Published: 12 April, 2012
by STEVE BARNETT

ARSENE Wenger insists he will be remaining “cautious” when it comes to the race to finish third despite watching his team move five points clear of their rivals last night (Wednesday) with a win at Wolves.

The match at Molineux was settled within the opening 11 minutes as Sebastien Bassong saw red, while Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott both found the back of the net.

Wenger, however, is refusing to get carried away by the Gunners’ golden form, which has seen them bag nine wins from their last 10 Premier League outings.

“We have still a long way to go, but at least we are in a strong position,” said the Frenchman.

“Our target is to win our games starting with the next one. It’s looking good, but in our job, when you have my experience, you are always very cautious.”

Arsenal were given the perfect start when former Spurs defender Bassong was sent off after just eight minutes for bringing down Walcott in the penalty area, allowing van Persie to dink the resulting spot-kick over Wayne Hennessey.

Within minutes Walcott doubled the advantage after playing a neat one-two with van Persie before shooting low into the bottom corner.

Wolves’ best chance came early in the second half when Wojciech Szczesny saved Kevin Doyle’s header.

In truth the home side never looked like recovering from a disastrous start, and the defeat was compounded in the 69th minute when Yossi Benayoun added a third.

The win means that Arsenal could be eight points clear before fourth-placed Tottenham play again.

If they beat Wigan on Monday at the Emirates the Gunners will have mastered a 20-point swing over their north London rivals having once trailed them by 12 points.