WEST BROMWICH, England — Arsenal fell to its fourth loss in five Premier League games on Saturday when West Bromwich Albion beat Arsene Wenger’s side 3-1 Saturday to further jeopardize its chances of Champions League qualification.
Arsenal’s downfall once again was its porous defence with Craig Dawson heading in twice from corners on another day of protests against Wenger.
In the skies above the Hawthorns, a plane trailing a banner reading "No contract Wenger out" appeared during the game. Inside the stadium, "Enough is enough time to go" posters were also held aloft by fans who want the Frenchman to leave at the end of the season after 21 years in charge.
Watch match highlights: West Bromwich Albion 3, Arsenal 1 || West Ham United 3, Leicester City 2 || Sunderland 0, Burnley 0 || Crystal Palace 1, Watford 0 || Stoke City 1, Chelsea 2 || Everton 4, Hull City 0 || Bournemouth 2, Swansea City 0 ||
In the last month, Arsenal has been eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern Munich and only won two games — both against fifth-tier teams in the FA Cup. Arsenal is further than ever from winning the Premier League title for the first time since 2004 and is five points adrift from the fourth Champions League place.
Arsenal fell behind in the 12th minute in central England when Dawson glanced in his first header from Nacer Chadli’s corner.
Although Alexis Sanchez equalized inside three minutes, West Brom regained the lead in the 55th when substitute Hal Robson-Kanu scored with only his second touch of the game by putting the ball under substitute goalkeeper David Ospina.
The crossbar prevented Arsenal levelling again through Danny Welbeck’s header before Dawson sealed the win from a set piece in the 75th minute.
EPL leader Chelsea beats Stoke through late Cahill goal
STOKE, England — Gary Cahill made amends for conceding a penalty by scoring a late winner as Chelsea beat Stoke 2-1 to move 13 points clear atop the English Premier League on Saturday.
The England centre back smashed home from close range following a corner in the 87th minute to seal a fifth straight victory for the likely champions.
Willian’s free kick put Chelsea ahead in the 13th, and Jonathan Walters equalized from the penalty spot in the 37th after the striker was nudged by Cahill.
Stoke right back Phil Bardsley was sent off in second-half stoppage time after collecting a second yellow card for a foul on Cesc Fabregas.
Chelsea won without star winger Eden Hazard, who was missing because of an unspecified injury.
Tottenham and Manchester City, who are tied on points and the nearest challengers to Chelsea, both play on Sunday.
Lukaku scores twice for Everton after rejecting new deal
LIVERPOOL, England — Romelu Lukaku has cast doubt on his future at Everton but he’s continuing to score the goals that could secure his team a place in Europe.
The striker set up a goal and scored twice in stoppage time to wrap up a 4-0 victory over 10-man Hull on Saturday at the end of a week when Lukaku revealed he would not be signing a new contract with the Merseyside club. Lukaku is the first Everton player to score 21 league goals in a season since Gary Lineker in 1985-1986.
Europa League-chasing Everton moved level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal but behind on goal difference having played two games more than the London club.
Everton went in front with a first goal from 20-year-old Dominic Calvert-Lewin nine minutes into his sixth Premier League appearance.
Relegation-threatened Hull began to gain the upper hand, but the momentum was halted when Tom Huddlestone was sent off for a shin-high challenge on Idrissa Gana Gueye in the 73rd minute.
Everton took control when Enner Valencia scored within a minute of coming off the bench after being set up by Lukaku’s lobbed assist.
Valencia returned the favour, with a through-ball for Lukaku in the first minute of stoppage time. Lukaku still found time to find the net again by exploiting a defensive mix-up.
Vardy steers Leicester to 1st away win of PL title defence
LONDON — Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez revived memories of Leicester’s title-winning campaign Saturday as the recovery under Craig Shakespeare continued with a 3-2 victory at West Ham that eases the champion’s relegation fears.
Since manager Claudio Ranieri’s firing, the Premier League champions have reeled off three successive victories to move six points clear of the relegation zone and sealed a first-ever place in the Champions League quarterfinals.
Leicester’s title defence has been so pitiful that it has taken until March and a trip to the Olympic Stadium to finally win an away game in the league — but only thanks to the second-half saves from goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Mahrez, who scored 17 goals last season in the astonishing charge to the title, put Leicester in front in east London after five minutes with only his fifth goal of the current campaign. The Algerian’s two goals in the three league games since Shakespeare took charge are as many as he managed in the previous 22 games under Ranieri, an alarming drop in form that was mirrored across the team.
Robert Huth’s header doubled Leicester’s lead within two minutes of Mahrez’s opener. After Manuel Lanzini pulled one back directly from a free kick, Jamie Vardy restored the two-goal cushion in the 38th minute with his third goal in the three league games under Shakespeare.
The striker had gone two months without a goal before this run of three wins in which Leicester has scored three times in each.
Vardy’s goal proved decisive after Andre Ayew’s second-half header put West Ham back in control. Ayew missed a chance to level when he struck over and Andy Carroll was twice denied from close range by Schmeichel.
Crystal Palace beats Watford for third EPL win in a row
LONDON — Crystal Palace won a third straight English Premier League match when it beat Watford 1-0 at home on Saturday.
The own goal by Troy Deeney allowed Palace to move four points above the relegation zone.
The first half was tedious, and the second half was little better until more than an hour in, when Palace came alive.
Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha created pressure for Palace and, from a free kick, Watford captain Deeney’s header at the near post fell out of reach of teammate and goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
In the standings, Palace moved within three points of 13th-placed Watford.
Burnley still missing home after draw vs Sunderland
SUNDERLAND, England — Burnley remained winless away from home and Sunderland stayed at the bottom of the English Premier League after a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Tom Heaton denied the Black Cats a late winner as David Moyes’ men wasted a series of chances against Burnley at the Stadium of Light.
Heaton saved well from Fabio Borini in the 87th minute while Billy Jones and Sebastian Larsson also missed fine opportunities as the Clarets recorded only their third away point of the season.
Burnley, which is hovering around mid-table despite its poor form on the road, will be disappointed not to go home with the points. Ashley Barnes prodded its best chance wide in the first period and substitute Sam Vokes came close late on.
Sunderland stayed last with 20 points from 28 games.
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