Arsenal and Newcastle grab draws on wild night in Premier League

Published January 23, 2020
LONDON: Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (C) dives but fails to save the equaliser from Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin during their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.—AFP
LONDON: Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (C) dives but fails to save the equaliser from Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin during their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.—AFP

LONDON: Ten-man Arsenal slowed Chelsea’s charge for a Champions League place on Tuesday as Manchester City kept up their distant pursuit of Liverpool with victory at Sheffield United on a night of late goals in the Premier League.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce described it as a wacky night of Premier League action after his side improbably came back from 2-0 down to draw against Everton, with substitute Florian Lejeune netting twice in stoppage time, and Aston Villa grabbed a priceless last-gasp victory at Watford.

Elsewhere, Southampton climbed to ninth in the table with victory against Crystal Palace while Bournemouth gave themselves hope with a 3-1 win over fellow-strugglers Brighton & Hove Albion.

Wins might still be in short supply for Mikel Arteta in Arsenal’s worst league campaign in a quarter of a century, yet some fighting spirit appears to have returned under the new manager.

Just ask Chelsea.

Arsenal played with 10 men for more than an hour following David Luiz’s 26th-minute red card and fell behind on two occasions at Stamford Bridge, yet still came away from a wild London derby with a 2-2 draw.

Arsenal finished the night in 10th place — level on 30 points with Newcastle, Everton and Crystal Palace and closer to the relegation zone than the top four — with nearly two-thirds of the season gone, yet possibly with some hope that better times might just be around the corner.

“Time will tell if this is a stepping stone,” said Arteta, who has just one win in six league games since taking over from Unai Emery last month, “but at least I saw a reaction. We have to keep playing with the spirit we showed, in every game.”

Chelsea seem determined to keep open the race for the final Champions League qualification place. Provisionally six points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, Frank Lampard’s team are still within range of a bunch of challengers potentially as far down as Arsenal.

Arsenal were reduced to 10 men after former Blues defender Luiz took out Tammy Abraham when he was through on goal and conceding a penalty that was tucked away by Jorginho.

Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli equalised for a battling Arsenal side just past the hour, only for Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta to restore the hosts’ lead in the 84th minute.

Hector Bellerin grabbed Arsenal’s second equaliser in the 87th, yet that was far from the latest goal on a chaotic evening around the country.

Newcastle defender Florian Lejeune scored in the fourth and fifth minutes of injury time to salvage an unlikely draw at Everton.

The first of the substitute defender’s goals came from an overhead kick, before he scrambled in an equaliser to capitalize on some poor defending by Everton.

“It’s a wacky game, that’s for sure,” said Bruce, “but it’s great. It just shows you shouldn’t leave a game early.

The dramatic ending robbed the limelight from Moise Kean, who opened the scoring with his first goal for Everton since joining from Juventus in the offseason. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored Everton’s second.

Another goal deep in injury time came at Villa Park, where Tyrone Mings scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Villa a 2-1 win over Watford that lifted his team out of the relegation zone.

Mings did not seem to know too much about it as a shot from Ezri Konsa deflected off him into the net. Troy Deeney had put Watford in front but Douglas Luiz equalised for Villa.

Watford, who had taken 14 points from their previous seven league games, slipped back into the bottom three, level on 23 points with Bournemouth and West Ham United and six more than bottom club Norwich City.

Manchester City didn’t leave it quite so late to seal their victory. A 73rd-minute goal from Sergio Aguero earned a 1-0 win at Sheffield and consolidated second place, 13 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool.

Southampton’s 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace, thanks to goals from Nathan Redmond and Stuart Armstrong, continued a remarkable turnaround for the club, who hit rock bottom earlier this season in a 9-0 defeat by Leicester City.

Bournemouth, who had lost their previous four matches, all against relegation rivals, beat Brighton thanks to goals from Harry Wilson, an own goal from Pascal Gross and a second-half Callum Wilson effort.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.