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Williams stuns Arsenal, Leicester brought low

14 Dec, 2016 10:44 IST|Sakshi
Arsenal would have provisionally supplanted leaders Chelsea on goals scored with victory and took a 20th-minute lead when Alexis Sanchez’s free-kick deflected in off Williams

London: Ashley Williams's 86th-minute header ended Arsenal's 14-game unbeaten run and kept Arsene Wenger's side from the Premier League summit as Everton claimed a much-needed 2-1 win.

Arsenal would have provisionally supplanted leaders Chelsea on goals scored with victory and took a 20th-minute lead when Alexis Sanchez's free-kick deflected in off Williams.

But Seamus Coleman equalised with a 44th-minute header before Williams's first Everton goal ended his team's five-game winless run and sent Ronald Koeman's men up to seventh in the table.

"We showed two faces," Everton manager Koeman, who had defender Phil Jagielka sent off in stoppage time, told BT Sport.

"The first face, I hate that face because it is all about being nervous. You cannot lose the game like that.

"This was a good match though because we showed how we have to play -- with commitment and aggression. You see the reaction of the crowd when you go for it and that's what we did."

Arsenal manager Wenger said the game had been "very physical".

"We faced many physical challenges and that disturbed our game, but we were a bit unlucky to lose as well," he said.

"They were a bit scared at first, but they got their confidence. We did fight, I cannot fault that." Meanwhile, champions Leicester City were brought down to earth after their 4-2 demolition of Manchester City as Marc Pugh's goal earned Bournemouth a 1-0 win at the Vitality Stadium.

Arsenal made only one change from their 3-1 win over Stoke City, fit-again right-back Hector Bellerin replacing injured centre-back Shkodran Mustafi, and took a 20th-minute lead.

The goal stemmed from a comedy of errors on the edge of Everton's box as Ross Barkley lost possession, Williams fouled his own team-mate Idrissa Gueye and Jagielka tripped Francis Coquelin.

Sanchez sent the free-kick curling towards Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and in seeking to clear the ball, Williams succeeded only in deflecting it into his own net.

It was Sanchez's 12th effort of the campaign, putting him level with Chelsea's Diego Costa as Premier League top scorer.

Everton did not look like equalising, with Romelu Lukaku and Aaron Lennon slicing shots off target, but with half-time looming they drew level.

Leighton Baines curled a right-foot cross towards the back post from the left and Coleman nipped in between Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal to glance a deft header past Petr Cech.

Mesut Ozil spurned a glorious opportunity to restore Arsenal's lead early in the second half, wafting a shot over the bar from Sanchez's cut-back, while Barkley drilled wide at the other end.

AFP

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