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Arsenal’s shock 2-1 defeat by Bournemouth Saturday blew the Premier League title race wide open as Liverpool beat Fulham to boost their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. The Gunners could have opened up a 12-point lead at the top of the table, but a third straight domestic defeat for Mikel Arteta’s men has put the destiny of the title back in Manchester City’s hands. City have two games in hand on the long-time leaders, starting with today’s trip to Chelsea, and host Arsenal next weekend in a potential title decider. Just a few weeks ago the Gunners were dreaming of an unprecedented quadruple but they lost to City in the League Cup final and were dumped out of the FA Cup by second-tier Southampton. A wobble in the Premier League, which they have not won since 2004, raises major doubts about their staying power, with six matches to go. After suffering just three defeats in their opening 49 matches of the season in all competitions, they have lost three of their past four, ramping up the tension. “It’s a big punch in the face, that’s what I said to the boys, and now it’s about how we react to that,” said a downbeat Arteta, whose team remain favourites for the title. The Spaniard, whose side have finished as runners-up three times in a row, admitted Arsenal’s long title drought was playing on their minds. “We know what is at stake and the fact that as a club we haven’t done it for so long is a reason for that,” said the Spaniard. “It talks about the difficulty but I just want to focus on the things that we can control, dominate and we have done. It’s not that we have to do a lot of new things that we haven’t done, no, let’s keep doing a lot of it, or almost all the things that we’ve done for nine months because that’s what has taken us all the way there.” Junior Kroupi reacted quickest to Adrien Truffert’s deflected cross to give mid-table Bournemouth an early lead, silencing a nervy crowd at the Emirates. Viktor Gyokeres levelled before the break from the penalty spot, but a lack of creative spark in the final third was again the home side’s undoing. Arsenal’s fine defensive record has underpinned their title charge but they were cut open with ease when Alex Scott finished off a fine team move for the winner in the 74th minute.Arteta said he desperately needed all his first-choice players back. Absentees on Saturday included Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori. “We need everything, first of all we need everybody fit and available,” he said. “So the ones that are not involved, the ones that are not with us, that are really big, important players, we need them immediately with us because then we’re going to be much stronger. And then the other ones, they need to stand up, me the first one, and embrace this challenge and go for it. So today we have to suffer. It’s painful, it’s a terrible feeling but tomorrow is a different day and if somebody would have said to me in August, we are in this position right now in April, I’m sure we would all take it.” Arsenal face Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday after a 1-0 win in the first leg. Then four days later comes the summit meeting at City that could make or break their season. Five English sides will qualify for next season’s Champions League and fifth-placed Liverpool strengthened their case with a 2-0 home win against Fulham, easing the heat on manager Arne Slot. Teenager Rio Ngumoha scored his first goal at Anfield in the early evening match to put the Reds ahead, whipping his shot around the diving Bernd Leno after a jinking run.The recalled Mohamed Salah, departing at the end of the season, doubled Liverpool’s lead shortly before half-time with a sublime, arrowed finish. It is a desperately welcome three points for Liverpool and the beleaguered Slot, whose team had won just two of their previous eight games in all competitions. Heavy defeats by Manchester City in the FA Cup and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League have piled the pressure on the Dutch boss a year after he led the club to Premier League glory. Brentford and Everton missed the chance to move level on points with Liverpool earlier in the day, drawing 2-2. Twice the Bees led through Igor Thiago, who took his tally for the season to 21 Premier League goals and within one of Erling Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot. Beto levelled midway through the first half for the visitors and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall struck in stoppage time to salvage a point. Brighton are also well in the mix for their first ever taste of Champions League football. Mats Wieffer scored twice as the Seagulls beat relegation-bound Burnley 2-0. A fifth win in six games for Fabian Hurzeler’s men takes them up to ninth and within three points of the top five. It was a third successive league win ‌for Brighton while second-from-bottom Burnley ​look almost certain to be relegated as they are 12 points off the safety zone with six games left. 

