Manchester City and Arsenal are now only two points behind Liverpool. This weekend’s winners were all three of the major title contenders. An Arsenal record victory. One that is vitally important for Manchester United.
Following Arsenal’s historic Premier League away victory against West Ham on Sunday, United defeated Aston Villa 2-1, securing a significant lead in the race for Champions League qualifying.
This season, Arsenal may be playing at its best. This past weekend, Mikel Arteta’s club tightened up the title fight by handily defeating league leaders Liverpool only once, and now it was running wild inside the Olympic Stadium, which quickly filled up when West Ham went behind 4-0 just before halftime.
Declan Rice, a former West Ham fan, added the sixth goal almost regretfully after Bukayo Saka had scored twice.
Manchester City and Arsenal are now only two points behind Liverpool. This weekend’s winners were all three of the major title contenders.
To re-enter the Champions League, United’s only goal is to place in the top four or five, and their chances of doing so would have been slim if they had lost at Villa Park.
Instead, United in sixth place and Villa in fifth place are separated by just five points, as opposed to eleven, following Scott McTominay’s header in the 86th minute to give his club their third consecutive league win. United’s first goal came from Rasmus Hojlund, who has now scored in five straight league games.
Return Of Declan Rice for Arsenal
Before the halftime siren, and even before their former star player doomed the team to its joint-heaviest defeat in franchise history, hundreds of disgruntled West Ham supporters fled the stadium.
To cap off an almost laughably simple victory for Arsenal, Rice simply had to race onto the ball and curl a long-range strike into the top corner.
Rice, with his never-ending enthusiasm, lung-busting dashes, and covering tackles, was once West Ham’s best player. Here he was, participating heavily in an Arsenal clinic, perhaps encouraged by the home crowd’s jeers at every move he made.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes scored goals in the first half thanks to set-piece passes from Rice; Saka and Leandro Trossard also scored before halftime. Rice scored after Saka’s second, but instead of celebrating, he just held up both of his palms apologetically. Even when he was replaced a few moments later, several home fans cheered for him.
Arsenal seemed to have made good use of the money after signing him in July for 105 million pounds, or $138 million at the time.
Arteta declared, “I’m really happy with him.” regarding Rice. He loves West Ham so much, therefore I’m sure that day was emotional for him. But he had to keep his attention on the assignment and the deliverables, of which set-pieces were one.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka’s Redemption
Saka had far more fun on this visit to the Olympic Stadium than on his last one.
The England winger missed a penalty last season when Arsenal was up 2-1, and his club ended up drawing 2-2 as a result of a late-season collapse that allowed Manchester City, who finished first in the league, to win it all. After the spot-kick flop, Saka also faced racist backlash.
It was therefore somewhat appropriate that he earned and scored the penalty that gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead, marking Arsenal’s 50th goal, and then skillfully maneuvered into the area to make it 5-0. He grinned widely as he rejoiced.
“We had a 4-0 lead in the first half and had opportunities to score more,” Saka stated. “We went for the kill today after smelling blood.”
Struggling Aston Villa
Villa’s improbable great start to the season was supported by their once-impregnable home record. Villa recently achieved a club record with 15 successive home victories in the league, defeating City and Arsenal in the span of 72 hours, and are now only two points behind first-place Liverpool.
Villa is currently watching its back after losing its last three home games to Man United, Chelsea, and Newcastle.
Although they had enough opportunities to win, the hosts lacked United’s ruthlessness.
“We are not in the league where we want to be,” Harry Maguire, a defender for United, stated. “We knew we needed to come here and take the three points because this season has been difficult. We need to step up because we are still not where we want to be. Now that we are in a competitive position, we can aim to place among the top four. To restore this club to its rightful place, it is crucial that we band together.”
