MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Gabriel scored a 96th-minute winner as Arsenal came back to secure a dramatic 2-1 win against Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday and close the gap on leader Liverpool.
The defender rose to head in a stoppage-time corner that moved Mikel Arteta’s team up to second in the standings and two points behind defending champion Liverpool.
Victory saw Arsenal take full advantage of Liverpool’s first defeat of the season after the Merseyside club’s 2-1 loss at Crystal Palace on Saturday. That game was also decided by a stoppage-time winner by former Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah.
A day later and it was Arsenal’s turn to produce a late flourish after trailing much of the match, following Nick Woltemade’s goal in the 34th.
Mikel Merino leveled the game with a header in the 84th and Gabriel sealed three points deep into time added on.
Earlier, Aston Villa won for the first time in the league this season with a 3-1 victory against Fulham.
Two goals in as many minutes in the second half at Villa Park sealed the comeback win after Fulham had taken an early lead through Raul Jimenez.
Ollie Watkins leveled the game before halftime and John McGinn and Emiliano Buendia struck shortly after the break to help Villa to a league win at the sixth time of asking at the start of the season.
Victory provided relief for coach Unai Emery, who has endured a difficult start to the campaign. The Spaniard, who led Villa to Champions League qualification in his first full season in charge and into the Europa League last term, has found his team battling at the wrong end of the standings in the opening weeks of this campaign after two losses and three draws.
And when Jimenez headed Fulham in front in the third minute, it looked like being another frustrating day.
But Watkins scored his first goal of the season by lobbing Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the 37th.
McGinn drove a low shot from around 20 yards (meters) into the bottom corner four minutes into the second half and Buendia fired in from close range two minutes later.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