Four teams out of six eliminated, with a total of 28 goals conceded over the two legs – it has been a chastening week for most of England’s representatives in the Champions League knockout phase. Only Arsenal, the Premier League leaders, and Liverpool – the English team with the richest history in Europe – reached the quarter-finals. Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur were sent packing. But does this really merit calling into question the standard of the Premier League? England’s top flight is easily the richest in Europe, with domestic and international broadcasting rights revenues dwarfing the rest. A report last month by UEFA showed television revenue for English top-flight clubs increased by 1.5bn euros ($1.77bn) from 2014-2024 – the combined figure for the rest of Europe was almost the same. Fifteen of the 30 richest clubs in analysts Deloitte’s latest Football Money League are English. However, three of the four English teams eliminated in the last 16 this week lost to clubs with larger revenues. The exception was Tottenham, but they are having a dreadful season and so losing 7-5 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid was no surprise. City, champions in 2023, lost 5-1 on aggregate to Real Madrid, the record 15-time European Cup winners and the only club with revenue over one billion euros in Deloitte’s latest table. Chelsea were crushed 8-2 on aggregate by reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, while Newcastle lost 8-3 overall against Barcelona. There have only been three occasions since 1955 in which an English team has conceded at least eight goals on aggregate in a European tie, two of them this week. England’s strength in depth is unrivalled, and shown by the presence of an unprecedented six sides in the last 16. But this level is also the territory of a small band of giant continental clubs perhaps not subject to the same levels of competitiveness in their domestic leagues. The four clubs with the highest revenue in Europe last year were Real, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG – they generate more money than anyone in England, and enjoy huge financial advantages over domestic rivals. Nineteen of the last 21 Spanish titles have been won by Madrid or Barcelona. Over the same period the duo have won a combined 10 Champions Leagues. Qatar-owned PSG have won 11 of the last 13 French championships and won their first Champions League last year after one final appearance and two semi-finals in the preceding five seasons. Bayern, who hammered Atalanta 10-2 on aggregate this week, are set for a 13th Bundesliga title in 14 years. They are also now almost always in the Champions League quarter-finals, and next face Real in a mouthwatering tie. For all the Premier League’s pulling power, few match-ups have the same appeal as that impending confrontation. “Both clubs are giant,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. Bayern have been helped by a strategy of signing a big Premier League name in each of the last three seasons: Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz. Kane’s status as England’s leading player is maybe threatened only by Jude Bellingham, who was joined last year at Real by Trent Alexander-Arnold, lured from Liverpool. PSG boast Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, and in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia they have a player who has terrorised English defences over the last year. “In the Premier League, we don’t have Dembele, (Desire) Doue, (Bradley) Barcola and Kvaratskhelia,” said Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior. “They’re an outstanding team.” They are also youthful like Barcelona, who are once more leaning heavily on their academy, La Masia – their average age against Newcastle was barely 25, and in 18-year-old Lamine Yamal they have the emerging global footballing superstar. “La Masia did a fantastic job there,” purred Barca coach Hansi Flick. Those clubs may be best equipped to dominate in Europe, while Liverpool and Arsenal fly the flag for England which has provided only three of the last 13 continental champions. But the Premier League will be there en masse again next year – i t is on course to have five qualifying spots via the league and may again have a sixth if Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest win the Europa League. 

