Arsenal edged to a 2-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers with goals by Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka getting their latest Premier League title challenge up and running on Saturday.
It was far from a fluent display in the summer sunshine but Mikel Arteta's side, once again regarded as the team most likely to halt Manchester City's domination, deserved the points.
Havertz headed in from Saka's cross in the 25th minute but the hosts never looked completely comfortable until Saka's clinical finish doubled their advantage in the closing stages. While the hosts dominated most of the game, the away side grew into the game when Arteta’s side started to tire, putting pressure on them after the German’s header.
Wolves had their chances with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Rodrigo Gomes both failing to trouble Arsenal keeper David Raya from promising positions when the score was still 1-0 until Saka’s fine strike .