LONDON, England
Arsenal edged out Brentford 2-0 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday as 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 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.
"It's unbelievable what he has done again today. The goal is magnificent. The movement, the quality, the finish, how he times it... It's phenomenal," Arteta reacted on Merino's goal.
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.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke's job was reportedly on the line prior to Chelsea's visit to Elland Road after four consecutive defeats.
But Farke's players produced a huge performance for their boss to climb out of the relegation zone.
Jaka Bijol powered in Anton Stach's corner after just six minutes to give the hosts the perfect start.
Roared on by a vociferous home crowd, Leeds were rewarded for a dominant first 45 minutes when Ao Tanaka blasted in from the edge of the box.
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."
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