Arsenal moved a step closer to the Premier League title as Max Dowman became the competition’ youngest ever goalscorer in a dramatic 2-0 win against Everton, while Chelsea’s top four bid was dented a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle. Mikel Arteta’s side struggled to break down obdurate Everton until the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. But Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres finally found a way through in the 89th minute, with a helping hand from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Pickford completely missed Dowman’s cross and Piero Hincapie bundled the ball back into the six-yard box for Gyokeres to tap into the empty net. The ensuing scenes of delirium on the pitch and in the stands underlined the significance of Arsenal’s fourth successive league win. There was still time for Dowman to run the length of the pitch and slot home with Pickford nowhere to be seen after coming up for an Everton corner that ended in a rapid Arsenal counter-attack in the final seconds. Dowman, aged just 16, is the youngest scorer in the history of the Premier League, as well as Arsenal’s youngest scorer. Gyokeres on Dowman’s said: “It’s incredible. You can see how he plays. He stays so calm and without fear every time he gets the ball. He takes the right decision most of the time as well and with the goal, he definitely took the right one. He’s an amazing player, it was a great goal for him and I’m so happy for him.” The Gunners are now 10 points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who were facing West Ham at the London Stadium in the day’s late kick-off. Arsenal, trophyless since 2020, are hunting a first English title in 22 years. The quadruple chasers rode their luck to beat Everton despite a disjointed performance, adding to the mounting feeling that they will be one of the least stylistically impressive champions in recent memory if they do take the crown. But Arteta and company won’t care about that ahead of a huge week. The Gunners have a Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayer Leverkusen next week with the tie level at 1-1 before heading to Wembley to face City in the League Cup final. Arsenal don’t play in the league again until April 11 when they meet Bournemouth. City’s clash with West Ham is the first of their two games in hand on Arsenal, with Pep Guardiola’s men also hosting the leaders in April. City must bounce back from their midweek Champions League last-16 first leg defeat at Real Madrid in a match of significance at both ends of the table. West Ham sit in the relegation zone but can leapfrog Nottingham Forest and Tottenham with victory over City. Fifth-placed Chelsea were beaten by Anthony Gordon’s goal at Stamford Bridge to round off a painful week. Thrashed 5-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 first leg, Liam Rosenior’s side were breached in the 18th minute when Tino Livramento’s pass allowed Joe Willock to burst clear and tee up Gordon for a composed finish. Chelsea trail Aston Villa and Manchester United by three points having played a game more than their top-four rivals. Brighton beat Sunderland 1-0 to climb into the top half of the Premier League, while second-bottom Burnley held Bournemouth in a 0-0 draw. Sunderland were unbeaten in their first 11 home games back in the top flight but have now lost their last three at the Stadium of Light to slip to 12th. Yankuba Minteh scored the only goal when his shot somehow squeezed past goalkeeper Melker Ellborg at his near post. Brighton move above the Black Cats on goal difference and into 10th. The stalemate at Turf Moor did little for either side as Burnley slip closer to relegation and Bournemouth failed to move in on the European places. The Clarets are eight points adrift of safety with eight games remaining. Bournemouth remain in ninth, three points behind Brentford in what is likely to be the final European spot in seventh. 

Pep Guardiola insists he “couldn’t care less” about Arsenal’s stumble letting Manchester City back into the Premier League title race. Guardiola’s side were in danger of being blown away by Arsenal after their inconsistent form left the Gunners in pole position. But second-placed City have been handed a lifeline by Arsenal’s damaging draws against Wolves and Brentford. They are now just five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and a home match against Mikel Arteta’s men to come in April. If City win their remaining 12 matches they will be crowned champions for the fifth time in the last six seasons. But Guardiola is not getting carried away by the opportunity. Instead, he remains focused on today’s visit from Newcastle, when a win would close the gap on Arsenal to two points before the Gunners face Tottenham in the north London derby tomorrow. “I didn’t talk about the table, or our position or something like that. I could not care less,” Guardiola said. “I didn’t talk about that for one second. Just Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle. If you ask me this question with two or three games left, I will have your answer. It’s 12 games left, it’s an eternity.” Having won six titles during 10 years at City, Guardiola knows the final weeks of the season will bring more twists and turns. He also has experience of watching Arsenal let substantial leads slip away in the 2023 and 2024 title races, allowing City to snatch the trophy from their grasp. “Many things are going to happen until the end of the season. For now it is Newcastle, a rest and after it Leeds. It has always been like that,” he said. “Seventy per cent of the players are new, so they don’t have the experience to live these kinds of situations. An experience is to win tomorrow. It