Gunners extend their lead at the top of the table

Arsenal had the perfect opportunity to open up a six-point lead over rivals Manchester City on Saturday evening and it was one they grabbed with both hands. Fulham are no pushovers but the Gunners showed why they remain in the driving seat to secure a first Premier League title in over 20 years.

Mikel Arteta needed his players to lay down a marker to pile the pressure on City. And it didn’t take long for Arsenal to take the initiative as the returning Bukayo Saka fired in a low cross for Viktor Gyokeres, who made no mistake from six yards out.

That goal was the Swede’s 20th of the season as Gyokeres became the first player to bag at least 20 goals across all competitions in their first season at the club since Alexis Sanchez in the 2014/15 season.

The roles were reversed for Arsenal’s second as Gyokeres turned provider for Saka, the winger beating goalkeeper Bernd Leno with a low-near post drive to double Arsenal’s advantage.

Arteta’s side went in at the break 3-0 ahead with Gyokeres bagging his second - and the north London side’s third - by timing his run to perfection to head Leandro Trossard’s cross past Leno.

"I got a really good feeling on Thursday already when we had a meeting before we got on the plane (after the Atletico game in Spain), because we talked about everything that we have to do now," Arteta told the official club website.

"It's about energy and showing how much we want it, and that hunger. And the team clicked immediately, the boys delivered what we planned against a really tough opponent and we were very efficient."

“I think both the performance and result was important. We controlled the game very well. At this stage we have to win the games that are left,” Gyokeres said after Saturday's win.

And on the title race, he added: "We've never stopped believing and we're not going to. We will keep going.”

In a crunch relegation match, West Ham United made the short trip across the capital in one of three 3pm kick-offs to face London rivals Brentford. The Hammers had a great chance to open up some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone in their bid to beat the drop.

Brentford, meanwhile, headed into their home encounter with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on a six-game winless run. The Bees, though, delivered a hammer blow to West Ham’s hopes of avoiding relegation.

Konstantinos Mavropanos inadvertently put the ball into his own net after Michael Kayode’s initial effort cannoned off the woodwork. It was the defender’s fourth own goal in a West Ham shirt, more than any other player in the club's history.

The Greek centre-back thought he’d made amends five minutes later after powering El Hadji Malick Diouf's free-kick past Caoimhin Kelleher.

However, Mavropanos’ header was chalked off by VAR and although West Ham had chances to haul themselves level, they were made to pay 10 minutes into the second half.

Brentford's top scorer Igor Thiago made no mistake from 12 yards to bag his 22nd league goal of the season, sending 'keeper Mads Hermansen the wrong way after Dango Ouattara had been fouled by Diouf.

No player has now scored more penalties in the Premier League than the eight of Thiago since he made his debut in November 2024. The Bees have also scored a competition-high eight penalties this season.

Mikkel Damsgaard, who missed an open goal in the first half, made amends with a sweetly struck 82nd minute effort. There was a touching end to a memorable afternoon for Brentford when Josh Dasilva replaced Damsgaard in the dying embers of Saturday’s 3-0 win to make his first appearance for the Bees in over 800 days.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for all of us with the impact of this tough day,” Nuno said after the Brentford loss. Your move, Tottenham Hotspur.

Just as Brentford ended a winless run, so too, did Newcastle United as the Magpies welcomed Brighton & Hove Albion to St James’ Park.

Newcastle were stuck on a four-game losing streak ahead of their meeting with the in-form Seagulls. However, Eddie Howe's side drew first blood on home turf as William Osula bagged his fifth league goal of the campaign following some good work by Jacob Murphy.

Murphy was brought down by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who in turn committed his fourth error leading to an opposition goal, a record this season, but the winger recovered well to dig out a cross for Danish striker Osula.

Newcastle were two goals to the good midway through the first half as Dan Burn connected superbly with Bruno Guimaraes' corner. Jack Hinselwood halved the deficit on the hour mark; however, Harvey Barnes settled the clash in second-half stoppage time to end Newcastle’s winless run.

On the 3-1 victory over the Seagulls, head coach Howe said: "A big win for us. It has felt like a run of negative results, we needed a big performance to turn that around and we did that.

"It wasn’t beautiful today but I thought it was highly effective and I thought the players played really well."

Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers may be relegated but they’re going down fighting. Keen to give their fans something to cheer about in their penultimate home game of the season, Rob Edwards' side welcomed Sunderland to Molineux.

However, it was the Black Cats who struck first as Nordi Mukiele headed Granit Xhaka’s corner past Dan Bentley in the 17th minute. Seven minutes later and the tie swung in the home side’s favour as Sunderland defender Dan Ballard received his marching orders for pulling Tolu Arokodare’s hair.

Wolves levelled 10 minutes into the second half as Hugo Bueno turned provider for namesake Santiago but Edwards' side were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage with the spoils shared in a 1-1 draw.

Kobbie Mainoo celebrated signing his new Manchester United deal with a winning goal against Liverpool at Old Trafford to secure Champions League football next season.

