Arsenal moved back ahead of Tottenham in the race for Champions League qualification with a hard-fought 2-1 win at West Ham.
Mikel Arteta's Gunners were kicking off less than an hour after Spurs had climbed a point above them into fourth place in the Premier League with a 3-1 defeat of Leicester City.
West Ham, like Leicester, made changes ahead of the second leg of a European semi-final, but they gave Arsenal a stern examination in a match that took a little time to get going.
After a 38-minute wait for the first effort of note, Rob Holding and Gabriel Magalhaes were the unlikely Arsenal scorers either side of a Jarrod Bowen equaliser.
Eddie Nketiah's low effort from the edge of the box was turned behind by Lukasz Fabianski seven minutes before the break, and the game burst into life from that moment. Arsenal were in front from the resulting corner as Holding got up ahead of Kurt Zouma to nod into the bottom-left corner for his first Premier League goal.
Back came West Ham, though, and after Aaron Ramsdale expertly kept out a header from Declan Rice, he was beaten by a deflected Bowen strike, with the winger given time and space to control and shoot inside the area.
But Arsenal were back in front nine minutes after half-time through Gabriel, their other centre-back, who was picked out by a fine Gabriel Martinelli cross and headed beyond Fabianski.
Nketiah should have taken the game away from West Ham but fired wide after cutting in from the left on the break, before the striker drew a sharp low stop from Fabianski.
However, the visitors were not made to pay for those squandered chances, holding on for a third straight victory that again puts them two points clear of Tottenham.
Fred is yet to talk to Erik ten Hag about future at Manchester United
Erik ten Hag is yet to speak to Fred about his Manchester United future with the midfielder about to enter the final year of his contract.
The Brazil international has played 35 times in the Premier League this season and started United’s 2-1 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, but said afterwards that he is unsure about his future at Old Trafford.
This season has been by far the 30-year-old’s best campaign in terms of appearances with 56 games across all competitions.
He has played a key role as United have returned to the Champions League after a season away, as well as winning the Carabao Cup in February.
Ten Hag’s team were defeated by their city rivals on Saturday, thwarting them in their bid to win both domestic cups and stop City’s charge towards the Treble in its tracks.
“Of course I always want to be playing, to be helping my team and gladly today I started and I think we played well,” said Fred.
“(About my future) I still don’t know, I have to talk with my family, I still have one year left on my contract here. Now it’s holidays time and a good opportunity to rest. I’ll talk to my staff, to the club and see what’s everyone’s decision.”
Fred joined United for £47million from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018 but struggled to win a regular place in the side during his first season.
In all he has scored 14 goals in 213 games for the club, and during his time at Old Trafford has nailed down a place in the Brazil squad. He currently has 32 international caps and played for his country at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He added: “I do have to talk with Ten Hag as well, he’s the manager and the conversation has to involve everyone. We have to see how next season will pan out.
“I want to be important, I want to help the team, so we’ll see. But I’ve always been and still am very happy at Manchester United.”
Luke McCowan signs new two-year deal with promoted Dundee
Dundee have continued to prepare for their cinch Premiership return by securing Luke McCowan on a new two-year deal.
The 25-year-old scored 10 goals last season including an excellent individual effort in the title-clinching victory over Queen’s Park.
The attacking midfielder has played 76 times since joining from Ayr two years ago.
McCowan told the club’s official website: “I am happy to get the deal done and I am looking forward to the season in the Premiership and taking the positives from winning the league last year into this year. I am excited to work under the new manager and for the season ahead.”
Man charged after wearing shirt appearing to refer to Hillsborough disaster
A man has been charged after he was seen wearing a football shirt at Wembley which appeared to make an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster.
James White, 33, of Warwickshire, was charged on Sunday with displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, Scotland Yard said.
The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.
Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final, where Manchester City beat local rivals Manchester United 2-1.
The Met said White was arrested “after being seen wearing a shirt which appeared to refer in offensive terms to those who died in the Hillsborough tragedy”.
He was bailed to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on June 19.
Meanwhile, police said a further 22 people were arrested during the course of the policing operation for offences including assault, affray, possession of drugs, and drunk and disorderly behaviour.
Inquiries continue in respect of an item thrown on to the pitch shortly after the Manchester United goal, and there has been no arrest at this stage in relation to that matter.
On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.
“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.
“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”
Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.
An inquest jury ruled in 2016 that they were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
