Santi Cazorla scored one goal and made another for Olivier Giroud as Arsenal finally ended their streak of poor away performances against top teams with a 2-0 victory at Manchester City that dented the hosts’ Premier League title hopes.Cazorla converted a penalty in the 24th minute and then sent in a pin-point free kick that Giroud headed in for the second in the 66th as Arsenal ended second-placed City’s 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
City dominated possession but Arsenal for once showed the kind of defensive fortitude that so often has been missing in big away games in recent seasons. Arsenal lost 6-3 at City last season, to go with a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea and 5-1 defeat at Liverpool.“It reinforces the belief of the team and gives us confidence,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “To feel that we can do well is very important for a group of players.”With the loss, City remained on 47 points from 22 matches, five points behind leaders Chelsea who mauled Swansea City 5-0 on Saturday.Arsenal climbed above Tottenham Hotspur into fifth place with 39 points, one point behind Manchester United.
In Sunday’s other game, West Ham United also gave their European ambitions a boost as a superb second-half display saw the Hammers beat struggling Hull City 3-0.
Sam Allardyce’s side was booed off at half-time at Upton Park after a dismal opening period but Hull paid the price for some lacklustre finishing as Andy Carroll, Morgan Amalfitano and Stewart Downing all found the net after the interval.West Ham climbed above Liverpool into seventh while Hull manager Steve Bruce has now overseen just two wins in 15 league games.
On Saturday, Chelsea ran riot at Swansea by scoring four goals before half-time. Brazil midfielder Oscar and Spain striker Diego Costa grabbed two apiece inside the opening 36 minutes as Swansea were torn to shreds before substitute Andre Schuerrle got his name on the scoresheet in the second half.“It was the perfect game, everything went in our direction,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. “The team is playing with high quality and has a clear identity of playing. Sometimes teams are good and play well without the clear identity, but all this season we are going in a certain direction.”
Manchester United laboured through the first half at second-bottom Queens Park Rangers before a second-half turnaround saw substitutes Marouane Fellaini and James Wilson clinch a 2-0 victory.United remain fourth, two points behind Southampton after the south-coast team won 2-1 at Newcastle United after the first goals from winger Eljero Elia since joining on loan from Werder Bremen this month.Elia netted either side of a fortuitous equaliser by Yoan Gouffran, who scored when Florin Gardos’ attempted clearance struck him on the thigh and flew into the net.
Playmaker Christian Eriksen struck another late winner to give Tottenham Hotspur a seventh 2-1 league victory this season, at home to Sunderland, and lift them three points behind United after Jan Vertonghen’s second-minute opener for Spurs was cancelled out by Sebastian Larsson’s curled free kick.
Liverpool’s upwards push gathered momentum when Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert scored in a 2-0 victory at Aston Villa who have now gone five league games without a goal.Liverpool took a 24th-minute lead when Borini slid in to convert Jordan Henderson’s delicate cross before Lambert added a second with 11 minutes to play.
Crystal Palace recovered from 2-0 down to snatch a 3-2 win at fellow strugglers Burnley, their second consecutive league victory since Alan Pardew took charge taking them up to 12th, four points clear of the relegation zone.Bottom club Leicester City’s recent burst of form, which had earned them seven points from three games, ended in a 1-0 home loss to Stoke City, Spaniard Bojan Krkic scoring the winner at the King Power Stadium.
