Arsenal are back where they want to be. A Eberechi Eze goal in the early stages of Saturday’s clash at the Emirates was all it took to beat Newcastle 1-0 and put the Gunners back on top of the Premier League, three points clear of Manchester City.
The timing mattered. Pep Guardiola’s side were occupied at Wembley, beating Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final to keep their domestic treble hopes alive which meant Arsenal had the chance to move ahead before City kicked a ball. They took it.
Before Saturday, the two sides were level on 70 points and identical goal difference, with City sitting above only on goals scored. Eze changed all of that, curling home from outside the box after a Kai Havertz lay-off to settle a tense afternoon at the Emirates. For Newcastle, it was a 16th league defeat of a season they’d rather forget.
Arsenal can extend their advantage to six points when they face Fulham next week before City have a chance to respond. The Gunners haven’t won the league since 2004. They know it. Everyone knows it. At the other end of the table, it was just as dramatic.
Spurs looked to have done enough. Joao Palhinha’s late goal at Wolves had them on course to climb out of the bottom three, and Everton’s equaliser at the London Stadium appeared to be doing them an additional favour. Then Callum Wilson happened.
The West Ham substitute struck in the 92nd minute to seal a 2-1 win for the Hammers, restoring their two-point cushion over Spurs with four games left. Wolves and Burnley are already down. The two London clubs are fighting over who joins them.
Roberto De Zerbi, who replaced interim manager Igor Tudor earlier this month, claimed his first win as Tottenham head coach. It wasn’t enough on a day that ultimately belonged to West Ham.
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