are well, it’s a great thing you all do, and I mean that most sincerely, folks” – Simon McMahon

Bukayo Saka, named player of the match by Lucy Ward on TNT Sports, talks to the broadcaster. “Sometimes you need [luck] … today it went our way … we’ll take the points and move forward … we won’t know until May [how important this win is] but we can be happy tonight … despite the performance and how the game went … we want teams to know it’s going to be tough [coming to the Emirates] and we have done that … it was frustrating at times … we stayed patient … keep trying things … in the end we got our reward … [morale] is high … we have a break until next week … we can reflect.”

Wolves to a man look sick. But when the sting of defeat subsides, they’ll look back on a brave performance against the form team in the division. It took one freak own goal, and one slightly more garden-variety own goal, for the leaders to defeat the bottom side. Arsenal were worth their win in terms of attempts and possession; Wolves would have been worthy of a point thanks to their sheer moxie. But when it all comes down, two stunning deliveries from the right flank by Bukayo Saka proved too much for Wolves to deal with. So Arsenal might have got lucky on one hand; Saka’s brilliance forced those mistakes, though. You do have to wonder about the policy of sitting back at 1-0, mind. But Arsenal won’t care for now. They’ve escaped a below-par performance with all three points … and now the pressure is back on Manchester City and Aston Villa in the title race!

90 min +8: On the touchline, Rob Edwards looks totally drained. But his team have done him proud. There are things to build on from this.

90 min +7: … but it’s not, and Arsenal counter. Jesus goes on a monster dribble down the inside-right channel, before threading a weak shot towards the bottom right. Johnstone smothers.

90 min +6: One last throw of the dice for Wolves. A literal throw from the right. Mosquera to send it long. Before he does that, he shoves Trossard to the floor and is booked. Then the ball comes in. Arsenal clear their lines. That should be that!

90 min +5: Mosquera is utterly sickened. Flattened. Wolves were on the front foot, but they’ve been stunned by that second own goal! For the second time, Saka’s delivery was the key.

90 min +3: Andre tries to release Arokodare down the right. Raya comes to the edge of his box to claim. Just in time.

90 min +2: Wolves look like they fancy a winner, too. They’re not letting up.

90 min +1: … and there will be six additional minutes. The first of them is spent by Wolves celebrating, and Mikel Arteta hopping around in a funk, trying to whip his men into action.

89 min: Arsenal are sitting back, inviting pressure. And …

88 min: Wolves split Arsenal down the middle with a couple of cute passes, Agbadou to Gomes to Lopez. The latter tries to feed Arokodare, free on the edge of the box, but the pass isn’t great, and his team-mate can’t dig it out from between his feet. For a second there, Arsenal were exposed.

87 min: Wolves continue to pass it around. Arsenal are sitting back, looking to keep hold of what they have.

85 min: Wolves ping it around in pretty triangles. They’re most likely going to lose this game, but they’ve looked organised tonight, determined, and increasingly confident. Rob Edwards might be facing a fifth defeat in his first five games, but at least there are a few small green shoots sprouting. Probably too late for Premier League survival, but stranger things have happened.

83 min: Trossard in space, just inside the Wolves box on the left. He looks towards the far corner, shapes for that curler, then switches and fires a snapshot towards the bottom left. Inches wide. That would have been a fine goal. Clever attempt.

81 min: Gyokeres is replaced by Jesus. A huge roar for a returning hero, back from his ACL injury.

80 min: Odegaard blazes a shot over the bar. Meanwhile Wolves make another double change, replacing Hwang and Krejci with Arias and Lopez.

78 min: Arsenal slow things down, now they’re in control. “Cardinal Mazarin, Louis XIV’s chief minister, opined that the most important quality in a general was being lucky,” writes Kári Tulinius. “I think Rob Edwards has done an admirable job turning this rabble of a team into coherent side, but if he didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goal like this.” You’ve given me an earworm now.

76 min: Trossard chips a cross in from the left. Gyokeres chests down, and spins around Agbadou, before whipping a low shot across goal and not too far wide right. That’s much better from the big striker, who has made his presence felt tonight at last.

74 min: The pressure off, or at least lessened, Arsenal fancy a second. Odegaard works his way down the inside-right channel and lashes a shot into the side netting. He hit that with some feeling.

72 min: Adding to Wolves’ frustration, the Rice pass that led to the corner found Saka a couple of inches offside. But the flag didn’t go up, Toti headed behind, and the rest is slapstick history. Meanwhile Trossard has the opportunity to shoot, racing onto a pass down the left channel, but takes a heavy touch and out for a goal kick.

