Premier League leaders Arsenal staged a remarkable late comeback to draw 3-3 with Southampton on Friday night but, at the end of the drama the Emirates Stadium fell silent as reality hit home.
Without playing in the league this weekend, Manchester City became firm favourites to win the title as they watched the Gunners drop points for the third match in succession. And there was heartbreak too for the Saints who were so close to a crucial three points, 3-1 up on 87 minutes but they collapsed under the waves of Arsenal pressure and the draw leaves them rock bottom of the league table.
Southampton were superb, inspired by the brilliant James Ward-Prowse, and they took a rapid two goal lead through Carlos Alcaraz and Theo Walcott before the red-hot Gabriel Martinelli halved the deficit. Duje Caleta- Car restored the Saints’ two goal lead, midway through the second half and a first league win at the Emirates looked on for Ruben Selles’ side.
But Martin Odegaard hit back with two minutes of normal time remaining and when Bukayo Saka made in 3-3 on 90, it looked like Arsenal might put on another amazing last show, as they recently did against Bournemouth with a 97th-minute winner. The fourth official signalled eight minutes of time added on and the Gunners laid siege to the Saints defence, which held out, though Leandro Trossard was agonizingly close when his shot cannoned away off the crossbar.
The draw stretched Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to five points, but the Sky Blues have two games in hand and, in a title showdown, they entertain Mikel Arteta’s team on Wednesday. The latest Premier League 2023 betting odds back Manchester City to win a fifth league title in six campaigns, now down to odds of 1.20, with the Gunners at 3.75. And, at a SBOTOP price of 1.51 to beat Arsenal, City could take a huge stride towards a historic treble.
They are in the FA Cup final and the Champions League semi-final so Pep Guardiola’s team is inching towards immortality, while the Gunners are heading for the last chance saloon.
Foxes bravery pays off
Leicester City earned a first win in ten matches to climb out of the relegation zone with a huge three points at the expense of Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.
New Leicester boss Dean Smith started the game with three centre forwards, with Kelechi Iheanacho sitting just behind Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka out on the left; and it paid off as the Foxes came from behind to beat upwardly mobile Wolves 2-1. The Foxes had a sticky start when a mistake by Youri Tielemens gifted Matheus Cunha a 13th-minute lead, but the Foxes drew level when Iheanacho converted a penalty just before the break.
Timothy Castagne was coolness personified when he stroked home the 75th-minute winner and, with six-pointers against relegation rivals Leeds United and Everton looming large this is a big week for the Foxes. They’ll go into these games with more confidence now, after a deserved and brave win in which they had seven shots on target.
Forest in peril
Back in the 1970s Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest was a blockbuster clash but, here in 2023 it was a meeting of two teams with problems. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have had a poor campaign and have work to do to even earn a Europa League place, while Steve Coopers’ Nottingham Forest are staring at a rapid return to the Championship. And it was Liverpool who eased their position, rising to seventh place with a 3-2 win; it was back-to-back victories for the Reds, while Forest slumped to a fourth successive loss and sit perilously in 19th.
After a goalless first half in a strangely tense Anfield Stadium the game exploded into life when Diogo Jota nodded home the opener on 47 minutes, and Forest hit back when former Liverpool star Neco Williams saw his shot deflected home. Jota scored his second on 57 minutes but the visitors, much improved from recent performances, levelled again when Morgan Gibbs-White smashed home a volley midway through the second half. But it was that man Mo Salah who won the day for Liverpool, meeting a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick and firing home the winner.
It was Salah’s 183rd goal for the Reds, equalling Robbie Fowler’s record, and it took the Egyptian up to fourth place in this season’s Premier League top scorers list.
But Forest’s Premier League 2023 results are on an alarming slide and time is running out, with six games left, starting with a tough meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
