Sunday’s briefing: Declan Rice leads Arsenal comeback as Wolves clinch first win

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to six points following a comeback victory against Bournemouth.

Wolves recorded their first league victory of the season and Rob Edwards’ first three points in charge of the Premier League basement club.

Arsenal extend lead at the top

Declan Rice helped Arsenal come from behind with a second-half brace as they triumphed in a 3-2 win against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Evanilson capitalised on Gabriel’s misplaced pass to put the Cherries in front but the Brazilian atoned for his error when he struck back just six minutes later.

Rice missed his first Premier League game of the season with a knee injury in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday but he put the Gunners ahead after 54 minutes before adding a second with 19 minutes to go.

Eli Junior Kroupi’s late strike was not enough to stop Arsenal from going six points clear and extended Bournemouth’s winless streak to 11 matches.

Mikel Arteta said: “Declan is constantly adding things to his game, and his role in the team, and I don’t see where he can stop because he can still improve in a lot of areas and he wants to improve.”

Wolves pick up first win

Wolves picked up their first victory of the season at the 20th attempt and deepened West Ham’s relegation fears with a 3-0 win at Molineux.

Jhon Arias’ first-half effort was followed by a Hwang Hee-chan penalty and Mateus Mane’s first goal of the campaign to deliver Edwards’ first win as Wolves boss.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s return to Wolves was not as he hoped and is now under considerable pressure after West Ham’s relegation fears became even more real after a chastening defeat.

Wolves remain 12 points adrift of safety but have green shoots in their hopes of a great escape.

Edwards said: “I feel good – probably a bit of relief and really pleased.

“It’s been a good day, so I’ll enjoy it and we should enjoy it, but it’s only one win. That’s all it is.”

Aston Villa return to winning ways

Ollie Watkins continued his impressive form with his fourth strike in three games over the festive period to spearhead an 11th straight home win for Villa, beating Nottingham Forest 3-1.

John McGinn twice got himself on the scoresheet, including one from 35 yards, as Unai Emery’s men recorded their best run at Villa Park since 1990.

It got them back to winning ways after their midweek defeat to Arsenal but Nottingham Forest remained four points above the drop zone with a fourth straight defeat.

Emery said: “The most important thing is how we can complete our tasks. The numbers are important because it makes them a protagonist. It is fantastic.”

What’s on today

Manchester United travel to Leeds in the early kick-off while Manchester City aim to close the gap back to Arsenal with a win over Chelsea.

In Sunday’s other top-flight matches, Everton play Brentford and Liverpool visit Fulham, Newcastle aim to make it back-to-back wins against Crystal Palace and Tottenham to look to end their home woes against Sunderland.