is only one. Arsenal were nine points (ahead) when we had a game in hand, so whenever everybody is on the same games played then after that we will see the difference. I understand you want to anticipate what is going to happen. That doesn’t count. It is Newcastle, that is all.” Arteta urges Arsenal to ‘write own destiny’ after title wobble Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta challenged spluttering Arsenal to start writing their “own destiny” in north London derby at Tottenham after losing control of the Premier League title race. The Gunners have finished as runners-up for the last three seasons and their latest untimely stumble has raised pointed questions about their ability to cope with the pressure of the title race. But Arteta is adamant his players can handle the tension, as long as they embrace the opportunity to make history. “What I have seen is a tremendous reaction again. When you lose points with the last kick of the game, in an unpredictable manner, nobody can really understand that. But this is football,” he said. “Life moves on, there’s nothing we can do. It is about what happens next. That was a chapter. In chapter 27, we draw against Wolves. In the next one it is about how we write our own destiny going forward.” Arsenal have squandered the lead in their last two matches, drawing 1-1 with Brentford and 2-2 at bottom-of-the-table Wolves. Failing to beat Wolves after establishing a two-goal lead was especially painful, with a mix-up between keeper David Raya and defender Gabriel Magalhaes sparking Tom Edozie’s stoppage-time equaliser. “The immediate reaction is tough. It was a shock to the system. We wanted to win and we couldn’t and we have to move on,” Arteta said. “But we have clear instructions. We have to live in the present. The present is beautiful, we are exactly where we want to be in every competition.” Arsenal have won just two of their last seven league games, but troubled Tottenham are in even worse form, with no wins in their previous eight top-flight matches.

Arsenal's miserly defence has conceded three Premier League goals so far this season and manager Mikel Arteta hopes their fortress-like foundation can finally deliver the silverware that has eluded the North London club for so long.With David Raya in goal and the commanding centre-back partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, clean sheets have become Arsenal's trademark in this campaign. Arsenal have conceded just three times in the league this season and have kept three successive clean sheets in the Champions League, meaning their defensive record after 12 matches is the best in the club's 138-year history. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side of 20 years ago let in just 15 goals on their way to winning the league, which is a Premier League record.Their defensive solidity even extends to Europe where the formidable back line remain unbreached after three Champions League games and will be put to the test again when the Premier League leaders host Crystal Palace tomorrow."We hope that these records that we are getting a lot bring silverware at the end and the trophies that we want. But the more we can produce, the closer we are going to be able to achieve what we want to do," Arteta told reporters. "Our defensive record is very good but we need to be consistent. It's only the start of the season and our aim is to keep improving things, which we can do to keep getting better."The teams with the best defensive records, most of the time, apart from the last three seasons in the Premier League, you normally win the title. The stronger we are with the foundations, the more probability we have of winning."While Arsenal's defensive wall has frustrated opponents, it's their prowess from set pieces that has been rewriting the record books at the other end of the pitch. Arsenal have already plundered 10 goals from set plays in eight games, the earliest any side has reached double figures for set-piece goals in Premier League history.Arteta admitted he knew set pieces – including free-kicks and corners – would be essential to any success during his Arsenal reign. Crucially, Arteta was doing his coaching badges when he met Nicolas Jover, who would later become set-piece coach at Brentford before joining Arsenal in 2021. Jover has been instrumental in Arsenal's remarkable ability at set-pieces.Arteta credited the training ground obsession that has turned dead-ball situations into Arsenal's secret weapon. "First of all, creating the culture, giving to that part of the game the importance it has," he said. "Also, understanding that football is evolving and the way opponents are acting against us, we have to maximise certain things that happen very frequently. Something that happens very frequently has a lot of value to us, so we try to maximise that and be effective."Tomorrow's encounter carries extra significance after Palace held Arsenal to a damaging 2-2 draw in April, a result that effectively handed Liverpool the title initiative. "It's the fourth game in a row that we have played against an opponent that we dropped points against last year," Arteta said. "This season we've been able to beat them, so our focus is on continuing that."The match also gives attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze the chance to face his former club after the England international's 68mn move in August. Local boy Eze scored the winner for Palace in last season's FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley as the South London club won 1-0 to lift their first major trophy. "For Ebs (Eze) we know it is going to be a very special match with the history and what he did for Palace, but the focus is on the team," Arteta added.

