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Wolverhampton - Marouane Chamakh scored Arsenal's fastest ever Premiership goal and added a late second to maintain Arsene Wenger's hoodoo over Mick McCarthy.
Chamakh's header after 37 seconds and an injury time strike was enough to secure Arsenal's first win in three games and condemn Wolves to their fifth successive defeat against the Gunners.
But their victory ended in controversy after Cesc Fabregas somehow escaped a red card for a cynical lunge on Stephen Ward, who was stretchered off.
Fabregas was only booked by referee Mark Halsey and had a bottle thrown at him as he left the field.
Back-to-back defeats against Shakhtar Donetsk and Newcastle had again raised question marks over Arsenal but this was a gritty performance from Wenger's troops to keep them in third place.
And it was the much maligned Lukasz Fabianski who helped Arsenal to a crucial three points with a string of stunning saves.
Arsenal remain five points behind league leaders Chelsea while Wolves remain in the bottom three.
After conceding a late goal against Manchester United in an agonising defeat at the weekend, Wolves were undone by a goal at the start of this match.
Alex Song was given far too much time on the right to bend over a cross and Chamakh could not miss with a close-range header.
Arsenal could have been further ahead in the sixth minute when Andrey Arshavin was sent clear but his shot was saved by Marcus Hahnemann.
Wolves finally carved out their first opportunity in the 27th minute when Stephen Hunt - who replaced the injured Dave Edwards - sent over a free kick that Kevin Doyle headed onto the roof of the net.
And Arsenal needed the much maligned Fabianski to claw away Matt Jarvis's deflected cross as it arced towards the corner.
Poland international Fabianski had retained his place despite an error against Newcastle last weekend but appears to be backing up Wenger's theory that he is improving.
Wenger had insisted Arsenal fans would see the real' Fabregas as he steps up his recovery from a string of injuries.
But the Fabregas of last season would have comfortably dispatched the gift-wrapped chance he was presented with in the 49th minute.
Richard Stearman's pass was cut out by Tomas Rosicky and he sent Fabregas clear with only Hahnemann to beat but he sliced his shot wide.
Wolves almost made the Gunners pay the price for that miss -- but it was Fabianski again who denied Doyle with a stunning save.
And from the resultant corner Rosicky was in the right place to hack Stearman's shot off the line.
But the game swung back and forth as Arshavin danced into the area and struck the post with a low drive.
Then came Fabregas's moment of madness before Chamakh killed off the game with a late second.
