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Arsenal were only 0-1 up at West Ham with 70 minutes gone, but a crazy last 20 or so minutes saw the goals fly in and a 1-5 scoreline is what we ended up with.

Indeed, it looked as if Mesut Ozil had netted the winner, but the game became the Alexis Sanchez show, as the Chilean notched a hat-trick, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also found the net with a stunning effort. The only positive for Slaven Bilic’s Irons was a comeback goal for Andy Carroll.

The result lifts Arsene Wenger’s Gunners up to second in the Premier League table, with just three points between them and London rivals Chelsea – they will, however, fall to third if Liverpool beat Bournemouth. West Ham, meanwhile, are now just one point above the relegation zone and have shipped nine goals in their last two outings.

It was a cracking game at the London Stadium, and here are FIVE pictures that summed it up…

Bad start for the Hammers

West Ham needed a positive start against Arsenal, but just minutes into the match they lost James Collins too injury. The Welshman may not be a world-class defender, but with injuries stretching Bilic’s options to breaking point, the Croatian could have done without him limping off.

Alvaro Arbeloa came on and the Irons shifted to a back four after starting with a three-man rearguard, and then the problems started…

Ozil: breaking hearts and records

Arsenal fans love Mesut Ozil, and it’s easy to see why. Sometimes the German’s abilities may be a little over-sold by Gooners, but he is a talented player, and his opener vs. West Ham an example of his quality.

Not only did the goal break Hammers hearts, but it also broke a personal record for the playmaker, who has now netted 28 times for Arsenal – more than he’s managed at any of his other clubs (Real Madrid, Werder Bremen and Schalke).

Spicy stuff from the Chilean

Leading the line for the Gunners, Sanchez has been a revelation this season. Although not the target man forward Wenger usually favours, the Chile international has proven himself worthy of his gaffer’s trust, and his first goal against West Ham was truly special.

Controlling a fierce pass, Sanchez managed to get the ball under his spell and slammed it into the far corner past a hapless Darren Randolph.

Carroll season

After another lengthy injury absence, Andy Carroll is back. The giant England international started the game on the bench, but he made it on in the second-half, much to the relief of Bilic and Hammers fans and capped his outing with a goal. With Simone Zaza having been useless and Ashley Fletcher still young, having the ex-Newcastle and Liverpool man available (assuming he stays fit) for the festive period will be massive for West Ham.

Super Sanchez…

Goals are like busses, and not long after the West Ham net had stopped rippling from his first, Sanchez made it 3-0 with another lovely strike from the edge of the area.

But it was Arsenal fifth, and the Chilean’s third, that caught our eye, as he raced through on goal before lifting a delightful dinked finish over Randolph.

Manchester United’s FA Cup win in May was only their second since the turn of the century. They’ve won the trophy twelve times, a record they share with Arsenal, and this season’s competition represents the chance to become the record holders outright to compliment their league title supremacy.

It’s also a chance to usher in the new era under Jose Mourinho which, in recent weeks, has looked like it could be one of great success.

United are on a seven-game winning streak in all competitions, finally turning around an inconsistent start to the season.

The busy festive schedule as tough on the legs but they’ve come out of that looking better than ever and with the visit of Championship side Reading today, they have the chance to rest some players and give fringe options a chance to impress the Old Trafford faithful.

This is the rotated XI we’ve chosen to get the job done against Jaap Stam’s side…

GK: Sergio Romero

David de Gea hasn’t put a foot wrong in the Man United goal recently but cup action provides the opportunity for Sergio Romero to get some much-needed game time.

A start against Reading keeps him sharp for the possibility that De Gea picks up an injury or loses form dramatically.

The Argentine has started four games for United this season, one in the League Cup and three in the Europa League, keeping a clean sheet on three occasions.

RB: Antonio Valencia

The Manchester United right-back has been in exceptional form in recent weeks and given his natural work ethic and fitness is one of the few we wouldn’t rotate out of the team for the visit of Reading.

His engine is crucial down United’s right-hand side and as an experienced squad member will ensure that there are no slip-ups or cup upsets when Reading come calling.

CB: Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling returned to the starting line-up for United on New Year’s Eve against Middlesbrough and made an appearance off the bench against West Ham. With Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones having played a heavy schedule of games, it makes sense for the England international to come in here and relieve them for a fixture.

Smalling probably hasn’t played as many games as he’d like this season and the FA Cup match represents a good opportunity to show what he can do.

CB: Daley Blind

The versatile Daley Blind hasn’t looked out of place at centre-back this season when called upon, making seven appearances in the position so far. With Eric Bailly on international duty, he’ll be the man for Mourinho to turn to if he does indeed want to rest both Rojo and Jones.

