Pep, Arteta shocked; Liverpool gain on night of upsets in Premier League

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (left) and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Photos: Reuters/ AFP

It was a weekend of upsets in the Premier League as Bournemouth ended Manchester City's unbeaten streak with a 2-1 victory and Alexander Isak's early strike for Newcastle dealt a blow to Arsenal's title chase.

Liverpool were on the verge of a shock defeat before a sensational strike from Mohamed Salah gave them a 2-1 comeback win over Brighton & Hove Albion. While all this was happening, Nottingham Forest bounced into the third position in the points table with a 3-0 thumping of West Ham after Edson Alvarez's red card.

Pep Guardiola's City had been on a 32-game unbeaten run in the league. Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson got on the scoresheet to end that beautiful streak for the champions. City have slipped to second position on 23 points, two behind Liverpool, after 10 matches.

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Bournemouth players celebrate following their English Premier League match against Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth on November 2, 2024. Photo: AFP/ Justin Tallis

A couple of hours before Guardiola tasted defeat, his disciple, Mikel Arteta, appeared lost on the touchline as Eddie Howe's men edged them to climb into the eighth position. After Nottingham won, Arsenal slipped to fourth in the standings and might end the gameweek as low as sixth if Aston Villa and Chelsea win their away matches on Sunday at Tottenham and Manchester United respectively.

Haaland denied
Bournemouth made a strong start after Semenyo scored in the ninth minute. Milos Kerkez, who worked the ball up field and sent a low cross for the assist, also set up Evanilson's strike in the 64th minute. City reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute when Josko Gvardiol leapt to meet a Gundogan cross. The game was perfect for City's hitman Erling Haaland to script a late turnaround, but he hit the post from close range in injury time.

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Arsenal players look dejected after Newcastle United's Alexander Isak scores their first goal. Photo: Reuters/Scott Heppell

Gunners fail to fire
Like Haaland for City, Declan Rice so nearly snatched a point in injury time for Arsenal, but the midfielder headed a cross narrowly wide.

The Englishman wasn't the only one to squander chances for Arteta's side. Bukayo Saka, too, headed wide from a Kai Havertz cross, and Mikel Merino's goal-bound volley was blocked. “We are all a bit sad because we wanted to win today,” Arsenal's Saliba told TNT Sports. “Unfortunately we didn't and we didn't play the game we wanted to play. We deserved to lose today I think,” he said.

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