Was this the moment that Arsenal fans started to believe this is their year?
A 97th minute winner, rifled in by Reiss Nelson, gave the Gunners the most dramatic of three points which preserved their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table. They recovered from 2-0 down to claw their way back to 2-2 and when Arsenal won their 17th corner of the game they had one last throw of the dice.
And they got it right.
Oleksandr Zinchenko swung in the corner and when the half clearance fell to Nelson, he took one touch and then smashed his shot from 15 yards high into the net to spark bedlam at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta and his team celebrated like they had won the league and who can blame them? The boss, his players and everyone at the club know there is plenty of work still to be done; but this was the first time the Gunners had recovered from a two goal deficit to win 3-2 since 2012 when they beat North London rivals Spurs.
It isn’t often you see a match where there is a goal in the opening ten seconds of the game and another in the last ten seconds, but that’s what we had here as Phillip Billing gave the Cherries a shock lead with just nine on the clock. It was the second fastest goal in Premier League history; and Bournemouth were in dreamland when Marcos Senesi doubled the lead just after the break.
But the Gunners roared back with goals from Thomas Partey and Ben White to set up Nelson’s grandstand finish. With 81 per cent possession and 31 shots to four this was no more that Arsenal deserved but they left it late and you have to feel sorry for the Cherries.
These are the moments which can decide a championship but, with 12 games still to play, Arsenal need to cut out defensive errors and then…keep the faith.
Fantastic Foden has his Mojo back
The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds can hardly split the top two but, while the Gunners had to pull out all the stops to beat Bournemouth, Manchester City coasted to a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United; and it was Phil Foden again who put on a star performance to see off the Magpies. His first half goal was a masterclass of balance, vision and determination as he picked up the ball some 30 yards out left three defenders in his wake to fire an unstoppable shot past Nick Pope and into the net.
City made it 2-0 when Erling Braut Haaland turned a ball into the path of Bernardo Silva, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, and the Portuguese star shot past Pope and into the right corner of the net.
Newcastle have lost 14 Premier League matches in a row at the Etihad and they are on a tricky run, with just three points from the last five.
Massacre on Merseyside
Liverpool met Manchester United in the clash of the weekend in a game which provided more than its fair share of Premier League 2023 highlights as Jurgen Klopp’s Reds ran out 7-0 winners. This is a clash which means so much to the fans of these two juggernauts who really don’t like each other…and that’s putting it lightly.
There will be some glum faces in Manchester and some sore heads in Liverpool!
As the hosts ran riot January signing Cody Gakpo announced himself on the Premier League stage with two brilliantly taken goals, showing superb composure and delightful finishing skills, the second drinking his first time effort over David de Gea from a tight angle. Gakpo’s goals were punctuated by a Darwin Nunez headed goal and Mo Salah smashed in the fourth.
When Nunez guided in his second header and Salah poked home his second to make it six it was, officially, a rout!
And when Roberto Firmino slid home the seventh it was a dream for Liverpool and the very worst nightmare for Manchester United.
Lady Luck deserts Spurs
All fair minded folks should have some sympathy for Spurs fans…shouldn’t we? Well the Whites have been potless for longer than they care to remember and, even this season it must be mightily frustrating to see them stutter again, with Liverpool now just three points behind in fifth.
Spurs came so close to scoring in their match against Wolves as Pedro Porro and Heung-Min Son both hit the woodwork and then, on 82 minutes, Adama Traore fired his shot inches under the crossbar to give Wolves three vital points.
Here at SBOTOP we previewed this game and backed a Wolves win (Draw no Bet), so while the woodwork wrecked Spurs’ fans weekend these fine margins made it a Saturday for Wolves fans to enjoy.
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