Blind is a reliable figure in the United squad, always performing to a high quality when required, no matter the position or role. Partnering Smalling, they should both have enough to keep Reading quiet in an attacking sense.

LB: Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw hasn’t featured since playing a half of EFL Cup action against West Ham in November, and it’s time for him to take a place back in Mourinho’s XI.

United have had capable replacements at left-back in his absence but the potential Shaw has is significant and perhaps coming into a side that is performing better now will help him raise his game to a level expected of his large transfer fee.

CM: Ander Herrera

Manchester United don’t have great depth at midfield, so to maintain an acceptable level of performance, some of the consistent starters over the festive period will have to remain.

Michael Carrick likely needs the rest more so the responsibility falls on Ander Herrera to keep Manchester United ticking in the heart of the pitch.

The Spaniard has been in excellent form over the last six weeks, notching up three assists and putting in two Man of the Match performances against Tottenham and West Ham.

CM: Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini has had a frustrating season in a Manchester United. As unpopular with the fans as he’s ever been, he’s struggled for form, made some key errors and generally looked out of place at Old Trafford.

As we mentioned, though, the Man United midfield doesn’t have the greatest level of depth and with Mourinho preferring to play two central midfielders alongside Paul Pogba in recent weeks, Fellaini could come in to get some much-needed game time.

He played against Middlesbrough on New Year’s Eve and actually had a decent game, so perhaps things are starting to turn around for him this season.

AMR: Juan Mata

Juan Mata has played starring roles from the bench in United’s last two fixtures against Middlesbrough and West Ham.

He got an assist in the first before scoring a vital goal at the London Stadium, and after a series of below-par performances prior to them, we reckon that double impact means the attacking midfielder deserves a chance from the start once again.

He certainly has the quality required to punish Reading and another good performance could be a huge confidence boost heading into more Premier League fixtures.

AM: Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba has been a machine this season and we see no reason to rest him against Reading. In fact, he could be vital in inspiring his team-mates to victory in an understrength XI.

The French midfielder has been nothing short of sensational since his world record transfer. With six goals and four assists from midfield this season, he’s been the driving force of Mourinho’s United and a key part of turning their general form around.

AML: Marcus Rashford

Like Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford was a hugely important impact sub in the last match against West Ham and deserves his chance to impress the Old Trafford faithful.

The teenager exposed the Hammers’ backline, finding space and running off his team-mates, offering a different dimension in the final third.

He got the assist for United’s opener and was the spark needed to get a victory. Can he do the same against Reading?

ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic wants to play every match, that much is clear. Despite being 35, he’s barely been rested this season and will surely want to play his first game in the iconic FA Cup.

Ibrahimovic came to United to win trophies and will want to be an integral part of any cup run. The FA Cup is an important trophy and Mourinho can’t take any risks with his attack.

With 17 goals already this season, Reading could pay the price of the Swede’s hunger to be the main man at United in all competitions.

As reported by The Daily Mail, Jose Mourinho has made a major decision regarding the upcoming January transfer window, opting not to sign any players unless there’s a departure from the club.

What about all the rumours?

Manchester United have been linked with many players over the last month, not least Benfica defender Victor Lindelof, who we discussed last week had been the subject of a bid from the Old Trafford club.

It appears though Mourinho has done about turn on his need for defensive reinforcement. The Mail reckon that the Man United boss is now more than happy with the current form of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo and wants to invest time into making that partnership work.

Further to that, The Mail report that Mourinho is not actually planning to sign any player unless there are departures from Old Trafford. However, they reckon the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay are on their way out, so United fans may get to be excited by a new face sooner rather than later.

Jones and Rojo

The defensive contribution from United’s defensive partnership has most definitely improved in recent weeks, allowing the Red Devils to have a platform on which to build attacks and impose themselves on a match.

Phil Jones in particular is beginning to look the player of old, finally finding his feet under the management of Mourinho.

United have kept three clean sheets in their six December matches, only conceding one goal in the matches they’ve not managed to keep the opposition out. They’ve won their last five matches and are well place to have a much improved 2017, potentially able to push themselves into contention for a top 4 finish.

It’s that kind of form that means they don’t have to make wholesale changes in January and can pick their transfer investments very carefully.

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After the heady heights of last season’s maiden Premier League title success, Leicester have been brought back down to earth this time around with their defence of the trophy being one that is almost non-existent. The task at hand was always going to be difficult, but now it seems that the challenge will be to stay out of the bottom three instead.

You could argue that Leicester’s transfer business over the summer has let them down somewhat. A first XI that gave their all on their way to becoming champions is now looking slightly jaded and the new faces that were brought in have not quite made their mark yet.

They reportedly had around £30m to spend in this January transfer window and half of that has already gone on Wilfred Ndidi from Genk. But with £15m still available to spend that might not be the last bit of business that Claudio Ranieri carries out.

