Unai Emery finally got his first win in the Premier League as Arsenal manager after his side made a comeback against fellow Londoners West Ham United, beating the Hammers by a 3-1 margin at the Emirates on Saturday.
The Spaniard didn’t quite have his dream debut with the Gunners two weeks ago when they were outclassed by defending champions and a week later, they had failed to go past their fellow London Chelsea teamamtes who, under new boss Maurizio Sarri, eked out a 3-2 win.
And yet the story looked to follow a similar script on Saturday with West Ham captain and striker Marko Arnautovic gave the visitors an unexpected lead at the Emirates.
The home side still showed signs of the defensive problems they had suffered in the past few years. But the team which is playing without their longest-serving manager Arsene Wenger after a 22-year era bounced back when left-back Nacho Monreal netted one in from close range from a Hector Bellerin cross. West Ham defender Issa Diop’s own goal from an influential Alexandre Lacazette cross helped the home side take a lead after the break.
English forward Danny Welbeck’s goal in stoppage time was the final nail in the coffin for Manuel Pellegrini’s side who have now lost all three of their opening games-the worst start for them after they had lost their first four fixtures under Avram Grant in the 2101-2011 season. West Ham now sit at the bottom of the table.
Wolves hold City to first draw of the 2018-2019 season
After winning their first two matches against Arsenal and Huddersfield in grand style, defending champions Manchester City would have aimed for a similar result but the script went along a different storyline when Willy Boly controversially scored the opening goal.
However, Pep Guardiola’s side restored parity and levelled the scores when French defender Aymeric Laporte headed one in in the 69th minute to score his first goal for his club. Forwards Serio Aguero and Raheem Sterling could only hit the woodwork as the former’s deadly free-kick once again failed to find the net.
A 2-2 draw might not be as worrying for Everton as would Richarlison’s dismissal in the 41st minute which means he would miss the next three games for the Toffees. The Brazilian, who justified his price tag by scoring three for Everton in their first two games was sent-off for a headbutt on Charlie Daniels before the interval. Despite that, the visitors gained a lead with Theo Walcott’s strike in the 55th minute. Michael Keane added another for Everton but Bournemouth came in style with goals from Joshua King and Nathan Ake in the 75th and 79th minute respectively. Bournemouth’s Adam Smith also saw a red card in the 61st minute, reducing both the sides to 10-men.
At Anfield, Liverpool continued their rise with a 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion. Egyptian forward Mohammed Salah scored the only goal in the match.
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