Merino relieves Arsenal's attacking woes and Marmoush scores hat trick for Man City

After all the hand-wringing about Arsenal’s lack of a striker, it turns out Mikel Merino may have been the unexpected solution.

Merino eased Arsenal’s attacking concerns with two late goals off the bench to secure a 2-0 win at relegation-threatened Leicester on Saturday that kept the Gunners in the Premier League title race.

Manchester City has found a new scoring threat, too, even though it might be too late to get involved in the title fight.

January signing Omar Marmoush netted a 14-minute hat trick in the first half of a 4-0 win over Newcastle that lifted Pep Guardiola's team into fourth place — only three points behind Nottingham Forest, which lost at Fulham 2-1.

With Arsenal playing its first game since leading scorer Kai Havertz was ruled out for the season, its makeshift front three struggled to create chances until Merino — a central midfielder — went on in the 69th minute to play as a striker.

The Spain international looked like a natural center forward as he quickly got on the end of two good crosses, heading home a pinpoint ball into the box from 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri in the 81st and then steering in a low assist from Leandro Trossard in the 87th.

Arsenal tried and failed to sign a striker in the January transfer window even before Havertz joined a long list of injured forwards, leaving manager Mikel Arteta with no other option than to tell Merino to play up front.

“It was a bit of a surprise because it’s the first time in my career I played that position,” Merino said. “But he told me go on as a striker and to make sure I go with my strengths. I think I solved it.”

The win puts Arsenal within four points of leader Liverpool, which can restore the gap to seven points when it hosts Wolves at home on Sunday.

Leicester remained rooted in the relegation zone, two points behind 17th-place Wolves.

Merino has struggled to carve out a clear role in midfield since joining Arsenal last summer. Perhaps he's found one up front instead.

“He has a sense of danger and great timing in the box,” Arteta said.

Nwaneri, meanwhile, produced another impressive performance to further boost his rapidly growing reputation.

The teenager hit the woodwork twice, shaving the top of the crossbar from outside the area on the hour mark and then hitting the post with a fierce strike in the 76th. And after scoring two spectacular recent goals against Girona in the Champions League and Man City in the league, Nwaneri turned provider this time for Merino’s breakthrough goal.

“He’s an amazing player,” Merino said about Nwaneri, a product of Arsenal's academy. “I’ve been talking to him the whole season that I needed those kinds of balls when I’m arriving in the box. And he has such a wonderful left foot that he put it right on my head, so I could only score.”

Unlike Arsenal, City did bring in reinforcements in January and Marmoush showed just why the club spent a reported 70 million euros ($73 million) on the former Eintracht Frankfurt player.

The Egypt forward netted his first goal for the club after running onto a long ball from goalkeeper Ederson and calmly lobbing it over Martin Dubravka.

It was Ederson's sixth career Premier League assist, a record for goalkeepers. Marmoush netted his second just five minutes later after being teed up in the area by Ilkay Gundogan, and completed his hat trick in the 33rd after Savinho broke into the area and squared for the Egyptian to slot home.

Substitute James McAtee completed the rout in the 84th, but there was a late scare for City as Erling Haaland went off after appearing to hurt his knee late on.

Nottingham Forest's hopes of a surprising top-four finish took a blow as the team's pattern of inconsistency continued at Fulham.

Forest's last two league results were a 5-0 loss at Bournemouth followed by a 7-0 win over Brighton and the team was largely outplayed by a Fulham team that had not won at home since early December.

Calvin Bassey headed home the winner for Fulham after Forest's Chris Wood canceled out the opener by Emile Smith Rowe.

Everton's resurgence under David Moyes continued as Carlos Alcaraz scored an 80th-minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace. That makes it four wins and a 2-2 draw against archrival Liverpool in Everton's last five league games after Moyes returned to the club last month. The team was up to 13th place, tied with Palace on 30 points.

In other results, Aston Villa managed only 1-1 at home against relegation struggler Ipswich despite Ipswich defender Axel Tuanzebe being sent off for a second booking in the 40th. Ipswich took the lead through Liam Delap in the 56th and Ollie Watkins equalized.

Brentford won at West Ham 1-0, while Bournemouth beat last-placed Southampton 3-1.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ipswich Town's Liam Delap celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Ipswich at Villa Park, Birmingham, England, Saturday Feb. 15, 2025. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Fulham's Emile Smith Rowe, right, scores their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match between Fulham and Nottingham Forest at Craven Cottage, London, Saturday Feb. 15, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

Referee Andy Madley checks on Manchester City's Erling Haaland after he injured himself during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Omar Marmoush scores their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday Feb. 15, 2025. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri, left, challenges for the ball with Leicester's Victor Kristiansen during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Arsenal players celebrate after Arsenal's Mikel Merino scored his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Arsenal's Mikel Merino, left, scores his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Arsenal's Mikel Merino, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Arsenal's Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power stadium in Leicester, England, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.

A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)

Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)