Arsenal extend Premier League lead as Leeds stun Chelsea

Arsenal defeated Brentford 2-0 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday, while Chelsea slumped to a 3-1 defeat at struggling Leeds.

Liverpool needed a late Nordi Mukiele own-goal to avoid another damaging defeat at home in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland, while Aston Villa climbed up to third after a 4-3 victory at Brighton.

Arsenal failed to hit top form at the Emirates Stadium but did enough to take another step towards a first league title in 22 years thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka.

Merino maintained his place up front despite Viktor Gyokeres’ return to fitness and rewarded manager Mikel Arteta with another vital goal.

The Spaniard was picked out perfectly by Ben White’s cross and powered in his 11th goal of the season for club and country.

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Saka was introduced on the hour mark and the England winger finally made the points safe in stoppage time as his strike had too much power for Caoimhin Kelleher.

Pedro Neto pulled a goal back for the Blues early in the second half, but Chelsea gifted Leeds a third and a vital win when Tosin Adarabioyo was caught on the ball inside his own box and Dominic Calvert-Lewin slotted home.

“A very poor night,” said Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

“They deserved to win the game. They were better than us in all the aspects,” the manager added.

Wolves suffered an eighth consecutive defeat as Igor Jesus’ header earned Nottingham Forest a 1-0 win at Molineux that moved Sean Dyche’s men three points clear of the relegation zone.

Burnley also remain rooted in the bottom three after Daniel Munoz scored the only goal in a 1-0 win that lifted Crystal Palace up to fifth.

The Star