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Arsenal destroy West Ham in record away win

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Arsenal secured their biggest Premier League away win with a ruthless dismantling of West Ham to move back to within two points of leaders Liverpool.

 

Mikel Arteta’s side stay third but are now behind second-placed Manchester City only on goals scored after wiping out a six-goal deficit on a stunning afternoon at the London Stadium.

 

It is West Ham’s heaviest home Premier League defeat and joint-heaviest of all time, along with a 8-2 loss against Blackburn in 1963-64.

 

An extraordinary first half saw the Gunners race into a 4-0 lead, thanks to goals from William Saliba, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, leaving the home side stunned.

Saka waltzed through a static Hammers defence to score his second after the break, before Declan Rice made it 6-0 with a rocket of a shot from distance against his former club.

Arsenal cruise to stunning victory
After the jubilation of last weekend’s win over Liverpool, Arsenal produced another statement performance to restate their title credentials.

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It is their joint-biggest margin of victory in an away league match and their first since a 7-1 win over Aston Villa in December 1935.

 

They had to wait 32 minutes to break the deadlock, when Saliba rose highest at the far post from Rice’s corner to nod home from close range.

 

West Ham had been defensively disciplined up to that stage, but completely lost their shape as Arsenal ran in three more goals before the break.

 

The second came from the penalty spot when Saka ran on to a ball over the top and was fouled by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. The England international, who missed from the spot against West Ham last season, converted this time for his 50th Arsenal goal.

Gabriel made it 3-0 with another close-range header from Rice’s free-kick, before Trossard curled superbly into the top corner in first-half stoppage time.

 

The pace of the game dropped after the break but Arsenal’s dominance remained, with Saka collecting Martin Odegaard’s pass inside the area before rifling into the near post.

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Rice then fired in a superb sixth from distance, though the England midfielder refused to celebrate on what was his second appearance back at his old club since his £100m summer move.

 

West Ham slump continues
West Ham fans streaming out of the London Stadium before half-time will be a worrying sight for David Moyes, who has come under pressure from some sections of the fanbase this season.

West Ham fans

The Hammers were looking to beat Arsenal three times in the same season for the first time in 99 years, after winning 3-1 at home in the EFL Cup in November and then 2-0 at the Emirates the following month.

 

But the Hammers have yet to win since that December night in north London, meaning they have begun a calendar year winless in their first seven games for the first time since 1997.

 

This game was lost in a disastrous 15-minute spell before half-time as West Ham’s previously stubborn defence disintegrated, with the half-time break failing to inspire any sort of response.

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With Moyes’ contract expiring at the end of the season, a result from a limp performance like this will only add to the uncertainty about his future.

 

The Scot will be hoping West Ham’s next four games, all against sides currently in the bottom seven, offer an opportunity to kick-start their faltering season.

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Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

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City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.

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WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

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The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

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