Premier League roundup: Gunners march on with win over Foxes as relegation battle heats up
Leicester - Arsenal 0-1
Arsenal extended their lead to five points at the top of the Premier League table, claiming a fifth consecutive league win over Leicester City.
Having dominated possession without reward for the better part of the opening half-hour, Arsenal thought they had found a breakthrough via Leandro Trossard, who curled in from the edge of the box following a poorly-cleared corner. However, Leicester were given a reprieve when VAR ruled out the goal for a foul in the build-up, with Ben White holding back Danny Ward.
The Foxes had threatened on the counter, and had the ball in the back of the net moments later, but Kelechi Iheanacho’s dinked finish was immediately flagged offside.
The Gunners raced out of the traps after the break, taking a deserved lead when Trossard slipped in Gabriel Martinelli, who swept in neatly at great personal expense.
After shaking off a potential knee injury, Martinelli was on hand to tee up Saka for a simple tap-in, but the Brazil international was flagged up for offside, keeping the contest within Leicester’s grasp.
With time running out, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s effort from range narrowly missed the target, but a lack of clear-cut opportunities for the hosts allowed Arsenal to see out the win with relative ease.
Ultimately, Mikel Arteta’s side did enough to claim all three points and consolidate their place at the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, the Foxes haven’t won any of their last 19 fixtures against league-leading sides as they slip to back-to-back defeats, with the threat of relegation still a genuine concern for Brendan Rodgers.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
Leeds - Southampton 1-0
Junior Firpo fired home his first goal of the season to send Leeds United clear of the relegation zone in Javi Gracia’s opening match, leaving Southampton in their wake as the Saints remain rooted to the foot of the table.
Incoming Leeds boss Gracia suffered his first defeat in English football with Watford at the hands of Southampton, and five years on they were back attempting to repeat the feat in a relegation six-pointer for the bottom two sides. It was clear that the home fans had got the message to “stick together” earlier in the week from Gracia, leading to a partisan atmosphere inside Elland Road.
Next on his hit list would be fixing the lack of potency, which has seen Leeds fail to score in four of their last five. Yet, for all their possession and pressure during the first half, it was Southampton’s January signing Paul Onuachu who came closest to breaking the deadlock, firing goalward from the edge of the box, but unfortunately for him, Illan Meslier was equal to it.
With a draw no good for either side, a frantic second half followed, and a minute after the restart Patrick Bamford asked referee Peter Bankes a big question as he went down in the box under a clumsy challenge. Bankes showed complete disregard for the appeal, angering Bamford whose effort seconds later stung the palms of Gavin Bazunu.
The Saints managed to keep starlet Wilfried Gnonto quiet by doubling up on him at every opportunity. They set about doing the same with his replacement Crysencio Summerville, but somehow the Dutch International managed to squeeze a ball from the byline into the path of Firpo, who unleashed an effort on his weaker right-foot, sliding past the unsighted Bazunu to send the home fans into raptures.
It was a heated end to the match with Leeds inviting pressure but eventually held on to ensure an unwanted record of 11 consecutive winless games would not be realised.
Flashscore Player of the Match: Junior Firpo (Leeds United)
Everton - Aston Villa 0-2
Ollie Watkins became the first Aston Villa player in Premier League history to score in five consecutive games as Unai Emery’s men beat Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park.
No matchup in English football history has been played more often than this one, and this, the 210th meeting, was nearly greeted with an early goal.
Ollie Watkins, was played in behind the defence by a delightful ball from Boubacar Kamara, but his effort was thwarted by the onrushing Jordan Pickford.
The raucous crowd inside Goodison soon roared the Toffees into the ascendancy, and their direct attacking was causing problems for a Villa side who had conceded at least three goals in each of their last three league games.
Emiliano Martinez made a superb save to deny Amadou Onana’s header before the Argentinian shot-stopper was called into action to deny Neal Maupay to ensure scores were level at the break.
Sean Dyche’s side had been on top for large portions of the first half, but their goalscoring woes continued to blight them. With pressure continuing to mount, the Toffees came agonisingly close to taking the lead in bizarre circumstances. Alex Iwobi’s shot was drifting wide before it was accidentally blocked by a stricken defender. His touch looped it over Martinez and into the path of Maupay at the back post, but his effort from point-blank range was blocked on the line by Tyrone Mings.
England internationals were lining up to save their side from falling behind. At the other end, Lucas Digne’s cross found Watkins, but his header toward the far corner was remarkably tipped onto the post and away by Pickford.
There’d be nothing he could do to keep his side level soon afterwards though, as Watkins rifled a clinical penalty past Pickford after Idrissa Gueye felled John McGinn inside the box.
The Toffees’ paltry return of 17 goals scored from their previous 23 games hardly inspired hope of a comeback, and so it proved as Villa held on to continue their superb away form, winning four of their last five league road trips.
Emiliano Buendia’s late strike put the icing on the cake for the visitors, as his sublime footwork saw him drift past Conor Coady and rifle home at the near post to put the seal on a fourth consecutive head-to-head victory.
Dyche's side sank to 17th, only above the drop zone on goal difference.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa)
West Ham - Nottingham 4-0
Danny Ings marked his first West Ham United start with a quickfire brace to help the Hammers secure a vital 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Entering this match in the bottom three put West Ham under plenty of pressure, but the Hammers responded positively as they went on the front foot from the first whistle.
Despite conjuring a flurry of shots and balls into the box, the hosts couldn’t quite make a breakthrough with Danny Ings’ instinctive effort coming closest, hitting Felipe and the post on its way wide. Vladimir Coufal’s cross then provided Ings with another opportunity, although the striker spurned it with a mistimed header.
Despite more periods of sustained Hammers pressure in the first half, David Moyes’ side still couldn’t break through Forest’s defences.
Said Benrahma got into a good position thanks to some excellent link-up with the returning Lucas Paqueta, although he ultimately hit a tame shot that was routinely saved by Keylor Navas. Having given Forest a good out-ball in the first half, Brennan Johnson was halted by Declan Rice while attempting to capitalise on a rare opening early in the second.
Just moments after the blow of Lukasz Fabianski being forced off, Ings gave West Ham the lift they craved when Rice’s sweeping pass found Bowen, who teed up the striker for his maiden Hammers goal.
Perhaps buoyed by that strike, the forward netted another mere moments later when he bundled Benrahma’s ball over the line. The mood at London Stadium turned from relief to jubilation, as Rice sent an exquisite strike into the top corner for West Ham’s third, which came just eight minutes after the opener.
The icing on the cake came through Michail Antonio, who emerged from the bench to head home fellow substitute Pablo Fornals’ cross for his first league goal since October, as West Ham emphatically secured their second win in 12 league matches to lift themselves to 16th in the table.
Meanwhile, Forest haven’t won any of their last five away matches across all competitions but remain four points above the bottom three.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Declan Rice (West Ham United)
