Arsenal narrowly beat Brighton 2-1 at home on Matchday 18 to reclaim top spot in the Premier League from Manchester City, who had earlier briefly usurped it after victory at Nottingham Forest.
The Londoners took the lead thanks to their captain Martin Odegaard (14), who scored with a shot from outside the penalty area, and then after a corner Declan Rice French forward Georginio Rütter deflected into his own net (51).
The Gunners led 2-0, and then it followed tense ending in the London cold after Diego Gomez reduced the deficit for Brighton in the 64th minute. A brilliant save by goalkeeper David Raya from Yankuba Minteh’s narrow shot in the 76th minute secured the three points Mikel Arteta’s side needed to keep Manchester City at bay.
After 18 rounds, Arsenal are two points ahead of their current nearest rivals, Manchester City.
Apart from the win, Arteta was pleased to see his defender Gabriel back in action after being sidelined since November. However, during the warm-up he lost another defender, Riccardo Calafiori, to injury.
Liverpool won at home on Saturday Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 and climbed into the top four in the table, condemning Wolves to an unwanted record for the longest winless streak in Premier League history at 18 games.
Relentless strikes from Ryan Gravenberch (42) and Florian Wirtz (43) a minute apart in the first half sealed victory for the defending champions, leaving them on 32 points from 18 games as Wolves’ nightmare season continued with just two points. Wolves reduced the score in the 51st minute when Alisson Becker saved Tolu Arokodare’s header, but Santiago Bueno was on the rebound.
Brentford has won Bournemouth 4-1 – Kevin Schade scored three times, Burnley and Everton drew 0-0 and West Ham lost 0-1 at Fulham.
The match Chelsea and Aston Villa it will be played at 18:30, and the round will close on Sunday with the matches between Sunderland and Leeds and Crystal Palace and Tottenham.
(China | Photo: Arsenal)
