Premier League: Bournemouth stun Arsenal as United ease pressure on Ten Hag by beating Brentford

Arsenal suffered their first Premier League defeat since April as William Saliba’s red card triggered a shock 2-0 loss at Bournemouth on Saturday, while Manchester United eased the pressure on Erik ten Hag as they fought back to beat Brentford 2-1.

Mikel Arteta’s side had started the campaign with a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, but that streak was shattered in controversial circumstances on the south coast.

Arsenal defender Saliba was sent off after half-an-hour for a professional foul on Evanilson that was initially punished with a booking before being upgraded to a red card after a VAR review.

The Gunners finally cracked in the closing stages as Ryan Christie put Bournemouth ahead.

Justin Kluivert’s penalty ensured Arsenal would lose for the first time in the league since their 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa in April.

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Bournemouth's 2-0 win over Arsenal was the Gunners' first away loss in 2024 😱 pic.twitter.com/9A5sZ5AOBA

— Premier League (@premierleague) October 19, 2024

It was a bitter blow for Arsenal, who would have gone top with a victory but now have to face title rivals Liverpool next weekend without the suspended Saliba.

Third-placed Arsenal will be four points behind Liverpool by then if the leaders defeat Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday.

United manager Ten Hag had defiantly slammed “fairy tales and lies” about his future at the club on Friday as the beleaguered boss insisted he was not in danger of the sack.

But the 54-year-old is widely believed to be fighting to save his job after presiding over United’s worst start to a top-flight season since 1989-90.

Ten Hag was surely teetering on the brink of being dismissed after Brentford pounced to take the lead in first-half stoppage time when Ethan Pinnock met a corner with a powerful header.

The goal sparked a furious reaction from Ten Hag, who was booked for protesting about Matthijs de Ligt’s enforced absence to have treatment on a bloodied head wound.

But Alejandro Garnacho started United’s revival in the 47th minute as the Argentinian met Marcus Rashford’s angled pass with a superb volley into the top corner.

Rasmus Hojlund bagged the decisive second goal in the 62nd minute, taking Bruno Fernandes’ clever flick and clipping a composed finish.

“Pressure? Pressure is always there,” Ten Hag said. “We have to win every game, so when we are 1-0 down we have to see how we turn this around.

“We felt some injustice and we use this as fuel for the second half. We scored two great goals.”

United’s first win in six games in all competitions was only their third victory in eight league matches this term as they moved up to 11th place.

Spurs on song

Tottenham got back on track with a 4-1 rout of West Ham, easing the pain of their recent collapse in a 3-2 loss at Brighton.

Mohammed Kudus’ opener for West Ham was cancelled out before the break by Dejan Kulusevski.

Tottenham ran riot after the interval thanks to Yves Bissouma’s strike, an own goal from West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola and a fourth from Son Heung-min.

Did you miss him? pic.twitter.com/n56P39buTE

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 19, 2024

Brighton moved up to fifth place with a 1-0 victory at Newcastle on a day of mixed emotions for Danny Welbeck, who scored the 35th-minute winner but was later stretchered off with a back injury that left him needing an oxygen mask.

Leicester staged a stirring fightback to snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory at winless Southampton.

Cameron Archer struck in the eighth minute before Joe Aribo’s 28th-minute goal increased the lead for the bottom-of-the-table hosts.

But Leicester’s Facundo Buonanotte bundled home in the 64th minute before Ryan Fraser was sent off for conceding a penalty with a foul on Jamie Vardy.

Vardy stroked in the 74th-minute leveller from the spot and Jordan Ayew struck in the eighth minute of stoppage-time.

Fourth-placed Aston Villa have made their best start for 26 years after a 3-1 win at Fulham.

Raul Jimenez netted in the fifth minute, but Villa hit back through Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Issa Diop’s own goal.

Andreas Pereira had a penalty saved by Villa ‘keeper Emiliano Martinez, while Fulham’s Joachim Andersen and Villa’s Jaden Philogene were sent off.

Everton clinched their first away win in 16 games in all competitions with a 2-0 victory against Ipswich.