71 min: That’s so unfortunate from Wolves’ point of view. They’ve defended staunchly, and were doing a fine job of frustrating their hosts. But Arsenal were, to be fair, slowly turning up the pressure, and it led to that huge stroke of luck. Lovely teasing delivery from Saka, mind.

69 min: Strand Larsen and Doherty are replaced by Arokodare and Tchatchoua.

67 min: A rare pocket of space for Rice in open play, 25 yards out. Rice curls powerfully towards the bottom right. Johnstone extends fully and palms away with a strong left hand. That’s a very good effort and fine save.

66 min: Rice tries to recreate one of his Real Madrid screamers, aiming a curler towards the top right. Johnstone fingertips over the bar. It might have been missing anyway, but the keeper couldn’t take any chances. He deals with the corner anyway.

65 min: Gyokeres takes a rare touch, 35 yards out with his back to goal. He draws a foul from Doherty, who goes into the book. A free kick coming up, just to the right of centre. Rice and Odegaard both look like they fancy this one.

64 min: Strand Larsen buys a cheap free kick off Hincapie, nibbling at his ankle, and takes the opportunity to go over. Hincapie tries to drag the striker back to his feet, but the big man’s not having it. Arsenal are getting mighty irritated by this grift.

62 min: You’ve seen reds given for less. But nobody knows anything any more.

60 min: Hwang stretches for a loose ball after taking a heavy touch. He’s never getting there. He catches Lewis-Skelly on the foot with his studs showing, and at some pace. VAR wants a look. Just a yellow, though, probably because the tackle was made very close to the ground, and Hwang was pulling out of it at the last moment. Arsenal aren’t happy. Neither are Wolves, mind, and someone on their bench is booked.

58 min: That’s Martinelli’s last act of the evening. He’s replaced, along with Eze and Zubimendi, by Trossard, Odegaard and Merino.

57 min: Martinelli spins down the left flank and burns off Doherty with ease. He enters the box, reaches the corner of the six-yard area, and curls towards the far corner. The ball sails wide of the post. Arsenal’s second-best chance of the evening. Martinelli couldn’t convert the first one either.

56 min: Toti is back up and about.

55 min: Saka and Toti clatter into each other on the edge of the Wolves D. Play stops for Toti to get some treatment.

54 min: Martinelli’s presence forces a corner down the left. Rice delivers. Badly, as it turns out, but the ball clanks off the first man and behind, so he’ll have a chance to do better. Which he does, launching long, but Johnstone comes through a crowded box to punch clear.

53 min: Hwang nudges Hincapie off the ball and wins a throw down the left flank. But the whistle goes for a very soft free kick. The referee’s not made a friend of Hwang since the restart.

52 min: A free kick for Arsenal out on the right. Rice, Saka and Eze overthink and overplay it. Soon enough the ball’s back at the feet of Raya. Arsenal not clicking tonight. Not yet, anyway.

50 min: Johnstone takes his time over a free kick. Not once, but twice, within the space of a couple of minutes. The referee points theatrically at his watch. The crowd scream abuse. Mikel Arteta bops about in frustration. It’s panto season, kids!

48 min: Some head tennis in the Wolves box, but Martinelli can’t poke goalwards and Arsenal still haven’t had a shot on target.

47 min: A huge roar from the home faithful as Arsenal, their hair having presumably been thoroughly dried by their manager, and with some feeling, fly out of the blocks at the start of the second half. And yet it’s Hwang who nearly breaks free down the middle, again, but he’s checked by Hincapie. Hwang claims a foul, but the referee’s not buying it.

Wolves get the second half underway. No changes, but the league leaders will be hoping for some serious improvement on that first period. The xG score from that 45: Arsenal 0.43, Wolves 0.28. The visitors had the only attempt on target.

Half-time entertainment. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?

Half-time reading. We’ve already told you about Liverpool 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea 2-0 Everton. Now here’s the report of Burnley 2-3 Fulham. Just one more half of football to go, and the Premier League will be done for the day. It’s going to be a big one, to be fair …

45 min +3: Moller Wolfe crosses low from the left. Hincapie slips. Strand Larsen picks up possession, ten yards out. He shoots. Hincapie does wonderfully well to spring up and block. The ball breaks to Gomes, who can’t sort his feet out to shoot. Arsenal were exposed there for a split second. Sharp intakes of breath all around.

