By Peter Hall
LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal moved level on points with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League after beating champions Manchester City on Sunday as Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Mohammed Kudus scored an 89th-minute equaliser to earn West Ham a point against Newcastle United in a 2-2 draw and Aston Villa stayed fifth in the standings after drawing 1-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Arsenal came into the match having not beaten City in the league since 2015, a run of 15 games — their longest winless streak against a single opponent in league history.
Ending that run looked unlikely as City had the better of the chances in the first half, with Arsenal’s Declan Rice clearing off the line to keep the champions at bay.
Arsenal did not have a single shot on target in the opening period, but upped the tempo after the break.
The game appeared to be edging towards a stalemate before Martinelli struck four minutes from time, a deflection off City defender Nathan Ake taking the ball past keeper Ederson.
The goal sparked wild celebrations at the Emirates, as Arsenal moved above City into second place on 20 points, two above the champions, and trailing Spurs only on goals scored.
“It is a great feeling,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said. “We have not beaten them for so long, but I am in no doubt we have beaten the best team in the world.
“I am really proud to be part of this team. We have to keep believing in what we are doing.”
BRIGHTON THRILLER
In a thrilling match on the south coast, Brighton captain Lewis Dunk scored with a deft volley to cancel out Mohamed Salah’s brace for Liverpool as the Seagulls came from behind to earn a point.
The home side took the lead in the 20th minute when Simon Adingra picked the pocket of former Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and fired home, but Salah levelled in the 40th minute with a trademark left-foot finish.
The Egyptian gave his side the lead from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after Dominik Szoboszlai was pulled down, only for Dunk to snatch a deserved point for the hosts to keep Brighton sixth, one point behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
“We are generally in a good moment,” Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp told Sky Sports.
“We have big expectations for ourselves but now the boys leave (for the international break) with the right information that when we come back and prepare for the next super important period.”
Alexander Isak’s quickfire second-half double looked set to stretch Newcastle’s winning run to five games in all competitions after Tomas Soucek had given West Ham an early lead at London Stadium.
Kudus got the home crowd roaring again, however, when he fired home the equaliser from the edge of the box. West Ham retained their grip on seventh place while Newcastle are eighth, a point behind.
Defender Pau Torres’ back-post equaliser earned Villa a point at Wolves. The in-form Hwang Hee-chan tapped home Pedro Neto’s pull-back to edge the hosts in front, but their advantage lasted only two minutes, as Torres steered a cross from Ollie Watkins into the net.
Even though Mario Lemina was sent off for the visitors late on after picking up two yellow cards, Villa still had chances to win it in stoppage time, but had to settle for a draw.
(Reporting by Peter Hall, editing by Ed Osmond)
