Premier League
After 44-day World Cup interruption, Arsenal stretch lead to seven points as Premier League returns
Arsenal came from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-1 and extend their Premier League lead to seven points as the top-flight season resumed on Monday.
Earlier in the Boxing Day programme Newcastle United stormed into second place by outclassing Leicester City 3-0 away for their sixth successive Premier League win.
Harry Kane overcame his World Cup penalty pain by helping Tottenham Hotspur recover to draw 2-2 at Brentford while Liverpool got back up and running with a 3-1 victory at Aston Villa with teenager Stefan Bajcetic joining Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk on the scoresheet.
Former Real Madrid and Spain coach Julen Lopetegui got off to a strong start in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers after his side came from behind to sink Everton 2-1 with a last-gasp goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri and increase the pressure on Frank Lampard.
After a 44-day interruption caused by the World Cup, the Premier League resumed with many players back from international duty and Arsenal continued exactly where they had left off
Former manager Arsene Wenger watched from the stands at The Emirates Stadium as Arsenal, top at Christmas for the first time since the 2007-08 season, responded emphatically to an early penalty by West Ham’s Said Benrahma.
Bukayo Saka equalised from close range in the 53rd minute and Gabriel Martinelli smashed home a shot six minutes later to put Arsenal in front.
Eddie Nketiah scored Arsenal’s third to complete the victory and ensure they maintained their 100% home record. They have 40 points from 15 games, seven clear of Newcastle who have played a game more. Arsenal are eight ahead of third-placed Manchester City, who have played 14.
“We showed a lot of composure and quality,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. “We didn’t start to play the game they wanted to play, we kept pushing, believing and deserved the win.”
NEWCASTLE CONTINUE RUTHLESS STREAK
Joelinton, Miguel Almiron and Chris Wood were all on target as a ruthless Newcastle struck three times in the first half against Leicester to fuel their fans’ dreams of qualifying for the Champions League, or perhaps more.
“The season is still young enough for all possibilities to exist for us,” said Eddie Howe, who has transformed Newcastle since he took over last November after they were taken over by a consortium backed by investment from Saudi Arabia.
Fourth-placed Tottenham got off to a nightmare start at Brentford but yet again staged a comeback, Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scoring in the space of six minutes in the second half to cancel out earlier strikes from Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
It was Kane’s first match since missing a penalty in England’s quarter-final defeat to France in the World Cup and he showed he had overcome that setback by netting a thumping header.
Free-flowing Liverpool eased past Aston Villa to go sixth in the table.
Striker Salah tapped in the visitors’ opener in the fifth minute after a sublime passing move from marauding wing-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson.
Defender van Dijk bagged Liverpool’s second in the 37th minute with a superb left-footed shot after being set up by Salah. Ollie Watkins replied for Villa but 18-year-old Spanish midfielder Bajcetic squeezed in Liverpool’s third.
Fulham eased to a 3-0 win at Crystal Palace, who had two players sent off, while Brighton & Hove Albion earned a comfortable 3-1 win at Southampton who sank to the bottom.
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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