Everton end Arsenals unbeaten run
Pugh brings Leicester down to earth
AFP
AFP, LONDON: Ashley Williamss 86th-inute header ended Arsenals 14-game unbeaten run and kept Arsene Wengers side from the Premier League summit as Everton claimed a much-needed 2-1 win on Tuesday.
Arsenal would have provisionally supplanted leaders Chelsea on goals scored with victory and took a 20th-minute lead when Alexis Sanchezs free-kick deflected in off Williams.
But Seamus Coleman equalised with a 44th-minute header before Williamss first Everton goal ended his teams five-game winless run and sent Ronald Koemans 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 thats 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 Pughs 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 Evertons 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 Sanchezs 12th effort of the campaign, putting him level with Chelseas 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 Arsenals lead early in the second half, wafting a shot over the bar from Sanchezs cut-back, while Barkley drilled wide at the other end. The noise level rose as the game wore on and with four minutes to play Everton struck the winner, Williams flying in at the back post to send a thudding header past Cech from Barkleys corner.
Everton had Jagielka sent off after he picked up a second yellow card, but the hosts survived amid frantic late scenes that saw Arsenal substitute Alex Iwobi have a shot blocked on the line.
It was Arsenals first league defeat since their 4-3 loss to Liverpool on the seasons opening day and means they will be six points off the pace if Chelsea win at bottom club Sunderland on Wednesday. Leicester remain without back-to-back league wins this season after defeat at Bournemouth their eighth of the campaign kept them in 14th place, just four points above the relegation zone.
