Arsenal battled back from two-nil down to salvage a draw against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners found themselves two behind after 40 minutes before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a late equaliser in a thrilling derby day in London.
The Gunners had started the better of the two teams and were camped in the Spurs half, before a quick break away from Tottenham allowed a shot on goal for Erik Lamela. The Argentinean’s effort was tame, but Bernd Leno couldn’t push it away far enough. The save deflected straight into the path of Christian Eriksen to mark his first start of the season with a first North London derby goal.
Things got even better for Spurs before the break as they were awarded a penalty for a reckless challenge of Heung-Min Son from Granit Xhaka. Harry Kane made no mistake from the penalty spot as he tied the record for the most amount of goals in this fixture.
However, Spurs couldn’t hold their lead until the interval and conceded after an excellent bit of attacking play by Alexandre Lacazette. The goal by the Frenchman would turn out to be the turning point in the game.
Spurs struggled to mount consistent attacks in the second period but were unlucky not to have extended their lead when Harry Kane smashed the post from an acute angle. Unai Emery sent on Dani Caballos to control the game, and the Spaniard ensured Arsenal had sustained attacks throughout the second half.
However, it was to be a moment of magic from Matteo Guendouzi that would open the Tottenham defence. The Frenchman was given too much time on the ball, and he picked out a tantalising pass into the path of Aubameyang to poke home past Hugo Lloris. The combination of weight of pass and run by the forward was brilliant all round.
The game continued to be littered with attacks, and Tottenham felt they should have had a penalty in the final minutes as Kane was dragged down by Sokratis. However, the referee and VAR both felt that the Englishman played for it and the spot-kick wasn’t awarded. The draw was probably the fair result in the end, but Tottenham would have been disappointed at letting another two-goal lead slip at the Emirates.
City and Liverpool Win
It took Manchester City less than two minutes to open the scoring against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad, which just highlighted the difficulty the Seagulls had in containing their illustrious opponents. Goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and a brace for Sergio Aguero pressed home the champions’ advantage.
Liverpool put in another excellent performance in the late game on Saturday, as they beat Burnley 3-0 to ensure their place at the top of the Premier League table. A bizarre Chris Wood own goal put the Reds ahead before Sadio Mane doubled their lead before the break. Roberto Firmino pressed home their advantage with a third, but it was a straightforward win for the Reds.
Misery For Lampard, Solskjaer and Nuno
Wolves’ winless run to start the new season continued on Sunday as they lost 3-2 to Everton in an entertaining game at Goodison Park. Three goals in 12 minutes from Richarlison, Romain Saiss and Alex Iwobi saw Everton ahead 2-1. Raul Jimenez equalised with 15 minutes to go before Richarlison scored his second of the game five minutes later.
It was more home disappointment for Frank Lampard as he watched his team lose a two-goal advantage to draw against Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge. Tammy Abraham scored a first-half brace to make it four goals in two games for the number nine. However, Callum Robinson scored early in the second half for the Blades, before a late Kurt Zouma own goal salvaged a famous away point for Chris Wilder’s side.
Breaking down packed defences is becoming an issue for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United. They had all of the play at St Mary’s but were unable to find a second goal against Southampton. United went ahead in the first half through Daniel James, before the Saints equalised in the second period through Yannick Vestergaard.
VAR Denies Villa and Toon Draw
VAR has been a recurring talking point in the Premier League this season, and once again it was the talk after Aston Villa were denied a late equaliser. Henri Lansbury had thought he had salvaged a point, only for the referee to have disallowed the goal after Jack Grealish was adjudged to have dived in the build-up. Grealish was pushed in the back and didn’t appear to dive, but the referee couldn’t go to VAR as he had already blown his whistle. Dean Smith was left fuming, and it meant that Jordan Ayew’s goal was the difference.
Steve Bruce‘s winless run at St James’ Park continued as Newcastle had to settle for a point against Watford. Will Hughes scored early to put the visitors in front before Fabian Schar equalised just before the break.
Hammers and Foxes Win
West Ham put on a confident display in front of their home fans against Norwich City to win 2-0. Sebastien Haller opened the scoring for his first home goal at the club following his club-record move. Andriy Yarmolenko scored the second midway through the second half.
Jamie Vardy was in inspired form for Leicester City, and he scored twice and set up Youri Tielemans in a 3-1 win for the Foxes against Bournemouth at the King Power Stadium. Callum Wilson had equalised for the Cherries, but the quality of Leicester was evident for all to see.
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