So let’s now take a look at THREE players who could be on their way to the King Power Stadium

Francesco Acerbi

Last season Leicester’s success was built on the solid bedrock of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. The centre-back partnership played a key role on the way to the title, but the performances of the Jamaican and German aces have not hit the same heights this time around.

Some would point to the fact that they are looking a little jaded and that the partnership could perhaps do with some freshening up. One man who may be able to add some competition to the defensive ranks is Italian Francesco Acerbi.

The 28-year-old has been monitored by his countryman Ranieri and the Leicester boss is now ready to make contact with his current club Sassoulo in a bid to snatch his signature. It is believed that a fee of £11m would be enough to bring Acerbi to Leicester.

Michael Keane

If Claudio Ranieri cannot convince his compatriot Francesco Acerbi to move to the club then he may well look closer to home in the form of a Premier League defender whose side sit just a few places above the Foxes in the table.

The man in question is Michael Keane of Burnley. Keane, who has been an ever-present in the league this season, has been attracting the interest of a number of clubs over the past few months with his performances a big reason as to why Sean Dyche’s side have stayed away from the drop zone.

But you would have to anticipate that Burnley would be reluctant to sell arguably their key player to a side that is competing with them in a bid to stay up. As always, though, money talks and Keane may just about fall into Leicester’s affordable price range.

Should they be prepared to test the waters with a bid of around £15m then Burnley might well find the offer hard to turn down, especially as the England U-21 international is yet to sign a new contract.

Mamadou Sahko

Should Leicester be able to find another few million, then another Premier League target may well become a possibility. That’s because Liverpool have placed a £20m price tag on France international Mamadou Sahko.

Sahko has not featured since April for Liverpool due to a combination of off-field issues. Firstly he was served with a 30-day ban from UEFA due to an alleged doping offence (he was later cleared of any wrongdoing) and then he was sent home by Klopp during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the USA.

The 26-year-old signed a new contract at Anfield as recently as 2015, but it’s fair to say that his days on Merseyside are now numbered, and with Liverpool naming their price, it’s a case of not if but when Sahko moves on.

He may come with some baggage, but in today’s market he presents himself as decent value. Although it would use up all of Leicester’s remaining transfer budget, and a little bit more, you get the feeling that the extra outlay would be money well spent with Leicester nervously looking over their shoulder in terms of a relegation fight.

Was the weekend gone the one that decided the Premier League title race? If Chelsea do end up champions, it’s likely we will look back at the day they saw off Arsenal with consummate ease as one of the biggest steps on their way to lifting the trophy.

This was, of course, the case on Saturday in the first match of the Premier League weekend, with goals from Marcos Alonso, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard (the latter’s is a contender for Goal of the Season) enough to edge out the Gunners, who were the Blues’ closest challengers – level on points with Spurs – before a ball was kicked. The gulf in quality was clear for all to see and with Liverpool, another side with ambitions of catching the west London club, beaten by Hull later on in the day, Antonio Conte may well be planning the open top bus parade already…

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Sticking with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, the German manager’s gegenpress was made to look a gegen-mess at the KCOM Stadium, with Marco Silva’s Tigers pulling off the routine of sit back, absorb pressure and wait for the Merseysiders to hand out goals perfectly. Although there’s more to it than a Steven Gerrard curse, the Kop idol’s return to the club as a coach has coincided with four losses and a draw…

Elsewhere Manchester United won again to move from sixth to… sixth, while Spurs kept up their pursuit of Chelsea with a narrow victory over Middlesbrough.

As always, we have @RyanJayBailey in the house for his Monday round-up… ENJOY!

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As reported by The Mirror, Celtic are having to fend off interest from yet another Premier League club for their red hot star striker Moussa Dembele.

What’s the story?

Fresh from scoring his second hat-trick in as many games, new reports have emerged linking the young Frenchman to the big clubs down south.

The Mirror reckon Arsene Wenger is the latest high profile manager interested in securing his services. With a £40m valuation put on the player like the club, they’d have to produce big cash to land him.

The report says that the Gunners are just one of three massive English clubs looking to sign the 20 year-old with Manchester City and Chelsea also considering a summer move.

Celtic should hold firm

Despite the dazzling numbers on offer for their star striker, Celtic should hold firm against the interest and hold on to Dembele for another season. They need his talent to qualify for the UEFA Champions League again and if they’re to have a proper go at the Group Stages then he will be absolutely vital.

The French U21 international isn’t likely to lose his value anytime soon and the Bhoys are in no rush to cash in considering the financial stability at the club.

Should the big boys come calling from down south then it may prove tempting for Dembele but Rodgers should be doing everything in his power to convince the 26 goal striker that Celtic is where his future lies, at least in the short-term.

