Lacazette seals victory in north London derby as Arsenal come from behind to defeat Spurs
Alexandre Lacazette scored Arsenal's winner from the penalty spot as they downed ten-man Tottenham despite captain Pierre-emerick Aubameyang being dropped due to disciplinary issues.
The striker was only named among the substitutes as the club confirmed a breach in pre-match protocolaheadofthenorthlondon derby - but his team-mates won regardless, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory.
Lacazettescoredasecondhalfpenaltyaftermartinodegaard had earlier cancelled outasublimerabonafinishby Spurssubstituteeriklamela - who was sent off for picking up two quick bookings as the visitors chased the game.
While Lacazette replaced Aubameyang, Emile Smith Rowe and Cedric Soares were also recalled into the Arsenal side and both struck the woodwork either side of a breathtaking moment of skill by Lamela. The Argentinian forward had replaced the injured Son Heung-min, and his first involvement wastotakeapassfromlucas Moura and direct a rabona finish along the ground and into the corner of Bernd Leno's goal.
Scotland internationalist Kierontierneyputinanother imprressive display for Arsenal who deservedly went in level at the interval after Odegaardscoredhisfirstpremier League goal - his tame effort deflecting off Toby Alderweireld and past Hugo Lloris.
The home side clinched victor y Davinson Sanchez wiped out Lacazette in the box, and Lacazette sent Lloris the wrong way from the spot.
Former Hibs boss Paul
Heckingbottommadeanightmare start in his first match ascaretakermanagerofsheffieldunited,ashewatchedhis side suffer a 5-0 hammering by Leicester City.
The Yorkshireman has stepped up from his youth coaching role to replace the departed Chris Wilder in the hotseat until the end of the season, taking charge of a United side currently 14 points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League.
A hat-trick by Kalechi Iheanacho, added to Ayoze Perez’sstrike and an own goal by Ethan Ampadu sealed the Blades’ fate at the King Power Stadium.
In yesterday’s evening match, Manchester United went back above Leicester to reclaim second spot in the Premier League table by defeating West Ham United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Under pressure from Scott Mctominay, West Ham defender Craig Dawson headed past his own goalkeeper from a second-half cornerkickfortheonlygoalof the game.
Earlier, Leandro Trossard settled the south-coast showdown by firing Brighton to a crucial 2-1 win at Southampton.
The Seagulls were looking over their shoulders after three straight defeats and no winsinfivemeanttheykicked off level on points with resurgent Fulham in 18th.
But victory at St Mary's, their fifth away from home this season, gives Graham Potter's side some breathing space at the bottom and, notably, saw them climb above Newcastle.
Lewis Dunk headed them ahead and, although Che Adams equalised for Saints with his third goal in three matches, Trossard conjured up a classy second-half winner.
HEARTS 2
Gnanduillet 72, Walker 86
AYR UNITED 0
After a clean sheet on his 200th Hearts appearance, Craig Gordon senses a possible international opportunity which could lead to the highlight of his career.
The goalkeeper is expected to be named in the Scotland squad tomorrow for upcoming World Cup qualifying ties. First-choice David Marshall is recovering from a back injury and his deputy is poised in case he needs to step in at any point against Austria, Israel or the Faroe Islands.
Marshall, 36, has missed the last four games for his club, Derby County, but was among the substitutes for Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by Millwall. Gordon spent the afternoon recording his ninth clean sheet in 26 games as Hearts beat Ayr United 2-0.
Now he will await news of Steve Clarke’s latest squad. Were he to get the No 1 shirt, it would be a priceless opportunity to impress ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
Despite winning trebles and playing in the Champions League with Celtic, plus his English Premier League experience, representing his country in a major tournament would be the pinnacle for 38-year-old Gordon and most others.
“Yeah, I think so. Everybody wants to be fit and in that squad to start with,” he said. “Once you’re there, you want to try and play in a Euros. That’s going to be the highlight of most people’s career in that squad.
“We’ve got everything to play for and great motivation to perform well between now and the end of the season. We all want to give ourselves the chance to be in that squad.
“I’d love to be there. It’s going really well for the national team with the Euros to look forward to. I hope to stay in the squad with that coming up. The only way I do that is keep performing well here.”
He wasn’t overly troubled at the weekend as Hearts moved 15 points clear at the top of the Championship table. They were held at 0-0 for a long spell by an extremely well organised Ayr side playing under new manager David Hopkin for the first time.
Armand Gnanduillet's header from Andy Irving’s 72ndminute free-kick broke the resistance before Jamie Walker lashed home the second goal on 85 minutes. Gordon played out his 200th game for the Edinburgh club in quiet fashion.
“I’m pleased to mark the milestone of 200 games,” he said. “I’ve not had as many clean sheets as I would have liked this season. That’s seven in the league now so hopefully we get a few more between now and the end of the season.” Potentially, Hearts could now seal automatic promotion at Dunfermline in three weeks’ time if results between now and then work in their favour.
“We just have to keep getting three points and, if we do that, the games will start to run out for everyone else. We need to try and keep that gap,” said Gordon.
“We did talk about getting the ball into the danger area quicker than we did in the first half. Eventually, people tire and spaces open up so we managed to get the breakthrough.”