Former Man Utd star Michael Carrick was tasked with qualifying for the Champions League when he took over as interim head coach in January and it was fitting that the academy graduate he brought back into the team completed the job.

Mainoo (21) admitted “it was difficult” under former United head coach Rubin Amorim, who suggested he might need to move on loan in December. He did not start a single game under Amorim but has started 13 out of 13 since he left.

The midfielder’s extraordinary transformation has mirrored Man Utd’s under Carrick.

“He’s played a huge part, the confidence that he puts in not just me but all the players, you want to follow him, fight for him, die for him on the pitch,” Mainoo said of Carrick, a predecessor in the United midfield.

Man Utd took a two-goal lead within 14 minutes – the quickest they had done so against Liverpool in the Premier League.

But Liverpool scored twice within nine minutes of the second half as Dominik Szoboszlai continued to shine. The Hungarian scored a fine solo goal and set up Cody Gakpo, making him the club’s first midfielder to reach double figures for goals and assists since Steven Gerrard in 2014.

For a brief spell a phenomenal Man Utd run was seemingly at risk: the club had not lost a home league match they had been winning at half-time since May 1984.

But Mainoo’s goal – his first goal in the league in 718 days – settled the match and put a six-point gap between them and fourth-placed Liverpool, with only three games to play.

Man Utd are due to make a permanent managerial appointment in the summer and Carrick’s audition could barely have gone better.

Since he took over, Man Utd have won 32 points – five more than the next best side, Arsenal.

Tottenham Hotspur's players showed they are beginning to understand Roberto De Zerbi’s high-intensity system as they climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time in almost a month.

Six points from successive matches – after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers the weekend before – are more than the five they accumulated in the 14 Premier League games before them.

De Zerbi cautioned “it’s not finished yet” and does not want his players to forget how they have suffered. “Before Wolverhampton was a very sad situation,” the Italian told TNT Sport. “These memories have to stay in our head every day.”

This win remarkably means they now have the third-best away record this season, with 29 points, behind only league leaders Arsenal (32pts) and Manchester City (31pts).

West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Saturday handed Spurs the opportunity to escape the bottom three, though few would have predicted how well they took it.

The win moved them one point above West Ham into 17th place. And, perhaps significantly, they have a far superior goal difference to their relegation rivals: minus nine to minus 19.

Conor Gallagher picked an ideal moment to score his first Spurs goal to open the scoring – almost two years to the day since his last in the Premier League.

“It’s always a bit of a relief to get that first goal,” Gallagher told TNT Sport. “It’s exactly what we needed. It’s been a perfect night. Hopefully it’s only the start.”

Gallagher said he “can’t speak highly enough” of De Zerbi and his influence on their revival. “He's been so good. Every player in the squad has taken to him; he makes you feel so good. He brings the best out of you.”

De Zerbi returned the compliment: “When Gallagher plays well, we play with 12 players.”

Villa are still six points above sixth-placed Bournemouth and are almost guaranteed fifth place and Champions League qualification.

But they struggled in the aftermath of Thursday’s Uefa Europa League semi-final first leg defeat at Nottingham Forest, becoming the first team this season not to have a touch in Spurs’ penalty area in the first 30 minutes of a match, and managing only one in over an hour.

It took until 61 minutes for a first shot and Villa fans had to wait until the sixth minute of stoppage time to see their team’s first shot on target – a goal from Emiliano Buendía.

“We still have work to do in the Premier League but we still have an advantage to get our huge target to be in the top five,” a disappointed manager Unai Emery said.

A 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace means it is now in AFC Bournemouth’s hands to finish sixth, which could qualify them for next season’s Champions League in a remarkable season underpinned by the savvy recruitment of young players.

Teenagers Junior Kroupi and Rayan, both signed within the last 12 months, scored in a comfortable victory against Palace. Bournemouth are the only side to have two teenagers score in a game this season.

From having never played in Europe, Uefa’s premier competition has become a tantalising prospect after they extended their unbeaten run to 15 games.

For sixth spot to earn a Champions League place, Villa must finish in the top five and win the Europa League.

Kroupi (19) signed from Lorient last year, scored his 12th Premier League goal of the season, equalling the record for a debutant teenager set by Robbie Fowler, at Liverpool and Robbie Keane at Spurs.

European qualification would be the perfect send-off for Iraola, who leaves in the summer.

Palace, back in action after a Europa Conference League first-leg semi-final victory 800 miles away in Poland against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday, found it difficult to get into the game.

Head coach Oliver Glasner made five changes to rest players but was frustrated by a series of errors.

“Let’s say you have a friend's birthday and your wedding (a few days later), you are more excited for the wedding. This is the same," he said. "Bournemouth’s semi-final was today — ours is Thursday."

Palace failed to have a shot in the first half for the first time in a league game in five years. Even if they had more touches in Bournemouth’s penalty area in the first 45 seconds of the second half than in 45 minutes of the first, it was not enough to get back into a match.

