London teams top Premier League after game week

South and North London clubs Arsenal and Chelsea take top spots following weekend contest outcomes

“WHY ALWAYS ME?” — Similar to Mario Balotelli’s first stint in the Premier league, Swiss international Granit Xhaka finds himself constantly looking over his shoulder, getting red cards and game suspensions. Hopefully he finds his place as a dominant midfield presence. (Wikimedia)

This week, Londoners rejoice as Chelsea and Arsenal hold down the first and second positions in the premier league, respectively.

Arsenal, a team notoriously known for being Kings of the fourth, find themselves chasing Chelsea, with eight points behind them in second place on the Premier League table.

The Gunners faced off against a resilient Burnley F.C side. Coming into the game, Arsenal tried to bolster themselves defensively with the presence of star defenders like Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi.

The first goal came in the first half, from a Mezut Özil cross from a corner kick. Mustafi ran to the near post and headed the ball into the back of the net. This marked the German center back’s first goal for the club, after completing a transfer to the gunner side last summer.

Controversy came when Arsenal midfielder, Granit Xhaka, was sent off for an aggressive foul. Being the fourth time he has been asked to leave the pitch on a red card this season, the gunners were then down a man and trying to hold onto a one goal lead.

Burnley equalized and made the game leveled in the second half and the gunners came back with determination to grab all three points from the fixture.

Alexis Sanchez had the chance to ensure this when Koscielny was taken down, which resulted in an Arsenal penalty. In true Alexis fashion, he stepped up to it and executed a beautiful panelka. Arsenal, due to Liverpool’s loss, now is second on the table going into game week 23. They play Watford F.C next at the Emirates stadium.

Chelsea continued their fine form, securing three points, two goals and a clean sheet against Hull City F.C in the weekend game at Stanford Bridge. Antonio Conte’s squad impressed the gaffer as Diego Costa returned from his minor injury.

On his 100th club appearance,star-striker Costa scored the opener opened the scoring with a brilliant assist from Victor Moses. The Nigerian left wing back played a great pass into the box, where Costa linked up to and struck it into the back of the net.

Cesc Fabregas came off the bench later in the game and got himself on the assist sheet. The Spanish maestro seems to have grown to embrace his role, being the spark off the bench. He crossed the ball into the box, where Skipper and star center back Gary Cahill got his head to the ball and directed it into the net. Chelsea goes up against Liverpool next, as they hope to secure all three points from Jurgen Klopp’s team.