Arsenal needed two own goals, the second deep in stoppage time, to secure a 2-1 win against bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, opening a five-point gap at the Emirates Stadium in London, England.
The Gunners laboured and barely had a shot on target until they took the lead in bizarre fashion in the 70th minute.
Star player Bukayo Saka whipped in a wickedly curling corner to the back post and Wolves keeper Sam Johnstone pushed it against the woodwork, only for the ball to rebound back and go in off his shoulder.
But Wolves were not finished and in the final minutes, they had Arsenal against the ropes in their own half and hanging on.
After a long passing move, Mateus Mane’s forward pass into the area was met by Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare, who directed the ball past David Raya to send Wolves fans into delirium in the 90th minute.
The striker made a statement after coming on by scoring his first Premier League goal against Arsenal, after being dropped from Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad.
However, their joy was to be short-lived though as Arsenal got the luckiest of breaks to stay in control of their destiny.
Saka swung in a cross towards substitute Gabriel Jesus in the fourth minute of stoppage time and the ball flew in off the head of the unfortunate Yerson Mosquera and into the next. Another own goal sent the Arsenal fans at the Emirates into a frenzy.
The final whistle was met with cheers and huge relief with Arsenal’s players realising just how close they had come to handing away their advantage to Manchester City, who are in action at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Arsenal have 36 points from 16 games with City on 31 from 15. Aston Villa, who face third-from-bottom West Ham United on Sunday, have 30 points from 15.
“We will take the points and move forward. We won’t know (the significance) until May, but we can be happy tonight that we left with three points,” Arsenal star player Saka said.
For Wolves, it was a big blow as Rob Edwards’s team showed great spirit to frustrate Arsenal and almost snatch a point.
“It’s hurtful. It’s been happening to us the whole season. We play very good for the whole 90 minutes and then at the end we always concede,” Arokodare said.
Saturday’s Premier League results
Chelsea 2-0 Everton
Liverpool 2-0 Brighton
Burnley 2-3 Fulham
Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
