It’s been a long time since Arsene Wenger left Arsenal. The London club has been through everything since then, at one point it was closer to the bottom than the top, they were not even a shadow of them old selves – the old Arsenal who finished the season without defeat in the middle of the first decade of this century. However, the situation has turned around this year, the Gunners are again a candidate for the title, and the French expert stopped by tonight – for the first time in 1,695 days – to see his former club in action.It wasn’t easy but they got it done – Villa were no villains to LiverpoolAnd he had something to see – an Arsenal reminiscent of his early, championship years at the Highbury Stadium, a team that grinds rivals and leaves them no chance of victory. Tonight, West Ham tought they had it for one half, but wher then devoured in about fifteen minutes in the second period – 3-1 (0-1).David Moyes came to the Emirates with the aim of finally beating the Gunners and he was relatively close. Said Benrahma brought him closer to a feat that he could not do in his 20-year long coaching career – even though he was a guest of the team from North London 21 times – from a rather debatable penalty in the middle of the first half. Arsenal seemed powerless, had huge problems in the build-up and hardly managed to break through the defensive block of the rivals, which often consisted of nine players. On top of that, they were quite vulnerable in counterattacks, so until the break, the second goal of the Hammers could be felt more than the equalizer of the Gunners.And then, after returning from the halftime break, Arsenal’s youngsters ran out and beat Moyes’ company to their feet. Although, truth be told, fortune also favoured them, because in the 53rd minute Martin Odegaard had absolutely no intention of finding Bukayo Saka. However, his powerful but imprecise shot ended up at the feet of the young Englishman, who was composed enough to receive the ball and calmly place it past Lukas Fabianski.Five minutes later, Arsenal turned the score around, with the Polish goalkeeper making his contribution. Gabriel Martinelli did surprise him with a clever shot, but Fabianski certainly had to cover the near post better. However, he didn’t, and the young Brazilian’s goal gave the home team an extra dose of energy to finish the job as soon as possible.And Eddie Nketiah did exactly that in the 69th minute. He turned past Thilo Kerer easily and found the back of the net, thus showing Mikel Arteta that despite the injury to Gabriel Jesus, the Spaniard does not need a new striker. This was Nketiah’s first goal in the Premier League this season, but he will certainly have time to prove himself as the Brazilian will be out of action for at least a month.With their 13th win, Arsenal moved seven points ahead of first runner-up Newcastle and have a game in hand. West Ham, on the other hand, are a point away from the relegation zone…PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 17MondayBrentford – Tottenham 2-2 (1-0)/Janelt 15, Toney 54 – Kane 65, Hojbjerg 71/Leicester – Newcastle 0-3 (0-3)/Wood 3 pen, Almiron 7, Joelinton 32/Southampton – Brighton 1-3 (0-2)/Ward-Prowse 74 – Lallana 15, Perraud 35 og, March 56/Everton – Wolverhampton 1-2 (1-1)/Mina 7 – Podence 22, Ait Nouri 90+5/Crystal Palace – Fulham 0-3 (0-1)/Reid 32, Reim 71, Mitrovic 81/Aston Villa – Liverpool 1-3 (0-2)/Watkins 59 – Salah 5, van Dijk 32, Bajcetic 80/Arsenal – West Ham 3-1 (0-1)/Saka 53, Martinelli 59, Nketiah 69 – Benrahma 27 pen/Tuesday20:30: (1.35) Chelsea (5.30) Bournemouth (10.0)23:00: (1.35) Man.Utd. (5.30) Nott.Forest (10.0)Wednesday23:00: (9.50) Leeds (5.90) Man.City (1.33)***odds are subject to change***
