(West Ham – Arsenal 1-2) Martin Ødegaard manages Arsenal against Champions League games as captain of the London team. Midfielder Gabriel won the match.
–
Arsenal are vying with Tottenham for the important 4th place that gives Champions League games. And with the Arsenal victory, it is they who have their hands on that wheel, two points ahead of Tottenham.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale was very pleased.
“Of course it was important if we want to be number four or even number three, if we look a little further up,” Ramsdale told Sky Sports after the match.
Ramsdale said after the match that he did not know the result of the Tottenham match before he went on the field. Goal scorer Rob Holdning acknowledges that there is a lot of focus on Tottenham.
– They will play a little before us and we a little before them. We have to deal with the pressure, Holding told Sky Sports, who after the match received good words from manager Mikel Arteta and called him “man of the match”.
It was a calm start to the match, but after 39 minutes there was speed on Arsenal and the match when Bukayo Saka hit a corner from the left. Rob Holding went high up in front of goal and stabbed the ball in goal with his head.
Martin Ødegaard was once again Arsenal captain, but just before the break he had to see that the lead was short-lived. Jarrod Bowen got the ball from Vladimir Coufal in front of goal. Bowen placed the ball right in the corner to the right of goalkeeper Ramsdale – and scored in his 100th game for West Ham.
But corner was the goal in this match. After 54 minutes, Arsenal were awarded a corner kick. West Ham got the ball away first, but it ended up with Gabriel Martinelli who played to Gabriel on the back post, he put the ball in goal. And the scoring was celebrated in exactly the same way as Liverpool midfielder Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring: Tongue out and hand under chin.
Ødegaard threw himself into the jubilation after the goal and jumped up on his own teammates in joy.
The Norwegian Arsenal captain was replaced after 90 minutes. In overtime, substitute Albert Lokonga got a great opportunity, but he put the ball far outside from a good position.
A relieved Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta walked around the field afterwards and high fived with, hugged and thanked his own players. He does not think they played any good football on Sunday.
– You must always find a way to win, always win. Provoke mistakes, be brilliant, fight hard and keep a clean sheet, says Arteta to Sky Sports.
Arsenal meet Tottenham on May 12 for what could almost be a “final” about Champions League games.
Everton win
Everton have everything to fight for on the Premier League occasion, and the screenwriter had done the job: Against coach Frank Lampard’s old club Chelsea, Richarlison secured what could be a decisive victory in the hunt for a renewed Premier League contract.
With his match-winning scoring shortly after the break, he made Everton just two points behind a safe place with one game to spare. Thus, everything is in their hands.
Chelsea, for their part, have let several teams into the battle for third place.
Tottenham victory
Tottenham, on the other hand, did the job at home against Leicester and climbed into the top four.
Harry Kane opened the scoring midway through the first half, before Son Heung-min scored two more in the second half. Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho got a consolation goal in overtime.
–