Arsenal four points clear after Sunderland hold Manchester City to a goalless draw
By Tanko Bauka
Arsenal’s quest to win the English Barclays Premier League received a boost as Manchester City, closely on the trail of the league leader, were held to a goalless draw by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
With the goalless draw, Arsenal, which had earlier ended the winning streak of Aston Villa with an emphatic 4-1 win, now sit four points on top of the league table.
Aston Villa came into the top of the table clash at the Emirates Stadium in London on a winning streak of eleven straight matches in a row for the first time in over one hundred years of the club and hope to build on that momentum as they too seek to win the league and have earlier beaten Arsenal in the first leg at Villa Park.
Aston Villa started the match brightly and almost took the lead through Ollie Watkins, who shot wide when he was put through, and the visitors continued to dominate in the early stages but were unable to score.
The first half ended goalless but Arsenal turned the tables against their opponents in the second half and got rewarded with a goal through Gabriel Magalhaes who had just returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Martin Zubimendi scored a double for the home team immediately with the other goals coming from Trossard and Gabriel Jesus while Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal for Aston Villa.
Chelsea were held to a two-all draw by AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge stadium, and the result saw the head coach Enzo Maresca throw in the towel, even though it was on mutual consent.
Manchester United failed to pick up all three points against relegation-bound Wolves and were booed off by the angry supporters, while Everton bounced back with a 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, as West Ham United, Brighton and Hove Albion settled for a two-all draw, with Burnley losing 1-3 to Newcastle United.
Liverpool played out a drab goalless draw with Leeds United, with Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur’s encounter ending goalless too.
English Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 2- Brighton 2
Nothingham Forest 0- Everton 2
Chelsea 2- AFC Bournamount 2
Burnley 1- Newcastle United 3
Manchester United 1- Wolves 1
Arsenal 4- Aston Villa 1
Crystal Palace 1- Fulham 1
Liverpool 0- Leeds United 0
Brentford 0- Tottenham 0
Sunderland 0- Manchester City 0
Meanwhile, actions continue this weekend with Aston Villa hosting Nottingham Forest while Wolves take on West Ham United to continue to fight against relegation.
The Star match is the encounter between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, while the league leader Arsenal travel to take on AFC Bournemouth.
The Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A have also resumed following the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Saturday
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest
Wolves vs West Ham United
Brighton Albion vs Burnley
AFC Bournamount vs Arsenal
Sunday
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Newcastle vs Crystal Palace
Tottenham vs Sunderland
Fulham vs Liverpool
Everton vs Brentford
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Spanish La Liga
Friday
Rayo Vallacano vs Gatafe
Saturday
Celta Vigo vs Valencia
Osasuna vs Athletic Bilbao
Elche vs Villarreal
Espanyol vs FC Barcelona
Sunday
Sevilla vs Lavente
Real Madrid vs Real Betis
Mallorca vs Girona
Deportivo Alaves vs Real Oviedo
Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid
Italian Serie A
Friday
Cagliari vs AC Milan
Saturday
Como vs Udinese
Sassuolo vs Parma
Genoa vs Pisa SC
Juventus vs Lacce
Atalanta vs AS Roma
Sunday
Lazio vs Napoli
Fiorentina vs Cremonese
Hellas Verona vs Torino
Inter Milan vs Bologna
