WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Arsenal had defender David Luiz and goalkeeper Bernd Leno sent off either side of a stunning 30-meter strike by João Moutinho that sealed a 2-1 win for Wolverhampton in an action-packed Premier League game on Tuesday.
Leading 1-0 thanks to Nicolas Pépé’s 32nd-minute goal, Arsenal started its implosion when Luiz was given a straight red card for pulling back Willian José as the Wolves striker burst into the penalty area. Ruben Neves converted into the top corner from the spot in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Another Portugal center midfielder, Moutinho, gave Wolves the lead when he collected the ball in a central position, took a touch, and smashed a rising drive in off the post in the 49th.
And Arsenal’s evening got worse in the 72nd as Leno came out of his area to clear the ball away, but misjudged its flight and ended up bundling it out of play with his right arm. The German goalkeeper got a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, with Adama Traore having been attempting to latch onto the ball.
Wolves wasn’t able to take further advantage of its numerical superiority but eased to a win that ended Arsenal’s seven-match unbeaten run in the league, which had lifted Mikel Arteta’s team back in sight of the European positions.
“The team was really on top of the game, we should have been 3-0 or 4-0 up and in that action the game changed completely,” Arteta said of Luiz’s red card.
“The team kept trying, kept playing, kept believing,” he continued. “At halftime, the boys were so animated because they believed they could still win the game. Obviously it was an incredible goal from long range. Before that, they didn’t have any chances. But still we lost and we have to react.”
Since taking charge of Arsenal in December 2019, Arteta has seen his players collect nine red cards. That’s six more than any other Premier League team in that time.
It was Wolves’ first win in nine league games, since beating Chelsea 2-1 on Dec. 15.
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