London, Feb 1 (IANS) Arsenal assured they will retain at least a four-point lead over Manchester City and Aston Villa while piling the pressure once again on their two closest rivals with a convincing 4-0 win away to Leeds United in the English Premier League.
Mikel Arteta was without Mikel Merino with a foot injury, and lost Bukayo Saka with a physical problem as the teams were warming up. However, it wasn’t a problem as Arsenal controlled the first half and went in 2-0 up at halftime thanks to Martin Zubimendi’s opening strike and an error from Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who gifted the second goal in the 38th minute.
Viktor Gyokeres added a third for the Gunners in the 69th minute, and Gabriel Jesus chipped in with a typical late effort with four minutes left on the clock, reports Xinhua.
Meanwhile, Chelsea fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home to West Ham in a game that ended with Hammers defender Jean-Claire Todibo sent off for his part in a mass confrontation in the 10th minute of injury time.
Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville put West Ham 2-0 up in the first half, before Joao Pedro pulled a goal back in the 58th minute. Marc Cucurella made it 2-2 with 20 minutes left to play, with Enzo Fernandez scoring the winner after taking Pedro’s assist in the 92nd minute.
Hugo Ekitike scored twice, and Florian Wirtz netted his sixth goal in 10 matches as Liverpool bounced back from Anthony Gordon’s opening goal to beat Newcastle United 4-1 at Anfield.
Ibrahima Konate provided a late talking point when he scored the fourth goal in injury time and then was overcome by emotion as he dedicated it to his late father.
In other matches on the busy night, Bournemouth won 2-0 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, who failed to score despite having 15 shots in the game, while Brighton and Everton drew 1-1 with Beto scoring a 97th-minute equaliser.
Arsenal lead the standings with 53 points from 24 matches ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa at 46 but with a match to play. Chelsea are in fourth place with 40 points from 24 matches and Liverpoolcomplete the top five with 39 points.
–IANS
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