Sports Desk, Mar 1 (EFE).- Gabriel Martinelli had a brace Wednesday to lead Arsenal 4-0 over Everton and lift the Gunners 5 points clear of defending champions atop the Premier League, while Liverpool beat Wolverhampton 2-0 to edge closer to the top four.
Weeks after losing 1-0 to the Toffees on Merseyside, Mikel Arteta’s men were ruthless in exposing the weaknesses of 18th-place Everton, who face an uphill battle to avoid being relegated for the first time since 1951.
The hosts had the lion’s share of the ball at London’s Emirates Stadium, but Everton held them at bay until the 40th minute, when Bukayo Saka opened the scoring with a tremendous assist from Oleksandr Zinchenko.
In first-half stoppage time, Saka took the ball from Everton defender Idrissa Gana Gueye and passed to Martinelli, who beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to make it 2-0.
While the offside flag went up, a VAR review determined that Martinelli was onside and the goal stood.
Leandro Trossard missed the net on an opportunity for the 3-0 in the 57th minute and Everton’s Dwight McNeil forced Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale into action five minutes later.
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard put the game out of reach in the 71st minute, assisted by Trossard, and Martinelli got his second goal of the night – and 11th of the season – in the 80th.
At Anfield, Reds goalkeeper Alisson was tested in the 4th minute by Joao Moutinho and Harvey Elliott would have scored in first-half stoppage time but for a fine save by Wolves’ Jose Sa.
The keeper stopper denied Elliott again 10 minutes into the second half and a goal by Liverpool’s Darwin Nuñez in the 66th was disallowed for a foul in the buildup by former Wolverhampton man Diogo Jota, who redeemed himself in the 73rd by assisting on Virgil van Dijk’s opener.
Mohamed Salah doubled the lead in the 77th minute and the home side climbed to sixth place on 39 points, 6 behind fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur but with a game in hand.
Wolves remain 16th with 24 points, just 3 above the drop zone.