EPL title race remains close after wins for Arsenal, Man City

LONDON, England (AP):

Arsenal survived a late scare at Tottenham to stay narrowly ahead in the race for the Premier League title yesterday.

A 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured Mikel Arteta’s team remained at the top of the standings, ahead of defending champions Manchester City, which won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

But Arsenal had to endure a nervous finish despite powering to 3-0 lead in a London derby that was supposed to be one of its biggest tests in the title chase.

“The last 20 minutes wasn’t nice, but it was worth it,” Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka said afterwards. “We know it is a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home. Momentum shifted their way, but I am proud of the boys — we managed to get the three points.”

An own-goal from Pierre-Emile Hojberg and further strikes from Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal into a commanding position at the break. But in the face of a potential rout, Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and a penalty from Son Heung-min in the 87th minute.

Under pressure, Arsenal held on and remain one point clear at the top, having played a game more than City.

The advantage is still with Pep Guardiola’s Man City, who will clinch a fourth-straight title if they win their remaining games this season and responded to Arsenal’s win with victory of their own at relegation-fighting Forest.

With Liverpool’s title hopes further diminishing after dropping five points in two games this week, it is down to Arsenal to challenge City’s domestic dominance.

An away fixture against their fiercest rivals, Tottenham, was a major test of their credentials at this stage of the campaign. And while Arsenal were guilty of letting Spurs back into a game that should have been killed off much earlier, victory when tension was high was a test of character.

“Maybe last season that could have ended in a draw, and we showed we have the experience,” Saka said. “We know City are an amazing team, but they are not perfect, we just need to do our job.”

MAN CITY’S WIN

City were always favourites to beat a Forest team that is desperately fighting for survival but without Phil Foden, who was ill, and Erling Haaland on the bench, Guardiola was without two of his big match-winners in the starting 11.

But Guardiola’s team looks to be in unstoppable form and a 2-0 win extended their unbeaten record in the league to 19 games, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at the start of December.

Back then there were questions about City’s ability to win a sixth title in seven years. While Arsenal may lead the way, City’s title-winning know-how could make the difference.

So could Haaland, who stepped off the bench to score the goal that effectively killed off Forest’s challenge.

Josko Gvardiol headed City in front in the first half, but Chris Wood had two clear chances from close range to score for Forest.

Haaland missed City’s last two games through injury, but was quickly back on the scoresheet with a clinically taken goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.