Three days after pledging his future to Arsenal by signing a new contract, the 18-year-old Bukayo Saka brightened the club’s outlook even further by scoring his first Premier League goal. That, and a gritty collective performance crowned by Alexandre Lacazette’s late goal, earned victory for a team that is starting to make strides under Mikel Arteta. A late dash for Champions League qualification remains improbable but not as far-fetched as it looked two weeks ago. Arsenal’s fourth win in a row had the additional benefit for them of putting the brakes on Wolves’ charge for the top four. For his 150th match in charge of Wolves, Nuno Espírito Santo hoped to continue disrupting English football’s established order. When the Portuguese was appointed in May 2017 the hierarchy was already changing – because that was also the month in which Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years, and they have not been back since – but not many people would have tipped Wolves to rejoin Europe’s elite before them. The power of Nuno was unknown back then, now it is obvious. But here his team were unusually sloppy. And Arteta suggested that he, too, has the ability to uplift. A lot more to be done, of course, but at least Arsenal have grounds for optimism again. There are shoots of regeneration. They were sharp when it mattered most but the main traits of their display were rigour and purpose. Maybe Mesut Özil and Mattéo Guendouzi meditated on those qualities after being omitted from the squad again here. Arteta deployed a back three in an attempt to contain Raúl Jiménez and Adama Traoré, who started together up front. It took 15 seconds for that fearsome duo to frighten Arsenal. Shkodran Mustafi misjudged a long pass by Romain Saïss, allowing Jiménez to control it on his chest and loop over a pass for Traoré to chase. Emiliano Martínez scampered out to block Traoré’s shotat the edge of the box. Mustafi made amends in the 10th minute with a subtle intervention that stopped Jiménez from meeting a cross by Traoré. That was the striking thing about Arteta’s side: their smartness out of possession. All over the pitch they pressed hard in a coordinated way. Rigour and purpose. With the ball, although far from ingenious, they at least passed crisply and moved continuously. So did Wolves. This intense contest was well balanced. Traoré looked the player most likely to cut to the chase but boomed a shot over the bar from 20 yards after zooming past Dani Ceballos. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did not get a sniff of goal until Wolves failed to clear a corner in the 26th minute. The striker did not catch the bouncing ball cleanly, offering Rui Patrício a routine save. Traoré wrought havoc at the other end again, but Leander Dendoncker nodded his cross wideat the back post. Then Arsenal bared their teeth. Eddie Nketiah seized on a deflected pass by Granit Xhaka and lashed a first-time shot against the post from 20 yards. Just before the break, the visitors’ other young attacker fired them in front. After a mistake by Willy Boly, Matt Doherty inadvertently diverted a cross by Kieran Tierney to Saka, who elegantly hooked the bouncing ball beyond Patrício from 12 yards. That was the first goal Wolves have conceded since the league’s restart but, having overturned half-time deficits several times earlier in the season, they did not panic. Six minutes after the break Traoré tore down the right and centred for Jiménez, who sent a plunging header wide under pressure from Cédric Soares. Just after the hour Diogo Jota had a chance to equalise but delayed his shot long enough for David Luiz to block it. One minute later Jota teed up Traoré for Wolves’ best chance. As Martínez rushed out to meet him, the forward prodded the ball over the bar from 18 yards. Lacazette settled matters moments after his introduction, beating Conor Coady to a cross by Joe Willock and firing into the net from close range. Arsenal could burnish their top-four credentials by beating Leicester on Tuesday. “We have no margin for error,” said Arteta. “At this level of intensity if we play like this against any team we will make it hard for them. The reason we are alive and can win at any time is because we are enjoying suffering together. If you do that, you will get your rewards.”