Arsenal 2 Wolves 0: Gunners get Premier League campaign off to flyer with simple win as they aim to end title drought

IT took Kai Havertz 20 games to score his first for Arsenal from open play last season.

But this year, the big German is ready to rumble from the off – his opening day header in the 25th minute helping the Gunners to a dream start to their Premier League title surge.

GettyBukayo Saka picked up where he left off last season[/caption]

RexThe England star was allowed to cut onto his lethal left boot[/caption]

AFPKai Havertz celebrates after giving Arsenal the lead[/caption]

AFPThe German rose to node home the opener[/caption]

Boss Mikel Arteta is still in two minds over where to play his £65million star – beginning last term as a midfielder before ending as a No9 with a flurry of goals taking his tally to 14.

Yet when you see how lethal Havertz is when leading this line, it is hard to explain why Arteta insists on keeping an open mind when it comes to the 25-year-old.

His near-post header was a thing of simplistic beauty, one that harped back to an old-age era of big lumps up top.

The precision of Bukayo Saka’s delivery, cutting in from the left, was met with the bravery of Havertz – even if the defending from Wolves left a lot to be desired, and Gary O’Neil red with rage on the Emirates touchline.

Saka was not done there, stepping onto that red-hot left foot again in the 74th minute to scorch the back of the net and get up and running after his Euros heroics with England.

Two superb snapshots of an otherwise average display from the wannabe champions – Arsenal in the end forced to grind out a result that should have been far more routine.

Arteta spoke pre-match of wanting perfection from his squad this campaign.

This performance was far from it, but importantly, it was enough – especially when slip-ups are often made fatal by the machine that is Manchester City on their pursuit of five in a row.

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There is more to come. There needs to be.

Wolves arrived in North London wounded from the high-profile departures of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto this window.

But O’Neil was able to start two new faces – winger Rodrigo Gomes and striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Arteta – blessed with an injury-free pre-season – boasted arguably his strongest starting XI.

Despite newly-fit Jurrien Timber and new boy Riccardo Calafiori being ready to go, faith was put in Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back.

As is now tradition on these Prem openers, fireworks and red-flared smoke filled the skies before kick-off with sparks expected to fly on the pitch.

They initially did not with Wolves doing a stellar job in combining boldness with sensibility in their approach to limit Arsenal to half-chances.

Yet the visitors at times simply could not deal with Martin Odegaard’s Duracell bunny-style high-press, nicking the ball off Toti and backheeling Havertz clear.

The Germany international’s tumble in the box was quickly dismissed by ref Jarred Gillet.

RexArsenal were not at their best but got the job done[/caption]

GettyMikel Arteta thanks his skipper[/caption]

GettyFans were happy to get off the mark with a win[/caption]

Wolves were comfortable enough in the opening 15 minutes, however, with Ben White’s deflected punt and Saka’s near-post drive keeping keeper Jose Sa semi-occupied.

Persistence was beginning to tell from the hosts with Saka finding more space, but Arsenal were struggling to find their groove. Even their novel set-piece routines were falling flat.

Sometimes, the old ways are the best. Saka cut inside with left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri on walkabout, taking his time before picking out Havertz to guide into the near-post.

This was supposed to be the moment Arsenal extended their legs, as well as the lead, but Wolves were not going away with David Raya forced into a superb reflex stop.

Larsen managed to nick a yard on William Saliba in the box and his flicked header had the Spaniard scrambling to his team’s rescue.

Arsenal were being both clumsy and wasteful – two ingredients of a potentially disastrous recipe in the making – carrying on into the second half with Havertz shanking a great opportunity wide under little pressure.

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The clumsiness continued too – Saliba’s lazy pass out intercepted by Matheus Cunha, moments after coming off the bench, only for the striker’s shot to sting the chest of Raya.

But this is no longer an Arsenal side that panics when things aren’t going to plan. Instead, someone like Saka steps up to put an end to the anxiety.

You would have thought Wolves would have learned not to let Saka cut onto his left foot. They had not, and paid the price, ultimately ending the contest.

This would not be a Prem clash without an O’Neil meltdown towards the officials as Hwang Hee-Chan looked to have been tripped in the box by second half sub Timber.

O’Neil received a yellow for his troubles. VAR continues to be the nemesis of Wolves.

For Arsenal, it is three points down. After notching 89 last season, you feel they need another 87 at least this time around to end their 20-year wait for the title. We will see.

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