London, Dec. 27 (BNA): Arsenal came back from a goal down to beat West Ham United 3-1 and extend their lead in the Premier League to seven points with the resumption of the league season.
Reuters reported earlier that Newcastle United stormed into second place by beating Leicester City away 3-0 to claim their sixth consecutive Premier League win.
Harry Kane overcame his World Cup penalties by helping Tottenham Hotspur recover to a 2-2 draw at Brentford while Liverpool bounced back with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa with youngster Stefan Bagcetic joining Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in the net. .
Former Real Madrid and Spain coach Julen Lopetegui made a strong start in training Wolverhampton Wanderers after his team came from behind to defeat Everton 2-1 with a goal in the last moments of Ryan Ait Nuri and increased pressure on Frank Lampard.
After a 44-day break due to the World Cup, the Premier League has resumed with several players returning from international duty and Arsenal continuing right where they left off.
Former boss Arsene Wenger watched from the stands at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal, the leaders at Christmas for the first time since the 2007-08 season, responded emphatically to an early penalty from West Ham’s Said Benrahma.
Bukayo Saka equalized from close range in the 53rd minute and Gabriel Martinelli fired home six minutes later to put Arsenal ahead.
Eddie Nketiah scored Arsenal’s third goal to complete the victory and ensure their 100% home record was preserved. They have 40 points from 15 games, seven points behind Newcastle who have played a game more. Arsenal is eight goals ahead of third-placed Manchester City, who played 14.
“We showed a lot of composure and quality,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. “We didn’t start to play the game they wanted to play, we kept pushing and believing and we deserved to win.”
SM