Weekend Review: Brilliant Brighton blitz awful Arsenal as City close in on title

It was a weekend to remember for the layers and one to forget for Arsenal as the Gunners saw any lingering hope of a Premier League title vanish into thin air on Sunday afternoon.

Looking to keep the pressure on Manchester City, Arsenal welcomed Brighton to the Emirates but failed to live up to the heights they have hit this season.

A performance full of individual errors saw the Seagulls run out 3-0 winners to strengthen their European ambitions and all but end Arsenal’s title charge.

Goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupiñán means Mikel Arteta’s men will have to settle for Champions League football after a trophyless campaign.

The result in north London marked the end of a positive weekend for the bookies, which kicked off with Leeds United holding Newcastle to a 2-2 draw in Yorkshire to keep their survival hopes afloat.

Another 2-2 draw saw Nottingham Forest walk away from Stamford Bridge with a point, as Chelsea’s miserable season continues to drag on.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “A good day for layers in the Premier League on Saturday, with a couple of 2-2 draws being great for the book. Chelsea’s draw with Forest and Newcastle’s draw with Leeds both left us nicely ahead.

“Southampton’s relegation was confirmed with a toothless 2-0 loss at home to Fulham, a result which unsurprisingly was well backed by punters to see them ahead there.

“Brighton certainly weren’t without their backers but, overall, a good result for the book,” he added.

Elsewhere, a professional display from Manchester City and a stunning performance from captain İlkay Gündoğan secured a 3-0 win away at Everton. City could very well now clinch the title with a win at Chelsea next week.

The champions-elect have recovered from being eight points behind Arsenal back in January, much to the delight of the bookies.

Gill added: “By the time the Premier League outright numbers are finalised, that will be a player-friendly result as City were favourites from a long way out, regardless of the points deficit at the time.”

Betfred’s Alan Firkins commented: “Victory at home to Chelsea will secure a third title on the spin for Guardiola with a couple of games to spare. Brighton’s Emirates victory was of course a great result for the book, and as I’ve said before, Arsenal were a massive liability with us for the title.

“A City win, if indeed it comes to pass, was always preferable, business-wise,” he added.

At the other end of the table, Firkins noted: “The traders feel Leicester and Leeds are most likely to follow Southampton down into the Championship – both are odds-on – but there’s no way Forest and Everton can relax just yet.”

Over at bet365, Steve Freeth likewise recorded a bookmaker-friendly weekend, with routine wins for Crystal Palace and Manchester United also going some way to help the book.

On the continent, results swung the bettors’ way with wins for favourites across the board, including Barcelona winning 4-2 to local rivals Espanyol to secure La Liga for the first time since 2019.

Freeth said: “Punters didn’t have much to shout about in the Premier League, but they didn’t leave it behind in Europe, with the big guns finding the net for fun – especially in Germany where all six favourites won on Saturday – with Bayern bagging six, Dortmund smashing five and Union hitting four.

“Other highlights for customers included 4-2 wins for Barcelona and Inter as well as PSG’s 5-0 rout of AC Ajaccio and Villarreal’s 5-1 win over Bilbao in a game littered with cards,” he added.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, Rebel Territory emerged victorious in the Victoria Cup at Ascot.

The Amanda Perrett-trained runner eventually won the race by four lengths ahead of Biggles to follow up his successful return at Newmarket.

Kindred Group’s Gill said: “There was some good racing over the weekend, with the Victoria Cup just about topping the bill.

“It went the way of 11/1 shot Rebel Territory, who won it well in the end. Some fair prices in the places in behind and favourite Totally Charming slightly disappointing meant it was a good result for the book,” he added.

Finally, Eurovision returned to our television screens live from Liverpool, with the annual politico-musical feast being thoroughly tucked into by the punters. William Hill has promised to donate its takings to support those impacted by the war in Ukraine while bet365’s Freeth detailed how the night played out for the book.

A win for Sweden will see the competition head to the Nordics in 2024 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Abba crashing into the public consciousness, while the UK continued to disappoint on the European stage.

Freeth said: “Eurovision is a big event for many people, not least in my household, but the early shrewd money got it spot on with 4/9 favourites Sweden, who were 7/1 a few months ago, beating second favourites Finland, who were supported from 50/1 ante post.

“Israel completed the set for well-fancied nations having been backed from 5/2 into 7/4 late on in the ‘Without Sweden & Finland’ market, and the completely unfancied UK who were punted from Evens to 2/5 to finish 21st or worse,” he added.