Brazilian wonderkid Estevao’s first Chelsea goal inflicted a third consecutive defeat on Liverpool Saturday, allowing Arsenal to go top of the Premier League after beating West Ham 2-0.After winning their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, Liverpool have suffered a nightmare week to leave Arne Slot plenty to ponder over the international break.Injury-hit Chelsea were well worthy of a dramatic 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge to end their three-game winless run in the Premier League.One-time Liverpool target Moises Caicedo blasted the Blues into a half-time lead with a blistering strike into the top corner on 14 minutes.Alexander Isak’s £125mn ($168mn) move to Liverpool last month broke Caicedo’s record as the most expensive Premier League player of all-time.The Swedish striker is still yet to score a league goal but his deft touch teed up Cody Gakpo to equalise just after the hour mark.However, Chelsea were not to be denied as Estevao slid in at the far post to meet Marc Cucurella’s cross deep into stoppage time, sparking wild celebrations from manager Enzo Maresca who was shown a red card for sprinting down the touchline.Liverpool now trail Arsenal by one point, while Chelsea edge up to sixth.Arsenal lose Odegaard In Mikel Arteta’s 300th match in charge, Arsenal proved far too strong for the struggling Hammers to further their ambitions of a first Premier League title for 22 years.Victory came at a cost for Arsenal as captain Martin Odegaard was forced off injured before half-time for the third time this season.However, the strength in depth now on offer to Arteta has made light of Arsenal’s injury troubles.“We dominated and fully deserved to win this,” said Arteta. “To go top of the table after some big fixtures over the last week and some injuries... we were able to respond.”Declan Rice, who left West Ham for £105 million in 2023, ended the visitors’ resistence by blasting high into the net on the rebound after Alphonse Areola parried Eberechi Eze’s drive.Bukayo Saka made the points safe midway through the second half from the penalty spot on his 200th Arsenal appearance after Jurrien Timber was brought down by El Hadji Malick Diouf.Breathing spacefor Amorim Manchester United handed Ruben Amorim some relief with a 2-0 win over Sunderland Saturday.The Portuguese had taken just 34 points from his previous 33 Premier League games in charge, but enjoyed a rare convincing win to give him some breathing space over the international break.“We were a competitive and adult team today,” said Amorim. “We need to do this kind of performance away as well - it’s our responsibility to play like this,” he added.Before kick-off Old Trafford fell silent to honour the victims of a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue this week.Amorim’s bold calls with his team selection paid off as goalkeeper Senne Lammens kept a clean sheet on his debut, while Mason Mount justified his place over Matheus Cunha with the opening goal.Mount eased the home fans’ tension with a fine finish from Bryan Mbeumo’s cross on eight minutes. Benjamin Sesko doubled the Red Devils’ advantage with a predatory finish from a long throw-in for his first Old Trafford goal since a £74mn move from RB Leipzig.Nearly a twistThere was nearly a twist at the end of the half as Sunderland were initially awarded a penalty, only for VAR to intervene due to insufficent contact by Sesko on Trai Hume.Tottenham showed their newfound defensive resolve under Thomas Frank to end Leeds’ year-long unbeaten league run at Elland Road with a 2-1 victory.Mohammed Kudus’ first goal for Spurs secured all three points after Noah Okafor cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opener for the visitors.“That feeling to get over the line, to get three points, was big,” said Frank after his side moved up to third.