LEEDS, England, Sept 28: Arsenal maintained their lead at the top of the English Premier League with a record-breaking 4-1 victory away to Leeds Saturday.

The result, achieved with two goals from Kanu and strikes from Kolo Toure and Thierry Henry, extends the Double winners’ lead at the top of the table to five points, ahead of the rest of the Premier League programme Saturday.

Leeds, who grabbed a late consolation through Harry Kewell, remain in fifth place.

The win also helped the north London club make further assaults on the record books.

They have now scored in an all-time English professional record of 47 consecutive matches, while this was their 29th successive unbeaten game, equalling Manchester United’s Premier League record.

Another away win would mean they have not lost on their travels for 23 games and counting, another all-time English league record.

But statistics do not do justice to the quality of their football. Leeds, themselves aspirants to the title and enjoying home advantage, cowered in the face of the Arsenal onslaught and suffered their fourth defeat of the campaign.

Leeds manager Terry Venables had tried to calm tensions between these bitter rivals before kickoff.

But, while his own players subsequently lost their tempers and their discipline, Arsenal maintained a run of form that makes them clear favourites to retain the title.

England striker Alan Smith — ironically praised by Wenger 24 hours earlier for learning to control his temper — set the tone for Leeds’ miserable afternoon as early as the sixth minute, earning a booking for a foul on Toure.

Three minutes later, the home side’s general fallibilities made an unwelcome return, as Gary Kelly surrendered possession inside his own half to preface Arsenal’s opener.

Ashley Cole made Kelly pay as he found Toure striding into the area. After the midfielder had sized the situation up, he drew a defender before squaring to the unmarked Kanu, who calmly sidefooted past goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Arsenal struck again after 20 minutes. Sylvain Wiltord picked up a loose ball from Danny Mills on the right flank, beat Mills and then Olivier Dacourt and crossed to Toure, who headed past a bemused Robinson.

Venables revealed in his match programme notes that he had brought forward a scheduled team meeting this week to try to smooth over their problems.

But those first 20 minutes must have left him muttering something about ‘best laid plans’.

If the deficit was not bad enough, Mills and Kewell then had an ugly row on the pitch as they tried to apportion blame for the second goal.

It took Leeds 41 minutes to muster their first shot — a Kewell effort saved by David Seaman — but after just 77 seconds of the second half, Arsenal fans were back in dreamland.

Kanu broke across the halfway line, supplied Henry and the France international raced into the area to slip the ball underneath Robinson’s body for the third.

Smith hit the crossbar for Leeds before Kewell volleyed home Leeds’s goal after 84 minutes.

A minute later, Arsenal stormed back, with Kanu latching on to a pass from substitute Jermaine Pennant to make it four.

But by then, the match, which had been simmering, had boiled over.

It was soured, in particular, by a challenge between Pascal Cygan, the French defender making his full Arsenal debut, and Lee Bowyer.

With Bowyer grounded after a tackle, Cygan appeared to aim a kick at the England international’s chest and chin, but escaped punishment from referee Alan Wiley.

Bowyer was later booked for a foul on Cygan, and joined Smith, Dacourt, Eirik Bakke, Vieira and Sol Campbell in the referee’s book.

Meanwhile Liverpool striker Michael Owen ended his barren run with a stunning hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Manchester City Saturday.

Owen hadn’t scored from open play all season but his treble kept Liverpool two points behind Arsenal, for whom Nwankwo Kanu also scored twice. Arsene Wenger’s champions also set a new record of scoring 47 consecutive league matches.

Elsewhere Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 3-0 home defeat by Middlesbrough, who go third on 14 points, and Manchester United came from behind to win 3-1 at Charlton Athletic.

Struggling Sunderland gained a much-needed 1-0 home win over Aston Villa while Paolo Di Canio scored two crackers in bottom club West Ham United’s shock 3-2 win at Chelsea. Everton beat Fulham 2-0 and Southampton drew 1-1 at Bolton Wanderers.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Bolton Wanderers 1 Southampton 1

Charlton Athletic 1 Man United 3

Chelsea 2 West Ham United 3

Everton 2 Fulham 0

Leeds United 1 Arsenal 4

Manchester City 0 Liverpool 3

Sunderland 1 Aston Villa 0

Tottenham Hotspur 0 Middlesbrough 3

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE

GLASGOW, Sept 28: Results of Scottish Premier League soccer matches played Saturday:

Aberdeen 3 Dunfermline Athletic 1

Celtic 5 Kilmarnock 0

Dundee United 0 Rangers 3

Hibernian 1 Livingston 0

Motherwell 1 Dundee 1

Partick Thistle 2 Hearts 2

GERMAN FIRST DIVISION RESULTS

BERLIN, Sept 28: Results of German first division matches played Saturday:

Energie Cottbus 0 VfL Wolfsburg 1

TSV 1860 Munich 1 Hertha Berlin 0

Hamburg SV 3 VfB Stuttgart 2

Arminia Bielefeld 2 Schalke 04 1

Hansa Rostock 1 Hanover 96 2

Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 1

B’Dortmund 1 B’Moenchengladbach 0

—Reuters