Arsenal stage thrilling fightback to maintain five-point lead over Man City

Arsenal recovered from the second-fastest goal conceded in Premier League history as Reiss Nelson’s stoppage-time strike earned the Premier League leaders a thrilling 3-2 win over Bournemouth after Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday defeated by

Mikel Arteta’s side were trailing by two goals with just over half an hour left.

But the Gunners showed they can handle the pressure of the title race with a remarkable comeback that saw them five points clear of second-placed City.

“I’m incredibly happy. It was just crazy. It was a really special win and it took until the last second to earn it,” Arteta said.

Arsenal hadn’t even touched the ball when Philip Billing gave second-bottom Bournemouth the lead after just 9.11 seconds with a clinical finish from inside the Gunners’ area.

The fastest goal in Premier League history was scored by Shane Long after 7.69 seconds for Southampton against Watford in 2019.

Arsenal went further behind in the 57th minute as Marcos Senesi saved from Thomas Partey to see Aaron Ramsdale’s header in from a corner.

Partey made amends for his sluggish marking five minutes later when he reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from Emile Smith-Rowe’s header.

Underlining their desire to win a first title since 2004, Arsenal took the momentum and equalized in the 70th minute through Ben White’s powerful finish from Nelson’s cross.

Nelson completed Arsenal’s incredible revival in the seventh minute of stoppage-time when the substitute produced a stunning finish from 20 yards to spark scenes of wild celebration around the Emirates Stadium.

“He never gave up. We want to stay there (at the top) for as long as possible,” Arteta said.

Earlier on Saturday, City recorded a 2-0 win over Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium.

Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva scored for the champions, who were let off the hook by a series of spectacular misses from the visitors.

Shaun Longstaff, Callum Wilson and Joelinton were all guilty of not forcing Ederson’s save as fifth-placed Newcastle took another blow to their hopes of a top-four finish.

City boss Pep Guardiola said, “It was an incredibly good result for us because it was a difficult game.”

Wesley Fofana eased the pressure on Chelsea boss Graham Potter as the French defender scored in a 1-0 win against Leeds at Stamford Bridge.

Fofana put Chelsea in front with his first league goal for the club seven minutes after half-time, heading home from former Leicester centre-back Ben Chilwell’s corner.

It was Chelsea’s first goal in 396 minutes and only his second goal in seven matches in all competitions.

It has held the 10th-placed Blues to just their third win in their last 16 matches in all competitions.

Ending a run of three consecutive losses will give Potter some breathing space before Chelsea attempt to make up for a 1-0 loss against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16 second leg.

“We have suffered. It has been a challenging period. We were a team that had something to lose so it was great character from the players. It gives us something to build on,” Potter said.

Fourth-placed Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were dealt a blow with a 1-0 defeat at Wolves.

Just days after losing 1–0 to second-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round, the north Londoners were beaten again as Adama Traoré scored in the 82nd minute to save Raúl Jiménez’s effort. After the rebound got out of the bar.

Brighton kept West Ham from relegation trouble with a 4–0 win at the Amex Stadium.

Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1–0 at Villa Park, with Eagles defender Anderson scoring an own goal in the 27th minute, before Palace’s Cheek Doucure was sent off for two bookings in the second half.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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