Premier League
Sloppy Arsenal implode in 2-2 draw at bottom side Wolves
Teenager Tom Edozie scored a 94th-minute equaliser on debut as Arsenal let a two-goal lead slip at bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2-2 draw on Wednesday, wasting a big chance to move clear in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal have 58 points from 27 matches, five ahead of second-placed Manchester City, having played a game more. Wolves are on 10 points from 27 games, still one shy of Derby County’s record low of 11.
Bukayo Saka celebrated his new five-year contract with a first goal in 16 games on a bitterly cold night in the West Midlands, before Piero Hincapie doubled the advantage 10 minutes into the second half.
That should have been that, but Wolves stayed in the contest when Hugo Bueno netted with a superb curling strike, before Edozie fired a shot goalwards that came off Calafiori and the post and into the net.
“Extremely disappointed obviously with the result and with the way the game ended, but we have to blame ourselves,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told reporters.
“The performance in the second half, we didn’t show anything close to the standards required in this league to win.
“It was one moment after another moment after another moment. Even though we scored the second goal, we never had dominance of the game, that’s the reality.”
Arsenal have won only three of their last eight games in the Premier League.
“Disappointed. Not much else to say,” Saka told BBC. “There was a big difference in how we played in the first half and the second half. We dropped our standards, and we got punished for it.
“Time to focus on ourselves, improve our standards and improve our performances and it is in our control.”
The game was brought forward a month due to Arsenal’s appearance in the League Cup final on March 21, when they will face Pep Guardiola’s City.
The visitors took only four minutes to grab the lead as Saka ended his longest run without a goal for the club. Declan Rice’s brilliant lofted pass into the six-yard box set up Saka to stoop to head into the net from close range.
They scored their second on 55 minutes when Hincapie ran onto Gabriel’s pass and lifted the ball over Jose Sa.
WOLVES FIGHT BACK
Wolves found a way back into the contest when Bueno was allowed too much space on the edge of the box and curled a shot into the top corner for his first Premier League goal.
And 19-year-old Edozie rifled in a low shot after David Raya could not collect a cross and the ball squeezed in off Calafiori and the frame of the goal, a strike that was originally given as an own goal.
“The ball dropped to me, and I tried to keep it as low as possible and just (strike it) as hard as I can. They couldn’t stop it, so it was my goal,” Edozie said.
-Reuters
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Arsenal wasted the chance to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Brentford on Thursday, with Noni Madueke’s second-half header cancelled out by Keane Lewis-Potter.
The hosts were the better side in the first half but could not take advantage of a nervy Arsenal start, with goalkeeper David Raya forced to make a sharp save from Igor Thiago.
Arsenal took the lead in the 61st minute through Madueke, who soared above Rico Henry and nodded Piero Hincapie’s ball back across goal and into the net.
Brentford deservedly levelled 10 minutes later, however, when Michael Kayode’s long throw was flicked to the back post where Lewis-Potter sent a thunderous header into the top corner.
The draw was a fair result and lifted Arsenal on to 57 points from 26 games, four ahead of Manchester City.
Brentford are seventh on 40 points, four behind fifth-placed Chelsea and remain on course to qualify for European football for the first time.
Their coach Keith Andrew told reporters: “I’m not going to speak about that. There are 12 games left, but I do promise you we are going to attack every single one of them … to see how much we can achieve this year.”
GUNNERS FIGHT BACK FROM NERVY START
Arsenal had followed a mini-wobble of two points from three games with back-to-back league wins, though Manchester City’s 3-0 victory at Fulham on Wednesday kept the pressure on.
The Gunners started shakily in the absence of defender William Saliba as Gabriel needlessly conceded a corner before Raya almost let a backpass squirm under his foot and over the line.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave Eberechi Eze a first league start in 2026, but the England forward was anonymous and replaced at halftime by captain Martin Odegaard.
The visitors were better after the break and went ahead when Brentford were unable to clear their lines, Hincapie’s cross turned in by Madueke past the flat-footed Caoimhin Kelleher.
Arsenal could have been out of sight when Declan Rice laid the ball on a plate for Viktor Gyokeres, but he was denied by Kayode’s last-ditch tackle.
Brentford equalised from Kayode’s throw-in, and Lewis-Potter’s goal shifted the momentum.
Thiago could have snatched victory late on but Cristhian Mosquera made a superb tackle. Kelleher then saved from Gabriel Martinelli one-on-one in a breathless end to the game.
Having briefly been nine points clear before Manchester City came from behind to beat Liverpool last weekend, Arsenal’s lead now stands at four points but Arteta insisted his side’s approach would not change.
“We have to do our job and we are going to have to come to all these places, the same as the rest of the teams, and we know how tough it is,” he told TNT Sports.
“You have to be at your best every game and have the luck that you need as well in games to conquer the three points each week.”
-Reuters
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Nigerian international defenders Ola Aina and striker Taiwo Awoniyi will play under yet another manager at Nottingham Forest after the club confirmed the dismissal of Sean Dyche following Wednesday night’s goalless Premier League draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nottingham Forest announced in the early hours of Thursday that Dyche had been relieved of his duties after just 114 days in charge.
“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach,” the club said in a statement. “We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club, and we wish them the best of luck for the future.”
The 54-year-old, who joined the club in October on a contract running until the summer of 2027, becomes the third manager to be sacked by Forest this season. He follows the exits of Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou, underlining a turbulent campaign at the City Ground.
Forest currently sit 17th in the Premier League table, just one place above the relegation zone, after a three-game winless streak. With 12 matches remaining, the club remains locked in a tense battle to preserve its top-flight status.
Dyche’s final match in charge proved frustrating, as Forest failed to score despite registering 35 attempts in the stalemate against Wolves. Speaking after the game, the former Burnley boss appeared philosophical about his future.
“The owner (Evangelos Marinakis) has been fair to me, without a shadow of a doubt,” Dyche said. “If the owner wants to make a change, then that’s up to him, and that’s the way football is now — that’s the reality of it.”
For Aina and Awoniyi, the managerial change adds another layer of uncertainty in what has already been an unstable season. The Nigerian duo have had to adapt to different tactical systems and technical approaches under three separate coaches.
Postecoglou’s brief 39-day spell made him the shortest-serving permanent Premier League manager to be dismissed mid-season, and Dyche’s exit continues the pattern of instability.
Forest are now expected to appoint a fourth manager before next Thursday’s Europa League first-leg clash against Fenerbahce, as they seek stability both domestically and in Europe.
For Nigeria’s Aina and Awoniyi, the focus will now shift to maintaining form amid uncertainty, as Forest’s survival fight enters a decisive phase.
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Crystal Palace ended a nine-game winless run in the Premier League in the best manner possible as they beat rivals Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 away on Sunday.
Ismaila Sarr scored the only goal on the south coast, ending an hour of tedium when he lifted a shot over Bart Verbruggen to break the deadlock.
It was Palace’s first effort on target.
Victory eased Palace’s relegation worries as they leap-frogged Brighton into 13th place with 32 points, nine points above the drop zone.
“It was a relief. We can talk and analyse but you can never replace a win,” Palace manager Oliver Glasner said.
“We deserved it at the end, we couldn’t expect to play our best football but we were very compact and aggressive.
“Everyone did their job.”
-Reuters
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