EPL race heats up as Arsenal and City win to stay firm at the top

Arsenal held off Tottenham’s late attack to maintain their narrow lead in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

A 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium kept Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the table, ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who claimed a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.

Despite establishing a 3-0 lead in what was expected to be a major test in the London derby, Arsenal had to endure a tense finish.

“The last 20 minutes were not pleasant, but they were worth it,” Arsenal striker Bukayo Saka said afterwards. “We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home. The momentum changed, but I’m proud of the boys: we managed to get the three points.”

An own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and further goals from Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal in a commanding position at half-time. But faced with a possible rout, Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and a penalty from Son Heung-min in the 87th minute.

Under pressure, Arsenal held on and remain one point clear at the top, having played one more game than City.

The advantage remains in the hands of Pep Guardiola’s team, who will claim their fourth consecutive title if they win their remaining games this season and responded to Arsenal’s victory with their own victory over relegation-fighting Forest.

With Liverpool’s title hopes dimming further after dropping five points from two games this week, it is up to Arsenal to challenge City’s domestic dominance.

After collapsing at the end of last season’s title race, Arteta’s players look more capable of going all the way this time around.

An away game against their fiercest rivals, Tottenham, was an important test of their credentials at this stage of the campaign. And while Arsenal were guilty of allowing Spurs back into a match that should have been called off long before, the victory, when tensions were high, was a test of character.

“Maybe last season could have ended in a draw and we showed that we have experience,” Saka said. “We know that City are an incredible team, but they are not perfect, we just have to do our job.”

Manchester City victory

Arsenal’s victory meant the pressure was on City to keep up the pressure on their title rivals.

They were always favorites to beat a Forest team desperately fighting for survival, but without Phil Foden, who was ill, and Erling Haaland on the bench, Guardiola was left without two of his big winners in the starting eleven.

An injury to goalkeeper Ederson also forced City to make a change at half-time.

But Guardiola’s side appear to be in unstoppable form and a 2-0 victory extended their unbeaten league record to 19 games, dating back to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa in early December.

At the time there were doubts about City’s ability to win a sixth title in seven years. While Arsenal may lead the way, City’s knowledge of winning titles could make the difference.

So could Haaland, who came off the bench to score the goal that effectively ended Forest’s challenge.

Josko Gvardiol put City ahead in the first half, but Chris Wood had two clear opportunities from close range to score for Forest.

Haaland missed City’s last two games through injury but quickly got back on the scoresheet with a clinically struck goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Among the spectators were his father, Alf-Inge, and rock star Noel Gallagher.

The goal saw Haaland move away from Cole Palmer as the league’s top scorer with 21 goals.

“It’s an important win, no matter how we do it, and it’s good to be back,” Haaland said. “We knew it was going to be a fight and the course wasn’t the easiest to play on, but we can’t complain, it’s about winning and that’s exactly what we did.”

Bournemouth record

Winless in their first nine league games this season, Bournemouth now sit in the top half of the table and have set their own Premier League points record.

A 3-0 victory against Brighton put Andoni Iraola’s team in tenth position with 48 points. Bournemouth’s previous best in the top flight was 46 points in the 2016-17 season under former manager Eddie Howe.

Goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert secured victory against a Brighton team that is going in the opposite direction after six games without a win.