Arsenal Loses to West Ham to Dent Premier League Title Challenge and Has Another Player Sent Off

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta watches from the touchline during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United, in London, Britain, 22 February 2025. (EPA)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta watches from the touchline during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United, in London, Britain, 22 February 2025. (EPA)
TT

Arsenal Loses to West Ham to Dent Premier League Title Challenge and Has Another Player Sent Off

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta watches from the touchline during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United, in London, Britain, 22 February 2025. (EPA)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta watches from the touchline during the English Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United, in London, Britain, 22 February 2025. (EPA)

Arsenal's Premier League title challenge was dented by an unexpected 1-0 home loss to West Ham on Saturday that featured a fifth red card of the season for Mikel Arteta's team.

Second-place Arsenal squandered a chance to trim the gap to Liverpool to five points as Jarrod Bowen's first-half header secured a win for West Ham, which arrived at Emirates Stadium with just one victory in its last eight games.

There was worse to come for Arsenal, with left back Myles Lewis-Skelly handed a red card following a video review for his foul as the last man. The team's disciplinary record under Arteta has come under scrutiny this season — and might yet cost the Gunners the title, along with key injuries to their attack.

With the likes of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus out injured, Arsenal had only two shots on target against West Ham.

It leaves Liverpool with an eight-point cushion, having played the same number of games as Arsenal, and that advantage could grow when the leaders play Manchester City away on Sunday.

United rallies for draw at Everton

Manchester United came from two goals down before benefiting from a last-gasp video-review call to draw 2-2 at Everton.

Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte grabbed the 80th-minute equalizer for United with his first goal at club level in four years, eight minutes after Bruno Fernandes started the visitors’ fightback at Goodison Park by curling in a free kick.

United had been on course to slip to a third straight loss — and ninth defeat in 15 league matches since Ruben Amorim took charge in November — after first-half goals by Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure for resurgent Everton.

There was a late scare for United when Everton was awarded a penalty for what appeared to be a foul by Harry Maguire on Ashley Young, who fell to the ground dramatically under pressure from Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt in the third minute of stoppage time.

Following a video review, on-field referee Andrew Madley was advised to view the incident again on the pitchside monitor and he changed his initial decision.

“I think it was a soft penalty, it was clear,” Amorim said.

Champions League-chasing Bournemouth slip up

Fifth-place Bournemouth lost 1-0 at home to Wolverhampton to damage its bid for a finish in the Champions League qualification positions.

Bournemouth defender Illya Zabarnyi's 31st-minute red card was quickly followed by the winning goal by Matheus Cunha for Wolves.

Tottenham won 4-1 at Ipswich to further ease the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou, last-place Southampton lost 4-0 at home to Brighton, and Crystal Palace won 2-0 at Fulham.



Lazio Coach Sarri Undergoes Minor Heart Operation

Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Lazio - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - March 5, 2024 Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Lazio - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - March 5, 2024 Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
TT

Lazio Coach Sarri Undergoes Minor Heart Operation

Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Lazio - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - March 5, 2024 Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Bayern Munich v Lazio - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - March 5, 2024 Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo

Lazio head coach Maurizio ​Sarri has undergone a minor heart operation, the ‌Italian ‌Serie ‌A ⁠club ​said ‌on Monday, Reuters reported.

Italian media reported that it was a routine ⁠intervention, and ‌Lazio ‍said ‍the 66-year-old ‍Sarri was expected to resume his ​regular duties in the coming ⁠days.

Lazio, eighth in the league standings, host third-placed Napoli on Sunday.


Sabalenka, Kyrgios See only Positives from 'Battle of the Sexes' Match

 Tennis - 'Battle of the Sexes' - Nick Kyrgios v Aryna Sabalenka - Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - December 28, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, her goddaughter Nicole, and Australia's Nick Kyrgios celebrate with trophies after the match REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/Pool
Tennis - 'Battle of the Sexes' - Nick Kyrgios v Aryna Sabalenka - Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - December 28, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, her goddaughter Nicole, and Australia's Nick Kyrgios celebrate with trophies after the match REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/Pool
TT

Sabalenka, Kyrgios See only Positives from 'Battle of the Sexes' Match

 Tennis - 'Battle of the Sexes' - Nick Kyrgios v Aryna Sabalenka - Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - December 28, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, her goddaughter Nicole, and Australia's Nick Kyrgios celebrate with trophies after the match REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/Pool
Tennis - 'Battle of the Sexes' - Nick Kyrgios v Aryna Sabalenka - Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - December 28, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, her goddaughter Nicole, and Australia's Nick Kyrgios celebrate with trophies after the match REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/Pool

Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios defended their controversial "Battle of the Sexes" match and said they failed to understand why an exhibition aimed at showcasing tennis drew so much negativity from the tennis community.

