Arsenal held at Saints, Liverpool thrash Everton

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Arsenal’s wings were clipped in a 2-2 draw at Southampton as they missed a chance to soar four points clear in the Premier League title race while Liverpool thrashed Everton and Manchester United beat Cardiff yesterday.

With Manchester City and Chelsea playing on Wednesday, Arsenal could have stolen a march on their rivals but, like their team bus that was late arriving after getting stuck in traffic, they struggled to move out of second gear.

Arsene Wenger’s side started slowly and were caught out by Jose Fonte’s early goal and Adam Lallana’s second-half equaliser either side of strikes from Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla.

 

There was no sluggishness about Liverpool, whose 15-year home hoodoo over rivals Everton continued with Daniel Sturridge scoring twice in a 4-0 win, while Dutchman Robin van Persie came back with a bang as Manchester United eased past Cardiff 2-0.