Arsenal missed out on the chance to return to the Premier League summit as they lost 2-0 to West Ham at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who were Christmas leaders for the second year in a row, now trail Liverpool by two points at the halfway mark of the season. West Ham took the lead through Tomas Soucek in the 13th minute, and Konstantinos Mavropanos added a second goal for the visitors. Arsenal dominated possession but couldn’t find a cutting edge, and the defeat leaves them in second place, one point clear of Aston Villa and three ahead of Manchester City.

Despite dominating the game, Arteta expressed disappointment with the result and believed his team deserved more. He acknowledged that there are areas they need to improve on but was optimistic about their next game against Fulham.

West Ham manager David Moyes celebrated his team’s rise to sixth in the table and acknowledged that they are still growing as a team. He highlighted their qualification for the Europa League as a great achievement for the club.

Meanwhile, Tottenham, who had been early pacesetters this season, remain in fifth spot after losing 4-2 to Brighton. They made a remarkable comeback attempt from being 4-0 down but fell short. Brighton scored through a penalty from Pedro and a thunderbolt from Pervis Estupinan, among other goals. Despite the loss, Brighton’s coach, Roberto De Zerbi, expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance and reminded everyone that they are not one of the top teams but are still a force to be reckoned with.