Former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios ​defeated world number one Sabalenka 6-3 6-3 at a packed Coca-Cola Arena on Sunday despite several rule tweaks implemented by the organisers to level the playing field.

Critics had warned that the match, a nod to the 1973 original "Battle of the Sexes" in which women's trailblazer Billie Jean King beat then 55-year-old former Grand Slam winner Bobby Riggs, risked trivialising the women's game.

King said Sunday's encounter lacked the stakes of her match while others, including ‌former doubles world ‌number one Rennae Stubbs, said the event ‌was ⁠a ​publicity stunt ‌and money grab.

"I honestly don't understand how people were able to find something negative in this event," Sabalenka told reporters.

"I think for the WTA, I just showed that I was playing great tennis; it was an entertaining match ... it wasn't like 6-0 6-0. It was a great fight, it was interesting to watch and it brought more eyes on tennis.

"Legends were watching; pretty big people were ⁠messaging me, wishing me all the best and telling me that they're going to be watching from ‌all different areas of life.

"The idea behind it ‍is to help our sport grow ‍and show tennis from a different side, that tennis events can be ‍fun and we can make it almost as big as Grand Slam matches."

Kyrgios, who was once ranked 13th in the world but had tumbled to number 671 after injuries hampered his career over the last few years, pointed to how competitive Sabalenka ​was against him.

"Let me just remind you that I'm one of 16 people that have ever beaten the 'Big Four' - Andy Murray, ⁠Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafa Nadal have all lost to me," Kyrgios said.

"She just proved she can go out there and compete against someone that's beaten the greatest of all time. There's nothing but positive that can be taken away from this, Reuters reported.

"Everyone that was negative watched. That's the funny thing about it as well, like this has been the most talked about event probably in sport in the last six months if we look at how many interactions we had on social media, in the news.

"I'm sure the next time we do it, if I'm a part of it and if she's a part ‌of it, it'll be a cultural movement that will happen more often, and I think it's a step in the right direction."

 

 

 

 

 

 


Emery Has Arsenal Score to Settle with Surging Aston Villa

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery reacts to his team's equalizer during the English Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa, in London, Britain, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery reacts to his team's equalizer during the English Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa, in London, Britain, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
TT

Emery Has Arsenal Score to Settle with Surging Aston Villa

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery reacts to his team's equalizer during the English Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa, in London, Britain, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery reacts to his team's equalizer during the English Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa, in London, Britain, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Unai Emery returns to the scene of one of his few managerial failures on Tuesday, aiming to land a huge blow to former club Arsenal's ambitions of a first Premier League title for 22 years.

Dismissed by the Gunners in 2019 just over a year after succeeding Arsene Wenger, Emery's second spell in English football has been a very different story.

The Spaniard has awoken a sleeping giant in Villa, transforming the Birmingham-based club from battling relegation to contending for their first league title since 1981.

An impressive 2-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday extended Villa's winning run in all competitions to 11 -- their longest streak of victories since 1914.

That form has taken Emery's men to within three points of Arsenal at the top of the table despite failing to win any of their opening six matches of the season.

"We are competing very well. We are third in the league behind Arsenal and Manchester City. Wow," said Emery after he masterminded a second half turnaround at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Villa were outclassed by the Blues and trailing 1-0 until a triple substitution on the hour mark changed the game.

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score twice and hailed his manager's change of system as "tactical genius" afterwards.

Few believe Villa will still be able to last the course against the far greater riches and squad depth of Arsenal and City over the course of 20 more games.

But a title challenge is just the next step on an upward trajectory since Emery took charge just over three years ago.

After a 13-year absence from Europe, including a three-year spell in the second-tier Championship, the Villains have qualified for continental competition for the past three seasons.

Paris Saint-Germain were on the ropes at Villa Park in April but escaped to win a thrilling Champions League quarter-final 5-4 on aggregate before going on to win the competition for the first time.

Arsenal also left Birmingham beaten earlier this month, their only defeat in their last 24 games in all competitions.

However, Emery getting the upper hand over his former employers is a common occurrence.

The 54-year-old has lost just twice in 10 meetings against Arsenal during spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Villarreal and Villa, including a 2-0 win at the Emirates in April 2024 that ultimately cost Mikel Arteta's men the title.

Even Emery's ill-fated 18 months in north London were far from disastrous with the benefit of hindsight.

He inherited a club in decline during Wenger's final years but only narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification in his sole full season in charge and reached the Europa League final.

Arsenal's loss has been to Villa's advantage.

For now Arsenal remain the outsiders in a three-horse race but inflicting another bloody nose to the title favorites will silence any doubters that Emery's men are serious contenders.