Kieran Gibbs was Arsenal's unlikely rescuer after coming off the bench in the north london derby Sunday, scoring his second-ever Premier league goal to recover a 1-1 draw against Tottenham.
The defender's first goal since March 2012 came in the 77th minute, three minutes after surprisingly replacing forward Joel Campbell with Arsenal trailing. The provider was less of a surprise, with Mesut Ozil's high ball to Gibbs at the back post his 10th assist in 11 league games.
It canceled out Harry Kane's first-half opener and denied Tottenham a first win at the Emirates Stadium in five years.
Arsenal missed a chance to go top, staying behind leader Manchester City due to its inferior goal difference. Tottenham, unbeaten in the league since the opening day, is five points back in fifth. In other match, liverpool suffered defeat against Crystal Palace losing 2-1 at home. Yannick Bolasie and Scott Dann scored for Palace while Philippe Coutinho pulled one back for liverpool.
Villa holds Man City
Aston Villa marked Remi Garde’s first game in charge by frustrating Manchester City 0-0 to end a seven-game losing streak in a meeting of the bottom and top teams in the Premier league on Sunday.
Villa remains five points from safety but did at least stop its alarming slump after surviving a late scare when Fernando thumped the bar.
Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan’s reflex reaction stop denied Raheem Sterling, and Kevin De Bruyne missed a clear second-half chance as City failed to find a breakthrough.
“Of course we tried to score, but we couldn’t,” City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. “Villa didn’t shoot once to our goalkeeper but these things happen, we were unlucky with three or four opportunities.
“That happens in football, we didn’t score, but I was very happy with the way we played, especially in the second half.”
There was a renewed sense of confidence despite Villa’s run of losses, the first six of which led to Tim Sherwood’s firing.
“Today was a massive, massive draw for us,” said Villa defender Micah Richards, who joined from City. “We fought for each other and we played some good football as well.”
Chelsea lose again Stoke beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday to inflict the third straight defeat on Chelsea.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho missed the away game after receiving a stadium ban for his behavior toward match officials in his side’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham.
The latest loss is his side’s seventh defeat in 12 matches and raises further doubts over Mourinho’s future. Hughes' side broke the deadlock after restart when Marko Arnautovic scored in the 53rd minute.