Arsenal’s 5-1 demolition of Manchester Metropolis on Sunday saved the Gunners nonetheless inside attain of Liverpool within the Premier League title race, whereas Nottingham Forest took a large stride in direction of subsequent season’s Champions League.
Liverpool confirmed why they’re heading in the right direction to be champions by ending Bournemouth’s 12-game unbeaten run due to Mohamed Salah’s double on Saturday, just for Arsenal to ship an announcement win over the dethroned and disorganised defending champions.
On the different finish of the desk, the battle to keep away from relegation seems more and more like three from the underside 4 as Everton and Tottenham pulled away from the drop zone.
AFP Sports activities seems at three speaking factors from the Premier League weekend.
Arsenal’s teen stars
A day to savour for Arsenal towards the facet that has denied them the title in every of the previous two seasons was lit up by targets from academy graduates Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
The youngsters turned the youngest gamers to attain within the Premier League towards the reigning champions since Wayne Rooney introduced his arrival for Everton towards Arsenal in 2003.
Lewis-Skelly would have been banned had his controversial crimson card towards Wolves final weekend not been rescinded.
The left-back made probably the most of that reprieve with a barnstorming efficiency that was capped by his fist aim for the membership.
He rounded it off with a cocksure celebration as he mimicked Metropolis striker Erling Haaland’s trademark meditation pose.
Nwaneri accomplished the rout together with his seventh aim of the season and is prospering within the additional minutes supplied by Bukayo Saka’s damage layoff.
The vibrancy of Arsenal’s youth contrasted sharply with an ageing Metropolis facet, whose finest days are clearly behind them and want a refresh if Pep Guardiola is to make them contenders once more subsequent season.
Liverpool’s six-point lead, with a recreation in hand to come back, could show an excessive amount of for Arsenal to usurp by Might.
However there may be loads of promise sooner or later for Mikel Arteta’s males thanks to 2 potential homegrown superstars.
Forest’s magnificent seven
Forest responded to any questions over their top-four credentials with a shocking 7-0 thrashing of Brighton on Saturday.
Chris Wooden netted a hat-trick, whereas Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga additionally shone in a devastating response to a 5-0 defeat at Bournemouth every week earlier.
To spherical off a positive few days for Nuno Espirito Santo’s males, they then watched as all of the chasing pack for a spot within the Champions League misplaced.
On high of defeats for Metropolis and Bournemouth, Newcastle fell 2-1 to Fulham and Aston Villa 2-0 at Wolves.
Forest’s lead over fifth-placed Newcastle now stands at six factors.
Even a top-five end needs to be sufficient to safe Champions League this season resulting from English sides’ sturdy begin within the European competitions.
Everton’s ‘Moyesiah’
David Moyes has rolled again the years at Goodison Park since taking cost of Everton for the second time final month.
The Scot, who made his title in a 11-year spell with the Toffees between 2002 and 2013, got here again anticipating a relegation battle to lengthen the membership’s 71-year keep within the high flight.
However a 4-0 win over Leicester was Everton’s third consecutive victory to maneuver 9 factors away from the underside three and inside three of Manchester United in thirteenth.
“The job is to ensure we’re a Premier League crew. The final three outcomes will go an extended approach to making that occur,” mentioned Moyes.
“I discovered the noise unbelievable. I keep in mind what it was all the time like. It’s important to give them one thing to shout about, and we did that from the beginning.”
In contrast, Leicester’s eighth defeat in 9 dropped them again behind Wolves into the underside three.
Ipswich’s hopes of survival additionally took an enormous hit as bottom-of-the-table Southampton received for the primary time since November at Portman Highway.
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