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Steve Bruce has not had the desired impact at Aston Villa just yet, with the ex-Hull City boss struggling to keep the Villans afloat in the Championship at present.

Currently sat in 17th place, it has been a tough old season for Villa, and their campaign is showing no sign of getting any easier.

The fixtures are coming thick and fast, too, with a tough game against Bristol City coming up this evening. The Villans did manage to pick up three important points over the weekend, but their performance was far from impressive – with a number of their key men failing to perform.

Clearly, if Steve Bruce wants to ensure safety in the Championship this season and push for a higher finish, he needs to make a few changes, and those changes could come in the form of a mix-up in team selection.

We posed the question to Aston Villa fans yesterday on the topic, with supporters questioned on who they would like to see dropped from the team that faced Derby ahead of this evening’s clash, and as is often the case, the results were certainly interesting.

Albert Adomah topped the list for supporters, with the attacker failing to impress so far this season. In hot pursuit were the likes of James Chester and Mile Jedinak, with the Aston Villa fans clearly wanting to see a few major changes tonight. On the flip side, Andre Green appears to be impressing the Villa Park faithful: the attacker is the only player that the majority of fans are hoping will keep his place.

It will be up to Steve Bruce to ensure that performances continue to head in the right direction, but it remains to be seen whether he will opt to make any major changes.

See the full list of results below…

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Newcastle United’s Premier League promotion campaign is going to plan as they currently sit at the top of the Championship table following what could be a defining match for their season.The Magpies came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Brighton on Tuesday night, and they completed the comeback in eight minutes.Mohamed Diame had a huge slice of luck when the ball flicked off his boot and into the top corner to cancel out Glenn Murray’s first-half penalty.Substitute Ayoze Perez found the winner in the 89th minute, which gave Rafael Benitez’s side a slender two-point lead over Brighton but an important eight-point advantage over third-placed Huddersfield Town.Key players Matt Ritchie and Jonjo Shelvey were in the starting lineup on Tuesday night, but another vital cog in Benitez’s machine – Dwight Gayle – was out injured.Interestingly, journalist Ben Spratt has revealed on Twitter that the trio have only played a full 90 minutes together twice this season.

The tweet above states that the Magpies were prolific when the three players completed a match, scoring four goals each time.

Newcastle have already scored an impressive 66 league goals this season, with Gayle the current top scorer on 20, but that tally could be much higher if they the trio regularly played 90 minutes together.

Of course, injuries have played a role in this statistic, but it goes to show how strong Newcastle have been as a team under Benitez this season.

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The serial trophy winner, Jose Mourinho, tasted his first competitive competition win as Manchester United manager a few weeks ago as he led his side to an entirely unconvincing EFL Cup final win over Southampton.

While his first season in charge at Old Trafford has been far from plain sailing, United continue to battle on three fronts – with two of them resulting in more potential silverware – as the FA Cup and Europa League enter their closing stages. With the race for the Champions League still very much on, it really is the business end of the campaign.

It’s a difficult situation for Mourinho. Does he focus on another domestic cup, retaining the one Louis van Gaal delivered last season, or go all out in Europe to try and qualify for the UCL that way?

Both have their obvious pros and cons, though as fans, what would you do? The FA Cup or the Europa League?

Everton captain Phil Jagielka says the players will use Seamus Coleman’s injury as motivation when they face Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Republic of Ireland suffered a serious double leg break during his nation’s goalless draw against Wales on Sunday, meaning he will miss the rest of this season, and probably some of next term too.

Rather than dwelling on the injury to the 28-year-old, Toffees skipper Jagielka wants his teammates to use it as extra spark against their arch-rivals, knowing they could close the gap to Jurgen Klopp’s side to three points if they can pick up a win at Anfield.

That will be a difficult task though, as they haven’t taken all three points there since 1999.

What did Jagielka say?

Jagielka told the official club website: “There’ll be no incentive needed, but the circumstances over the last few days might add a bit of a motivational edge on our behalf.

“We want to go out there and play well and it will be nice if we can all get to speak to Seamus beforehand.”

How big a miss will Coleman be?

He will be a huge miss.

The right-back has become a key part of Ronald Koeman’s Everton side this term, appearing in 26 of his side’s 29 Premier League matches.

Ironically, he would have probably come up against Adam Lallana on Saturday, but the Liverpool man has been ruled out of the match because of an injury he picked up on international duty too.

Who is going to fill in for him?

Mason Holgate is the likely replacement for Coleman on the right side of the defence, but it is an issue that has added to Koeman’s problems ahead of the derby.

Midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and James McCarthy also look set to miss out because of injury, as the Toffees look to close in on the Champions League spots.