How can I get most recent post without using wp_get_recent_posts

$args = array(
	'posts_per_page' = 1
);
// The Query
$the_query = new WP_Query( $args );
// The Loop
if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {
	while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) {
		$the_query->the_post();
		[ do stuff ]
	}
}
/* Restore original Post Data */
wp_reset_postdata();

Thanks for your quick response.

Is there any way I can get the post as an array though? At the moment, I have two cases: there is no specified post id via _GET so it loads the most recent one, there is a post id specified in _GET so it loads that one. The second case works fine as I get the post as an array using $post = get_post($_GET['postid'], ARRAY_A);
Then I can display post stuff using $post[‘post_title/content/author/etc.’]
If I have to use the method you suggested then I will have a lot of re-coding to do using the post as an object instead of an array.

So is there any way to get the post as an array rather than an object?

Thanks again.

Posts are normally returned as objects rather than arrays. Why can’t you use $post->post_title etc?

Because it would require a lot of re-coding as I have set it all up with arrays already. I guess I will have to do that though. Thanks for your help, I’ll use your method.