Arsenal escape by the skin of their teeth with 2-1 win against Premier League's worst side as 94th-minute own goal heaps agony on Wolves... this was the night title-chasers got away with it, writes MATT BARLOW

Arsenal stood to hail Gabriel Jesus , back in time to perform his own little Christmas miracle, even if the winning goal he celebrated would go down as an own-goal.

Jesus made an impact on his return, off the bench on his first appearance at the Emirates Stadium for 335 days to rescue three precious points on a fraught night for the natives in north London.

The contest was into the fourth of six minutes of added time when the Brazilian dashed in front of his marker Yerson Mosquera and managed to make the first contact on yet another brilliant cross from Bukayo Saka .

His header glanced into Mosquera’s head and flew into the net, the second own-goal of the night scored by Wolverhampton Wanderers , and one to compound their misery and lift Arsenal five clear of Manchester City at the top.

'We are relieved because we managed to score and win it, but we need to improve,' said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta , who criticised his team for being ‘totally passive’ and guilty of ‘horrible defensive habits’ after going ahead in the 70th minute.

'I knew Wolves would not be an easy game,' Arteta added. 'But we made it harder in the manner we conceded and that’s unacceptable. We will learn from it and move on.'

A late Yerson Mosquera own goal saw Arsenal snatch a 2-1 victory over rock bottom Wolves

Gabriel Jesus took the acclaim for Arsenal as the league leaders survived a major scare

Wolves looked on the verge of earning just their third point of the season before the late goal

In a breathless closing sequence, Wolves almost claimed a point when two substitutes combined in the 90th minute, Tolu Arokodare heading a pass from Mateus Mane beyond David Raya for his first Premier League goal.

Momentarily, the Emirates was stunned into silence.

It had taken Arsenal 70 minutes to break down stubborn Wolves and when they did it was a fluke, an own-goal scored by goalkeeper Sam Johnstone as he tried to turn a swerving corner by Saka over his own goal.

Scampering and stretching, Johnstone could only touch it on to the bar and was helpless as it rebounded on to his right shoulder and into the net.

'If you’d have told me we would score three I’d have taken that,' said Wolves boss Rob Edwards. 'I’m not going to complain about luck. I’m proud of the lads but we’ve lost the game.

'We’re struggling for results, not for performances. We had a game plan, stuck together, showed spirit and took our moment when it came. We almost delivered a perfect game.'

Arsenal broke the deadlock when a corner hit the post before rebounding off Sam Johnstone into the net

The goal went down as a Johnstone own goal and looked to set Arsenal on course for victory

Saka, who took the dangerous corner, took the acclaim from a relieved Emirates' crowd

Rock bottom Wolves stunned Arsenal by equalising through Tolu Arokodare in the 90th minute

Arokodare's header appeared enough to earn Wolves a shock draw and their third point of the season

Wolves were denied when Mosquera put through his own net under pressure from Jesus

Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal coaching staff celebrated after his side earned a last-gasp victory

Wolves sat deep with a back five screened by three midfielders, and forwards Hwang Hee-chan and Jorgen Strand Larsen worked hard to cover large areas and fulfil their defensive duties.

They took few risks and successfully frustrated their hosts who did not conjure a shot on target in the first half. The only save of the first half was made by Raya to foil Hwang on a counterattack, during which Ben White injured a hamstring and limped off.

Arsenal’s first-half chances followed Martinelli around. The best of them, a free header at the back post from a corner with which he missed the target. Then from another corner, a volley sliced wide from seven yards.

It fuelled an anxious mood, which became a little more fraught when Piero Hincapie slipped in defence just before the interval, but he was back on his feet quickly enough to block the shot from Strand Larsen.

The pattern changed little as Arsenal squeezed the visitors back in the second half. Martinelli fired another shot wide before he was one of those hooked in a triple change just before the hour.

Arteta was desperate for something to shake the game open. He pleaded for Hwang to be sent off for a tackle on Myles Lewis-Skelly. Referee Rob Jones showed him a yellow and VAR examined the tackle but were satisfied the Wolves striker was pulling his foot back as he made contact.

The Arsenal boss had no doubt forgotten Eberechi Eze had been fortunate to escape without caution for a high boot which caught Joao Gomes in the face.

Viktor Gyokeres glanced a header wide, and Johnstone saved twice from Declan Rice. First a free-kick tipped over and the second an excellent save low to his left but then came the own goal which sparked the frenzy.

Arsenal know they must improve to achieve their ambitions, but this was a night when they got away with it and finally they have a week without a game in which to breathe and reset.

For Wolves, more woe. Marooned on two points and this ninth league defeat in a row sets a new unwanted record, the worst ever sequence for a club with a long history.