Arsenal flowed past a spirited but limited Wolves at the Emirates, the final score telling less of the story than Wolves boss Mick McCarthy’s post-match assessment that his team had been “spanked.”

Goals early in each half by in-form striker Robin Van Persie gave the Gunners the win. And he and other Arsenal forwards were only denied more by a terrific display of shot-stopping from Wolves overworked custodian Wayne Hennessy.

Arsenal went ahead with the first direct threat on goal, Van Persie sweeping the ball home left-footed from Cesc Fabregas’s cross from the right.

Wanderers’ goal twice escaped in one move on 31 minutes, when Hennessy saved a Theo Walcott effort and Richard Stearman cleared Fabregas’s follow-up effort off the line.

Van Persie was denied once more by Hennessy before half-time. And he had to be alert shortly after the interval to prevent a Stearman own goal as Arsenal maintained the pressure.

The Gunners doubled their advantage on 56 minutes, Van Persie firing in Walcott’s pass left-footed from the edge of the area after a lightning break from a Wolves corner.

And Wolves didn’t have a shot worthy of the name until substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake fired over on 89 minutes.