Matchweek 26 of the 2023/24 EPL season saw Arsenal continue an incredible patch, Man United undo their good work, and Jarrod Bowen to the rescue.
Arsenal’s goal glut continues
There’s some stats you see that, while impressive, contain caveats that diminish their appeal. However the overriding statistic to come from Arsenal’s most recent EPL win contains no such proviso. It’s just incredibly impressive. And that is, they’ve now become the first ever side to score two or more goals in seven consecutive halves of Premier League football. No other team has done so in the competition’s history. Their latest match — a 4-1 win over Newcastle at home — saw them bag two in each half, to replicate previous efforts against Burnley and West Ham, in addition to the second half of their clash with Liverpool on February 5.
The Gunners went in $1.32 favourites at The Emirates and got the job done easily, as Kai Havertz ($2.35 anytime goalscorer), Bukayo Saka ($1.95) and Jakub Kiwior ($7.50) all got on the scoresheet after Sven Botman’s own-goal to kick things off. On the flip side, it was a damning appraisal of Newcastle. In fact, the defeat marked the fourth time Eddie Howe’s men have conceded four or more goals in an EPL game this season – only in 2021-22 (six) have they done so in more games across a campaign.
🔴 @Arsenal are yet to drop points in the Premier League in 2024!
And their free-scoring form continued against Newcastle 🎯 pic.twitter.com/91eZaFel16
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 26, 2024
Man United undo good work
It’s become a familiar trend for Manchester United. Just when the pressure is really piling up, they pull themselves out of a rut, as fans ponder whether this might be the revival they’ve been waiting and hoping for. However it’s quickly revealed to be a flash in the pan. In recent years at one of the world’s biggest football clubs, this has happened on repeat. And it happened again on the weekend.
After four straight EPL wins, United had dragged themselves from $21 Top 4 outsiders with Palmerbet, into genuine hopes at $4.50. They went in as solid $1.52 favourites at home against a middling Fulham outfit who had won just two of their last nine league matches. Yet as many sides have proved in recent years, breaching Old Trafford is not the difficult task it once was, as Alex Iwobi’s 97th-minutes strike ($4.00 anytime goalscorer) saw the Cottagers ($5.50) snatch all three points. The loss undid a whole heap of good work done by United as their Top 4 price immediately went out to $8.50, and more pressure was heaped on manager Erik ten Hag.
“I can’t believe they’re going to wait until May” ⏳
Gary Neville tells @carra23 that Man United might already have made a decision about Erik ten Hag’s future 👀 pic.twitter.com/sPaY8knpV9
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 26, 2024
Bowen gives Moyes breathing space
To say this was a much-needed three points might be the understatement of the EPL season…
Having not won a single match in 2024 to date, West Ham welcomed Brentford to the London Stadium hopeful, but nervous. David Moyes’ men had not only lost their last three league games but been battered, conceding 11 goals without scoring once themselves. And betting reflected this. Five spots higher on the table and playing at home, the Hammers might’ve been expected to be stronger favourites than $2.40 (Brentford $2.65) if not for their torrid recent run. But as he’s done many times this season, it was Jarrod Bowen who proved the most dominant player on the field, and in scoring his first senior hat-trick has helped ease the pressure on Moyes, with the Hammers back inside the top half of the table.
Bet Now ON ALL EPL MARKETSWest Ham didn’t score a goal in their last three Premier League games.
Then Jarrod Bowen scored twice in the first seven minutes against Brentford 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/kkiSdCZCwO
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 26, 2024