Arsenal and Manchester City win to keep Premier League title race tight

Arsenal survived a late scare against Tottenham to stay ahead in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

A 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured Mikel Arteta’s side remained top of the standings, ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

But Arsenal were made to endure a nervy finish despite racing into a 3-0 lead in a London derby that was expected to be one of their biggest tests in the title race.

“The last 20 minutes weren’t great but it was 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 has changed for them but I’m proud of the boys – we got the three points.”

An own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojberg and further strikes from Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal in a commanding position at the break. But facing a potential rout, Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and an 87th-minute penalty from Son Heung-min.

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

The advantage still lies with Pep Guardiola’s side, who will clinch a fourth successive title if they win their remaining games this season and responded to Arsenal’s victory with a win over relegation-battlers Forest.

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

After failing to secure a title challenge last season, Arteta’s men look more capable of going further this time around.

An away match against bitter rivals Tottenham was a major test of their credentials at this stage of the campaign. And while Arsenal were guilty of letting Spurs back into a game that should have been wrapped up much earlier, winning when tensions were high was a test of character.

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

MAN CITY WINS

Arsenal’s victory meant City were under pressure to keep the pressure on their title rivals.

They were always favourites to beat Forest, who are desperately fighting for survival, but without Phil Foden, who was ill, and Erling Haaland on the bench, Guardiola was without two of his big match-winners in the starting line-up.

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

But Guardiola’s side look in unstoppable form and a 2-0 win extended their unbeaten league run to 19 games since a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the start of 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 trophy-winning prowess could make the difference.

The same was true of 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 chances from close range to score for Forest.

Haaland has missed City’s last two games through injury but quickly returned to scoring goals with a clinically struck goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Among those in attendance were his father, Alf-Inge, and rock star Noel Gallagher.

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

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

BOURNEMOUTH REGISTRY

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 win against Brighton lifted Andoni Iraola’s side up to 10th place and 48 points. Bournemouth’s previous best top-flight performance 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 side who are heading in the other direction after six games without a win.

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James Robson is in https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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

James Robson, The Associated Press