EPL: Arsenal Come From Behind To Gun Down Hammers

Posted by Samson Kankan Latest Headlines, Sports News Tuesday, December 27th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Arsenal moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table after coming from behind to defeat West Ham United 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium. The Hammers have now lost eight consecutive H2H visits, without a win since the opening weekend of the 2015/16 campaign.

Mikel Arteta’s men were looking to pick up where they left off before the World Cup break, but were dealt a blow on the counter despite a rapid start. Jarrod Bowen won a penalty thanks to a reckless challenge by William Saliba, which was powerfully converted from 12 yards by Saïd Benrahma to earn a surprising lead.

The Gunners raised the stakes immediately after the restart, putting their London neighbours to the sword with two quickfire goals to change the complexion of the match. Bukayo Saka made up for his earlier disallowed goal by striking his effort into the bottom left corner after carelessly being played onside by Vladimir Coufal, minutes before Gabriel Martinelli squeezed an unstoppable low drive past Fabiański to complete the turnaround.

West Ham’s morale was visibly affected, as they faltered further and conceded a third as Eddie Nketiah superbly turned Thilo Kehrer before finishing into the bottom left corner.

While in other EPL matches, Tottenham Hotspur completed yet another second-half comeback this season, this time coming from two-goals down to salvage a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw away to Brentford.

Liverpool secured a third consecutive Premier League win for the first time this season as they beat Aston Villa 3-1. The Reds battled to a 16th PL victory at Villa Park – more than at any other away ground.

Newcastle United cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City to record their sixth consecutive Premier League victory, also ending a run of six straight league defeats in games played on Boxing Day.

Nathan Jones’ first Premier League fixture at St Mary’s Stadium as Southampton boss ended in a 3-1 defeat to high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion, stretching the Saints’ winless home run against the Seagulls to six games.