45 min +1: The Emirates is pretty darn quiet right now. Wolves are two minutes away from becoming only the second team to keep Arsenal to nil in the first half here all season. Manchester City were the others.

45 min: There will be four additional first-half minutes. In the meantime, here’s an observation from Nelson Calvinho: “Wissa, Gyokeres and Isak: the three players who forced a move by skipping the pre-season are not turning out to be as good as they thought they were so far, are they?”

43 min: Timber whistles a low cross in from the right. The ball loops into the air off Toti but Johnstone claims on his line with safe hands.

42 min: Gyokeres takes touch number five, but can only divert the ball down the right wing and out for a goal kick, Agbadou ushering it over the line. The home crowd serenade their striker nonetheless.

40 min: According to TNT Sports, Gyokeres has only touched the ball four times so far. Lewis-Skelly has nine touches to his name, and he’s only been on for nine minutes.

38 min: Saka rolls a delicious ball through the six-yard box from the right. Gyokeres telescopes a leg but somehow misses the ball. Any contact and it was 1-0. Martinelli shoots from a tight angle on the left, Doherty deflecting behind for a corner. That was a hell of a cross, with a miss to match. Nothing comes of the set piece.

36 min: Arsenal probe hither and yon. Wolves hold their shape, and their poise. “I know it’s been a while, but I think the beginning of the end for Wolves was when Nuno left and took the pipeline of Portuguese talent (Jorge Mendes) with him,” writes Joe Pearson. “I mean, back then it seemed like half the team had a little Portugal flag next to their names. Now there’s, what, three? Obviously, I don’t know if Mendes’ contacts will get the Hammers out of danger this year, but it couldn’t hurt. I just don’t see a way out for Wolves.”

34 min: Hincapie swings a cross in from the right. Saliba flicks a header off Andre and out for another corner on the left. Rice hits it long. The ball drops to Martinelli, level with the right-hand post, a couple of yards out. Any connection and it’s a goal, you’d think … but Martinelli somehow manages to send his header looping across the face of goal and over the bar. How on earth did he miss? Wolves still with the only attempt on target.

32 min: Lewis-Skelly’s first act is to pop a pass down the inside-left channel for Martinelli, who has the chance to feed Rice on the overlap, but overhits the pass. Rice does well to reach the ball and win a corner … but nothing comes from the set piece.

31 min: … and off goes White. He’s replaced by Lewis-Skelly. Mikel Arteta spent the break in play gathering his men together and issuing some tactical advice.

29 min: Gyokeres wins a duel with Mosquera down the left, but only by flapping an arm into the defender’s neck. The whistle goes … then White goes down with an injury. On comes the trainer.

27 min: Arsenal are on the attack. Everyone going forward. But then one simple clearance sends Hwang away! He’s ahead of everyone, but he’s got miles to travel. He reaches the Arsenal box, with six red shirts chasing him, a silent-movie style pursuit. He’s got just enough time to get a shot away before he’s caught, but doesn’t catch his low drive properly and it’s easy for Raya. But that’s the first shot on target, and after all the Arsenal possession and territory, it’s by Wolves.

25 min: White tries to release Saka down the right but seriously overcooks the pass. Goal kick. In the dugout, Mikel Arteta opens a water bottle in the manner of a man strangling an otter. Frustration betrayed.

23 min: Wolves have also done a good job of quietening the home crowd.

21 min: Wolves will be happy with their performance so far. Arsenal haven’t really threatened them. Plenty of time for the league leaders to find another gear.

19 min: Saka slides White into space on the overlap. White wins a corner off Toti, who dives in slightly carelessly, and is lucky not to catch his man. But it wouldn’t have been a penalty even if he had clumsily connected, because White is flagged offside.

18 min: Timber slides into the back of Hwang. Wolves take a methodical approach to taking the free kick, and the crowd are beginning to get slightly irritated. When the ball’s eventually delivered into the mixer, Eze clears it.

17 min: Gomes comes back on. Then Saka makes ground down the right and crosses for Rice, who flaps a weak header straight into the arms of Johnstone. This game hasn’t quite got going yet.

16 min: … though he takes his time to go to the sideline, from where he’ll need to wait for 30 seconds before coming back on. The Arsenal fans once again wise to the time-management grift.

15 min: Gomes is fine to continue.

14 min: White curls in from the right. Eze raises a boot in the hope of bringing the ball under control, but studs Gomes on the head instead. It’s accidental, though a wee bit reckless; Eze’s boot was lifted head height. You’ve seen players booked for less. On comes the physio.

