Sanchez, Mustafi combine to spur Arsenal to victory
LONDON: Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez earned Arsenal a convincing 2-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Mustafi opened the scoring with a superb 36th-minute header and Sanchez doubled the advantage five minutes later with a close-range strike.
The result lifted Arsenal to fifth place in the table on 22 points, one behind Spurs. Arsenal have now won 11 Premier League matches in succession at their home ground after their first league victory over arch-rivals Spurs in seven games.
The hosts started the better and Alexandre Lacazette should have done better than scoop a right-footed shot from the edge of the box high and wide in the fifth minute.
Harry Kane fired straight at Petr Cech a minute later but Arsenal remained the more potent attacking force and almost took the lead when Hector Bellerin’s 10th-minute cross only just missed Lacazette’s toe.
Tottenham were operating solely on the counter and went close twice in quick succession, Christian Eriksen scraping the outside of the post in the 33rd minute before Kane’s deflected header was saved by Cech.
They were made to pay in the 36th minute, following a disputed foul from Davinson Sanchez on Alexis Sanchez. Ozil floated the resulting free kick into the box and Mustafi found the top corner with a brilliant guided header.
The hosts were now buoyant and doubled the lead five minutes later with another raid down the right flank. Lacazette was fed by Bellerin and cut back for Sanchez, who made a mess of his first touch but lofted his second high into the net from a tight angle.
Tottenham were more urgent after the break but were unable to fashion clear-cut opportunities and increasingly became vulnerable to Arsenal counter-attacks as they pushed forward.
CITY TAME FOXES
LEICESTER: Manchester City’s unstoppable march at the Premier League summit shows no signs of slowing down as goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne secured a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been in irresistible form so far this season and Saturday’s result moved them nine points clear of secondplaced Chelsea, with rivals United playing later in the day and Tottenham having lost at Arsenal.
Jesus gave City the lead a minute before the half-time break with a simple tap-in after a move that had sliced open the hosts’ defence.
De Bruyne then double their advantage just three minutes into the second period as he thumped home from 25 yards for his third league goal of a sparkling campaign. The only blot on City’s copybook was the enforced firsthalf withdrawal of England defender John Stones, who pulled up holding his right hamstring.
David Silva and Jesus missed chances to extend City’s lead as the second half wore on, but two blistering attacks either side of half-time were enough to secure another impressive success.
City coach Pep Guardiola handed a first Premier League start since August 26 to Vincent Kompany, but the Belgian started sluggishly and was lucky not to be dismissed after just three minutes.