United States
United Kingdom
On Wednesday night, Arsenal and Chelsea played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium. The game was full of drama, speaking of drama if you missed what happened on Tuesday night there is a recap here.
Anyway, back to Wednesday’s action. The game was played a frenetic pace throughout and epitomised the Premier League.
After an entertaining but goalless first half, the home side struck first on 63 minutes. Rob Holding’s attempted pass into the box deflected off Alvaro Morata and fell to Jack Wilshere at a tight angle. However, the midfielder flashed a powerful effort past Thibaut Courtois at his near post to open the scoring.
The Gunners were not ahead for long, though, as on 67 minutes the visitors won a penalty kick. Hector Bellerin stuck out a leg at Eden Hazard and the Belgian international went down rather theatrically. The Chelsea star dusted himself down and beat Petr Cech with the spot-kick.
The Blues looked set to claim in the victory, as Antonio Conte’s side took the lead on 84 minutes. Chelsea substitute Davide Zappacosta took on and beat youngster Ainsley Maitland-Niles before firing a cross into the near post for fellow wing-back Marcos Alonso to powerful fire home past Cech.
Arsenal were not finished, though and in the second minute of stoppage-time, the Gunners rescued a point. A goalmouth scramble led to wing-back Hector Bellerin hitting a superb half-volley from just inside the area past Courtois into the far corner of the net.
The drama was not quite over yet, as the visitors broke and should won the game. Alvaro Morata completed a terrible night’s work by firing an effort straight at Cech after being put through one-on-one with the Gunners ‘keeper for the third time on the night. The rebound came out to Zappacosta, who smashed an effort unluckily against the bar.
In the end, honours were even and a draw was arguably a fair result on the night. The draw means that Chelsea are third in the table, a point behind second-place Manchester United and three points clear of fourth-place Liverpool. Meanwhile, Arsenal are losing ground on the top-four, as they now trail Liverpool by five points, while fifth-place Tottenham could extend their lead to four points over Arsene Wenger men with a win at home against West Ham on Thursday night.
Tottenham v West Ham
So to the clash between Spurs and West Ham at Wembley on Thursday night. The game could have repercussions at both ends of the Premier League table. Tottenham could move to within a point of fourth-place Liverpool with a win, while West Ham would move four points clear of the relegation zone with a surprise win in north London.
Spurs head into the game on the back of five wins in their last six Premier League outings. A crucial factor in those victories has been Tottenham’s sheer scoring power, as the side from north London have scored at least two goals in five of their last six league outings. Star striker Harry Kane was only fit enough to come off the bench in a 2-0 win at Swansea midweek. However, the England striker should start this clash.
West Ham’s Premier League form of late has been consistent. A 2-1 win over West Brom on Tuesday night ended a three-game run without a win for David Moyes side. However, a trip to Wembley with Tottenham in such good form is a daunting one. The Irons will take heart from winning 3-2 against Tottenham in the League Cup earlier this season, a game also played at Wembley. David Moyes side are still in desperate need of a victory, as they attempt to move away from the drop zone.
Was a 2-2 draw a fair result in Wednesday’s London derby?
