The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Late Bellerin strike earns 10-man Gunners point
PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal deny Chelsea despite early red card for Luiz
Arsenal recovered from the early dismissal of David Luiz on his return to Stamford Bridge as they battled to a 2-2 Premier League draw at Chelsea last night.
The Brazilian defender was shown a straight red card after only 26 minutes for hauling down Tammy Abraham as the Blues forward latched on to a poor backpass from Shkodran Mustafi. Jorginho converted the resulting penalty.
Arsenal, though, hauled themselves level in the 63rd minute when 18-yearold Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli raced clear following a slip by N’Golo Kante, before Gunners forward Alexandre Lacazette saw a goal ruled out for offside.
With six minutes left, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta scored from a corner but Arsenal skipper Hector Bellerin then guided in a low, angled shot to earn his side a point.
Manchester City chipped into the gap behind leaders Liverpool with a 1-0 win at Sheffield United.
Blades keeper Dean Henderson saved a penalty from Gabriel Jesus after 36 minutes but with 17 minutes left, substitute Sergio Aguero made no mistake when he turned in Kevin De Bruyne’s pin-point cross.
City edge back 13 points behind Liverpool, but having now played two games more.
Tyrone Mings’ fortunate strike deep into stoppage time lifted Aston Villa out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 home win over fellow strugglers Watford.
Troy Deeney headed the Hornets in front on 38 minutes. The hosts, though, equalised through substitute Douglas Luiz after 68 minutes.
Deep into added time, Ezri Konsa’s shot flew off the boot of Mings and into the roof of the net sparking wild celebrations around Villa Park.
Dean Smith’s side climb to 16th place, two points clear of the bottom three, while Watford drop back to 19th.
Substitute Florian Lejeune scored twice in stoppage time to earn Newcastle an even more remarkable 2-2 draw at Everton.
The Toffees had looked to be coasting towards victory after Moise Kean’s first goal for the club in the 30th minute was added to by Dominic Calvert-Lewin early in the second half.
However, with 90 minutes on the clock, Lejeune produced an acrobatic effort from a corner for his first goal for the club and then was on hand to scramble in a dramatic equaliser to earn Newcastle an unlikely point.
Bournemouth beat Brighton 3-1 to end their run of four straight league defeats.
The Cherries had not scored since Boxing Day but Harry Wilson opened the scoring in the 36th minute against the Seagulls.
An own goal from Pascal Gross doubled the lead ahead of half-time and England forward Callum Wilson ended his own 15-match league barren run when he rounded the goalkeeper with 16 minutes left.
Brighton pulled a goal back through Aaron Mooy in the 81st minute.
Eddie Howe’s side move to 18th place, level on points with West Ham who still have a couple of games in hand, but Bournemouth are also now only two points behind the Seagulls.
Southampton climbed to ninth after a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Nathan Redmond’s screamer put the Saints ahead on 22 minutes, with a fine 25-yard effort from former Dundee United and Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong early in the second half sealing an impressive result.