12 min: Johnstone takes his sweet time over a goal kick. The home fans pick up on his antics, or signal lack of them, depending on which way you look at it, and give him the what-for via the medium of collective whistling. One for the referee to keep an eye on.

10 min: Rice’s delivery is much better this time, curled low towards the near post. But Saliba can’t connect, and Wolves are able to clear their lines just in time.

9 min: Saka probes down the right again. He’s basically cuddled from behind by Moller Wolfe, and eventually the referee blows for the obvious free kick. Rice to take.

7 min: The corner’s half cleared. But Arsenal come again, Saka jinking down the right and floating towards Timber at the far stick. Timber wins the header easily, but pings his header way over the bar.

6 min: Doherty concedes another free kick for another challenge on Martinelli … though this one looked like a hard-but-fair challenge, the referee buying some mild Martinelli theatrics. The free kick’s worked left to right, and Hincapie breaks down the channel, winning the first corner of the game.

4 min: Wolves respond with a confident period of possession, Hwang taking a look down the left, Doherty doing something similar out on the right. Small acorns.

2 min: Doherty skittles Martinelli out on the left. An early free kick for Arsenal. Rice’s delivery is uncharacteristically poor, failing to beat the first man … and that first man is Doherty, who makes good his mistake by clearing.

Arsenal get the ball rolling. They haven’t lost at home yet this season, winning ten from 11. Godspeed, Wolves.

The teams are out! Arsenal are in their famous red shirts with white sleeves, but Wolves spurn their equally iconic old gold for second-choice turquoise. Seems a shame from a purist’s point of view, as well as red/yellow being one of the better combinations for colourblind fans, and red/green(ish) not so much. But here we are. We’ll be off in a minute!

The pre-match postbag is teeming with one email, and here it is, courtesy of Charles Antaki. “Jesus on the bench, Gyökeres preferred to start. A great deal of chin-stroking, eyebrow-raising and forehead-furrowing amongst the Arsenal chatterati as they ponder the equation: Jesus, five minutes, three shots on goal; Gyökeres, like, loads of minutes, and you know the rest. Thoroughly unfair of course, but c’est la vie, and it’s Gyökeres’s good fortune that Arsenal are winning even with him playing.”

Rob Edwards, who hasn’t benefitted from a new-manager bounce, losing his first four games in charge of Wolves, beams with positivity despite it all as he talks to TNT Sports. “They are beatable … we’ve got to go in with a real plan … we’ve got to be better from a defensive point of view … being tight without the ball … aggressive at the right moments … more resilient … lots of things that are in our control that we need to be to get anything from this game … try to be brave … take the game to them … run hard … if we make a mistake, run and react … basics … being in the right position … [Arsenal] are probably the best at doing the things maybe people don’t see … always in the right position at the right moment … that’s what we’ve got to do better … I knew it was going to be difficult … but I’m up for it … I wanted this challenge … to go up against these teams … test myself again … we need to show belief in the players … work really hard … we’ve had a good reaction on the training ground after [the Manchester United defeat] and we need to go and show that tonight.”

Fulham have just won 3-2 at Burnley. Fold in earlier victories for Liverpool (2-0 over Brighton & Hove Albion) and Chelsea (2-0 over Everton) and this is how the Premier League now looks, heading into this final fixture of the day. Arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top to five points, cranking up the pressure on Manchester City and Aston Villa, who tomorrow visit Crystal Palace and West Ham United respectively. Should Wolves manage a Christmas miracle this evening, they’d close the gap on fellow strugglers Burnley to five points.

Mikel Arteta, with the laid-back vibe of a man atop both Premier League and Champions League tables, speaks to TNT Sports. “We have some players back which is great news … all of them bring different qualities … different connections … they have been doing well … we are still missing some very important players … but to have options … manage the load … we all know the importance of each other … it is genuine … it is not easy to do it … it is harder to maintain it … when you lose one game in 19, it can happen … the immediate reaction shows they cared … if I had seen something different, I would have been worried … we have to put in performance after performance.”

Arsenal make three changes to the team that lost 2-1 at Aston Villa last weekend. William Saliba, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli are in. Martin Ødegaard and Mikel Merino drop to the bench, while Riccardo Calafiori is suspended. Saliba is back after missing five matches through injury.

Wolves make three changes to their starting XI after being skelped 4-1 at home by Manchester United on Monday evening. Matt Doherty, João Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan come in for Ki-Jana Hoever and Jhon Arias, who drop to the bench, and Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde, who misses out altogether with a hamstring injury.