2nd half blitz sees Arsenal past West Ham

London, December 27 Arsenal showed how to fight back on Boxing Day, traditionally a busy time in English football, by beating West Ham 3-1 to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points. Newcastle moved second with a 3-0 win at Leicester on Monday, pushing defending champions Manchester City down to third. Said Benrahma's 27th-minute penalty kick gave David Moyes' West Ham a 1-0 lead at halftime after the Gunners had a spot-kick disallowed by VAR on the stroke of the interval. But Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta saw his team move up through the gears after the break with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scoring with fine finishes at the start of the second period. Eddie Nketiah sealed the victory in front of former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger by finishing off a slick move to fill the void of the injured Gabriel Jesus and earn Arsenal a 10th straight home win in the Premier League. Chris Wood's penalty and a sublime strike by Miguel Almiron put Newcastle 2-0 up against Leicester after only seven minutes, with Joelinton adding a third just after the half-hour mark for the Magpies' sixth straight league win. Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1 for their third straight league win and stayed sixth, a point behind Manchester United. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk struck in the first half at Villa Park before Stefan Bajcetic scored near the end of the second. — AP

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