London: Arsenal ground out a 2-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday to re-establish their five-point cushion at the top of the Premier League, while Chelsea stumbled to a 3-1 defeat against relegation-threatened Leeds.

Liverpool, meanwhile, needed a late Nordi Mukiele own-goal to salvage a 1-1 draw at home against Sunderland, avoiding another damaging setback. Aston Villa surged to third place after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Brighton.

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal were short of their fluent best but did enough to move closer to a first league title in 22 years, with goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka sealing the win.

Merino maintained his place up front despite Viktor Gyokeres' return to fitness and rewarded Arteta with another vital goal.

The Spaniard was picked out perfectly

See Full Page