EPL: Arsenal draw, Chelsea lose as Man City secure win

Arsenal’s title hopes have been virtually extinguished by a 3-3 draw at West Ham United and Aston needing a barnstorming finish to the Premier League season and a Leicester City wobble to have any chance of finishing top for the first time since 2004, Arsenal seemed on course for a third consecutive win when it led 2-0.

Andy Caroll’s quickfire hat-trick saw Arsenal slump in a 3-3 draw at Upton Park.

Laurent Koscielny’s equaliser spared third-placed Arsenal a defeat in a pulsating last London derby at Upton Park before West Ham uproot to the Olympic Stadium but the Gunners remained 10 points adrift of Leicester with six games left.

Manchester City, which is fourth, secured back-to-back league wins for the first time since October, a 2-1 home defeat of West Bromwich Albion putting pressure on fifth-placed Manchester United in the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri were on target after Stephane Sessegnon had given West Brom an early lead as City moved four points ahead of United who visit second-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The relegation trapdoor is not completely nailed down on bottom club Villa but after an eighth consecutive league defeat, 2-1 at home to Bournemouth, they can start making plans for life in the Championship after 28 years in the top flight.

Villa is marooned on 16 points with five games left and the most it can now attain is 31, the haul that fourth from bottom Norwich City has after it went down 1-0 at Crystal Palace.

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Newcastle still retains a modicum of hope but it is fading fast after it lost 3-1 at Southampton to leave Rafa Benitez’s side second from bottom, six points behind Norwich and two adrift of Sunderland who host Leicester on Sunday.

Goals from Shane Long, Graziano Pelle and Victor Wanyama put Southampton clear and Andros Townsend’s reply was scant consolation for the visiting fans who travelled south as Newcastle crashed to a ninth successive away defeat.

“It’s important that everybody continues to believe. The anxiety is killing us sometimes,” Benitez said.

Swansea City effectively secured their safety as Gylfi Sigurdsson’s goal meant they became the first side to beat Chelsea in the league since Guus Hiddink took charge of the champions in December.

Injury-hit Chelsea produced a lacklustre display as their 15-match unbeaten spell under Dutchman Hiddink ended in disappointing fashion in Wales.

Elsewhere, FA Cup semi-finalists Watford and Everton drew 1-1.

The focus of attention now switches to Leicester on Sunday with the runaway leaders, who are chasing their first top-flight crown, seven points clear of Spurs.

 

 

EPL Results

West Ham United 3 – 3 Arsenal

Aston Villa 1 – 2 AFC Bournemouth

Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Norwich City

Southampton 3 – 1 Newcastle United

Swansea City 1 – 0 Chelsea

Watford 1 – 1 Everton

Manchester City 2 – 1 West Brom

 

 

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