Premier League: Arsenal surge seven clear as Liverpool finally win; dramatic Chelsea comeback caps a frantic Saturday
- Leeds 0-4 Arsenal
- Liverpool 4-1 Newcastle
- Chelsea 3-2 West Ham
- Brighton 1-1 Everton
- Wolves 0-2 Bournemouth
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Arsenal and Liverpool rediscovered their cutting edge on a pivotal Premier League Saturday, with Mikel Arteta’s side blasting seven points clear at the top after a 4-0 rout at Leeds, and the defending champion easing months of frustration with a 4-1 win over Newcastle at Anfield.
Manchester City and Aston Villa can trim Arsenal’s advantage back to four points on Sunday, but this was a statement day for the leaders and a cathartic one for Liverpool.
Arsenal arrived at Elland Road on a three-game league wobble and then lost Bukayo Saka in the warmup, a late withdrawal that threatened to tilt a tricky trip against a Leeds team beaten just once in 11 across all competitions. Instead, the visitors controlled the match from the first set piece onward and left with their most convincing league display of 2026.
Martin Zubimendi’s near-post header on 27 minutes settled any nerves. Shortly before halftime, Karl Darlow’s punch at Noni Madueke’s inswinging corner ricocheted into his own net to double Arsenal’s lead. Viktor Gyokeres added a third after the break—his fourth goal in six games—and Gabriel Jesus spun and buried a low fourth late on to complete the rout.
“We really wanted to show how much we wanted it,” Arteta said afterward. “It’s very difficult to win 4-0 at Leeds—let’s see who is the next team that does it—but we did it in a moment when we needed it.”
The result followed August’s 5-0 at the Emirates, underscoring Arsenal’s matchup advantage and restoring rhythm to a title charge that had looked uneasy in recent weeks. The leaders’ blend of set-piece sharpness, Gyokeres’ penalty-area presence and a relentless off-ball press suffocated Leeds, whose wide outlets were repeatedly forced backwards.
If Arsenal’s performance was about control, Liverpool’s was defined by emotion. Anfield roared and then softened as Ibrahima Konate, playing his first game since the recent death of his father, swept in during stoppage time and wept as teammates, including goalkeeper Alisson, sprinted the length of the field to embrace him.
“I don’t have words to describe what I feel right now because it was a very difficult moment for me and my family the last two weeks,” the France defender told TNT Sports. He said he had not intended to rush back but felt compelled with injuries thinning Arne Slot’s defensive options. “It was important for me to come back and to help the team.”
Newcastle struck first through Anthony Gordon, exploiting space in transition. But Hugo Ekitike, one of Liverpool’s headlining summer signings, turned the game in two ruthless minutes, twice finding the corners to give the hosts a halftime lead. The French forward is up to 15 Premier League goals in his debut season. Florian Wirtz added Liverpool’s third after the break—his sixth in 10 games—before Konate’s stoppage-time strike sealed the club’s first league win of 2026 and eased pressure around a spluttering start to the year.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea authored the comeback of the day and perhaps their season. Trailing 2-0 to a West Ham side fighting for survival—Jarred Bowen clinically finishing one break and Crysencio Summerville punishing lax marking—the hosts looked rattled and the manager’s rotation under scrutiny. Liam Rosenior had made seven changes to his XI, a gamble that appeared to backfire by halftime.
Rosenior reacted with three substitutions at the interval, and the energy flipped. Joao Pedro halved the deficit, Marc Cucurella equalized by the 70th minute, and after West Ham’s Jean-Clair Todibo missed a gilt-edged chance at the other end, Enzo Fernandez arrived inside the box to sweep in the winner in the second minute of added time. Chaos followed the decisive goal as tempers flared; a mass confrontation ended with Todibo sent off for violent conduct.
“The reaction of the team in the second half tells me that we’ve got something really, really special here if I can utilize the squad in the correct way,” Rosenior said. The victory lifted Chelsea into fourth; for West Ham, five points adrift of safety, it was another punishing late concession in a season of thin margins.
Everton, meanwhile, keep making a habit of dramatic rescues. Days after nicking a point against Leeds, Sean Dyche’s side snatched another draw in the 97th minute at Brighton. Pascal Gross had given the hosts a deserved lead, only for Beto—sent on in the 89th— to crash in the equalizer deep into added time. It was a classic Everton under Dyche performance: organized, opportunistic and stubborn enough to stay in games long enough for a moment to fall their way.
At Molineux, Wolves’ grim season lurched on. Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott scored in a composed 2-0 away win that underscored the Cherries’ growing maturity under pressure. For last-placed Wolves, it was an 18th league defeat. A brief uptick under Rob Edwards had offered hope across five unbeaten matches, but back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Bournemouth have left the club 17 points from safety, having played a game more than its rivals.
As the dust settles on a fevered Saturday, the storylines sharpen: Arsenal rediscovered ruthlessness and a cushion; Liverpool found catharsis and their first league win of the year; Chelsea located resilience and a top-four perch; Everton clung to their habit of late salvation; and Wolves’ escape route narrowed again. Sunday brings the chasers—City and Villa—their chance to answer. For now, the leaders’ message rang loudest.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
