Title chasers Arsenal moved to within two points of the top of the Premier League table thanks to a ruthless 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
Arsenal were gunning for revenge when they met Eddie Howe’s Geordies in the late Saturday kick-off, after losing the return match earlier in the campaign, and it took them 18 minutes to put their visitors to the sword as Sven Botman put through his own net under severe pressure.
It was a sixth consecutive win for the Gunners who had battered West Ham and Burnley over the past two games, scoring 11 unanswered goals, and the victory kept Mikel Arteta’s side in the thick of the title race. Kai Havertz fired in a deserved second as the Gunners were totally dominant and then Bukayo Saka danced his way into the penalty area before sweeping home a beauty of a left foot shot. Jakub Kiwior had help from a deflection to score the fourth before Joe Willock grabbed a consolation for the Geordies.
There was no hiding the visitors’ problems in this game, or the Gunners’ strengths. Arteta’s team are serious contenders.
But City will take some shifting
Even when they are not at their best Manchester City know how to win. Pep Guardiola’s side does it year in, year out and they picked up an eighth win in nine league games away to Bournemouth. The Sky Blues started slowly but when Erling Haaland’s shot was parried by Cherries’ keeper Neto, the red hot Phil Foden was on hand to tap home the winner.
Guardiola’s men dominated the rest of the first half but failed to put the game to bed and had to withstand a late Bournemouth rally.
The Sky Blues have a big two weeks coming up in the league with the Manchester Derby the next match of the weekend and they follow that up with a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool. If they win those two games the Champions will be top and then, as the SBOTOP odds already tell us, they will be devilishly difficult to move.
Red Devils are toothless without Hojlund
Fulham pulled off an impressive 2-1 win away to Manchester United on Saturday and, while it was one the more eye-catching Premier League 2024 results of the weekend, it was no surprise to Fulham boss Marco Silva who watched his side take the game to the Red Devils. Erik Ten Hag’s side had been in a rich vein of form, winning their last five games but they were second best for long periods against the ambitious Cottagers.
Fulham could have been out of sight when Calvin Bassey eventually broke the United resistance on 65 minutes, but then Harry Maguire levelled when Bernd Leno spilled a shot. It looked like hosts had escaped with a point until Alex Iwobi silenced the Old Trafford crowd with a winner deep into stoppage time.
It was a toothless display from Manchester United who were without injured striker Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish international started his Premier League career slowly following his summer transfer from Atalanta but he has recently found his feet, scoring seven goals in his last six games. Without him, Ten Hag gave a first start to young forward Omari Forson who looked a little out of his depth against a well run Fulham defence.
It looks like Hojlund will miss the Manchester Derby and that is not good news for Red Devils fans, who have seen their team drop to eight points behind Aston Villa.
Villa are fighting for fourth
United are looking upwards towards the race for Champions League places which sees Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in that fourth spot thanks to a 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest. The Villains moved five points above Tottenham Hotspur after taking Forest apart in a destructive first half.
Ollie Watkins bagged his 14th goal of the campaign with just four minutes on the clock before the livewire Douglas Luiz struck twice before the break. The visitors were on the ropes but Moussa Niakhate gave them a glimmer of hope on the brink of half time.
Nuno must have done a good job in the Forest dressing room because his side came out with plenty of fight and they pulled another goal back when Morgan Gibbs White beat the offside trap, and Emi Martinez in the Villa net. Any thoughts of an upset soon disappeared though when Leon Bailey made it 4-2 on the hour and the hosts comfortably saw the game out.
The latest Premier League 2024 betting odds reckon Villa may just edge Tottenham out of the Champions League places, but it’s going to be one heck of a battle.
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