LONDON: Arsenal stretched their Premier League lead to four points as Eberechi Eze’s goal beat his former club Crystal Palace 1-0, while Manchester City lost 1-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Bournemouth are now the Gunners’ closest challengers in second after they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0.

After Liverpool’s latest defeat to Brentford on Saturday, Arsenal enjoyed the perfect weekend as both their title rivals fell further behind as they go from strength to strength.

Eze left the Eagles to join Arsenal in a 60 million ($80 million) deal in August and his first Premier League goal was decisive as Mikel Arteta’s men were again able to lean on their set-piece prowess and a solid defence.

The England international blasted in on the volley after Palace failed to clear Declan Rice’s free-kick six minutes before half-time.

Arsenal again failed to hit top gear going forward, but didn’t need to as they kept a 10th clean sheet in 13 games in all competitions this season.

The only concern for Arteta was the sight of Rice and William Saliba having to be replaced in the second half due to injury.

Arsenal now lead fourth-placed City by six points and have a seven-point cushion over Liverpool in sixth.

Meanwhile, City appeared to be emerging as Arsenal’s biggest obstacle in the title race after a nine-game unbeaten run.

But Pep Guardiola’s men lost at Villa Park for the third consecutive season as Erling Haaland’s 12-game scoring streak came to an end.

Matty Cash’s stunning strike from outside the box on 19 minutes secured a fourth consecutive league win for Villa as Unai Emery’s men climb to seventh.

Haaland had a late goal ruled out for offside, but City’s lack of goal threat other than the Norwegian finally cost the visitors.

No City player other than Haaland has scored in the Premier League for a month.

Bournemouth climbed up to second as Forest’s struggles continued despite a change in management.

Sean Dyche got his reign off to a winning start against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday, but Forest remain in the bottom three after they were convincingly beaten on the south coast.

Marcus Tavernier opened the scoring for the Cherries directly from a corner as the swirling wind caught out Matz Sels.

Eli Junior Kroupi then blasted in his fourth goal in six Premier League games to double Bournemouth’s lead.

Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers remain bottom of the table after Burnley edged a 3-2 thriller in stoppage time at Molineux thanks to Lyle Foster.

Zian Flemming’s double put the visitors 2-0 up inside 30 minutes but Wolves hit back before half-time through Jorgen Strand Larsen and Marshall Munetsi.

Foster’s late strike propelled the Clarets five points clear of the relegation zone and left Wolves now six points adrift of safety.

LIVERPOOL LOSE AGAIN

In Saturday’s late matches, Liverpool’s hold on their Premier League title continued to weaken as they went down 3-2 at Brentford while Manchester United climbed up to fourth with a roller-coaster 4-2 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

This was Liverpool’s fourth successive league defeat leaving them sixth in the table.

Dango Ouattara volleyed Brentford in front following a long throw-in by Michael Kayode was flicked on and Kevin Schade went through to make it 2-0 in the 45th minute. Milos Kerkez replied for the visitors in first-half stoppage time with his first Liverpool goal from Conor Bradley’s cross.

But Igor Thiago restored Brentford’s two-goal advantage from the penalty spot and although Mohamed Salah gave Liverpool hope with a clinical finish, they could not force an equaliser in 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Meanwhile, United are beginning to show signs of consistency, with Matheus Cunha, Casemiro and a Bryan Mbeumo double helping them secure a third successive league win for the first time since February 2024.

“I enjoy it a lot here,” Mbeumo told Sky Sports. “It hasn’t been easy at the start. It’s a new environment, a new expectation but I think with the link up with the team, everything is going the right way.”

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2025