Indeed, Rayan, also 19, sealed it late on with his fourth goal since signing from the Brazilian side Vasco da Gama in January.

An extraordinary match at Hill Dickinson Stadium produced six goals, two comebacks and a huge swing in the title race. It goes down as an instant Premier League classic.

Jeremy Doku's sensational late equaliser, his second goal of the game, was the final twist of a wild contest in which Manchester City took the lead against Everton, went 3-1 down, and then came back to salvage a point that could yet be important in the title race.

A game as breathless as this one is never easy to process but particularly not during The Run In. Man City will be relieved to have rescued a point, crestfallen to have dropped two; proud of a stirring comeback from 3-1 down, frustrated to have conceded three goals in 13 minutes of chaos.

The upshot is that Arsenal are now in control of their own destiny — win each of their final three matches and the Premier League crown is theirs. Even if they draw at West Ham United on Sunday, they could go on and win the title on goal difference. Their goal difference is currently four higher than Man City's and their final two fixtures are Burnley (H) and Crystal Palace (A), the latter of which is just a few days before Palace could be playing in the Uefa Conference League final.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola spent much of the second half on Monday night in stunned silence and you can understand why, when a controlled 1-0 lead evaporated following a mistake from Marc Guehi, a corner goal that followed an error by Abdukodir Khusanov and finally the second goal of the game for Thierno Barry after Mateo Kovacic was too easily beaten. Barry, along with the brilliant Tim Iroegbunam, ran the show for Everton in the second half.

It was a reminder that for all the pressure on Arsenal — riding the anxiety in search of a first title in over 20 years — this is a new-look Man City side facing the same tension and, arguably, the same level of inexperience: seven of the starting XI on Monday night have never won the Premier League.

It was only a fortnight ago that Declan Rice sat on the turf at the Etihad Stadium, mouthing "it’s not done" to his fellow Arsenal players. Now it’s the turn of Man City’s senior stars — and the manager — to lift spirits and rise to the occasion.

"(Drawing) is better than losing, it just shows what the team are," Guardiola told Sky Sports, praising his team’s comeback from 3-1 down. "We take the point, and until it’s over, it’s not over.

"It was in our hands before this game but now it’s not. Prepare for Brentford. We will continue and see what happens."

Whether the two dropped points will cost Man City the title remains to be seen but whatever the final outcome this season, their 3-3 draw at Everton will go down in Premier League folklore. It will either be remembered as the moment Arsenal were given the telling advantage or the moment Doku's wonder-goal brought Man City's title hopes back from the brink.

In late March, five Premier League Matchweeks ago, Chelsea were 19 points clear of Nottingham Forest. Now, they are separated by only six points, following a run of six successive league defeats for Chelsea while Forest have won four of their last five matches.

Few would have predicted Forest’s comfortable 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge after Vitor Pereira made eight changes to his starting XI in anticipation of their Europa League semi-final second leg at Aston Villa on Thursday.

Pereira took a risk that paid off spectacularly. Forest have taken a major step towards safety, moving six points clear of the bottom three with 42 points, a total that has proved enough to avoid relegation in all bar one of the Premier League's 30 seasons played over 38 rounds of matches.

West Ham United, in 2002/03, is the only exception. It isn’t quite done but Forest are within touching distance.

They also go to Villa Park on Thursday on the back of a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions, their longest top-flight sequence since November 1995, while also a much-changed Villa team fell to a third consecutive defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur the day before.

Forest's only concern was an injury to Morgan Gibbs-White, who was replaced in the second half with a head injury but head coach Pereira is hopeful his star man will be available to face Villa.

"I don’t think the issue is concussion, he has a deep cut. But he is a fighter and I know he wants to play for sure," Pereira told Forest's website.

"He’s in pain at the moment but I believe we will hopefully have Morgan in the next game but let’s see."

But with Taiwo Awoniyi scoring two goals and winning a penalty on his 100th appearance for the club, Forest might not even need Gibbs-White. Awoniyi is usually behind fit-again Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in the pecking order of forwards.

Meanwhile, Chelsea extended their losing streak to six in the league for the first time since 1993 and can no longer finish in the top five.

Chelsea's interim head coach Calum McFarlane could not hide his disappointment after the match, telling the club website: "I thought the first 15 minutes were nowhere near the level we needed to be.

"The manner in which the two goals were conceded really set us back and gave us a mountain to climb. You can't do that at this level, especially against a team that's fighting for its life."

The only silver lining was Joao Pedro’s brilliant late bicycle kick that ended a run of 565 minutes without a goal for Chelsea (stretching back to 4 March).

Chelsea could still sneak into the Champions League if they finish sixth while Villa finish fifth AND win the Europa League. But McFarlane's side are still four points off sixth place and only one point above Sunderland in 12th spot.

Defeat against Liverpool on Saturday could push Chelsea out of the top 10 altogether.