Arsenal rout Leeds to stretch lead, Everton hold Brighton

Arsenal settled any fears of a wobble in their pursuit of a first Premier League title in 22 years by winning 4-0 at Leeds on Saturday.

The Gunners’ advantage over Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are both in action on Sunday, stretches to seven points as Mikel Arteta’s men took another step towards the title at Elland Road.

A first home defeat of the season last weekend to Manchester United capped a run of just two points from a possible nine in Arsenal’s previous three league games.

After finishing runners-up for the past three seasons, questions were raised over the mentality of Arteta’s men to get over the line in a title race.

The visitors were dealt another blow before kick-off as Bukayo Saka was injured in the warm-up.

But his replacement Noni Madueke played a major part in inflicting just a second defeat in 12 games on Leeds.

Madueke’s cross was headed in by Martin Zubimendi to open the scoring.

Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow could then only parry another dangerous delivery from the England winger into his own goal before half-time.

Despite a fine run of form, Leeds remain only six points above the relegation zone.

Their first defeat at home since November was confirmed when the much-criticised Viktor Gyokeres latched onto Gabriel Martinelli’s cross to blast in his 11th goal since joining Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon.

Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to round off the scoring with a blistering strike four minutes from time.

Arsenal will be hoping local rivals Tottenham can do them a favour when City visit north London, while Villa host Brentford on Sunday.

Chelsea can climb into the top four later should they maintain their bright start under Liam Rosenior against West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool are aiming to ease the pressure on Arne Slot at Anfield in Saturday’s late kick-off when they host Newcastle.

Everton snatched a 1-1 draw at Brighton thanks to Beto’s 97th-minute equaliser in a result that does little for either side’s aspirations of European football next season.

Pascal Gross’ first goal since returning to the Seagulls from Borussia Dortmund put Brighton in front.

Bournemouth ended any remaining worries of being dragged into a relegation fight as goals from Eli Kroupi and Alex Scott earned a 2-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Wolves.

The Cherries climb up to 12th and 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, American rapper and producer Snoop Dogg said he wanted to be hands-on in helping to drive Swansea City back to the Premier League after investing in the Championship club.

Snoop Dogg became an investor with the Welsh side in July, along with Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, while businesswoman and television personality Martha Stewart joined as a minority co-owner in December.

“I want to be real hands on, I want to take the club in a direction maybe it hasn’t been before,” Snoop Dogg told Wales Online on Saturday.

“We want to take Swansea to the Premier League, and to do that we are going to need money - that’s the reality of the game these days.”

Swansea are 16th in the English second-tier Championship, with more than half of the season played, and a long way from a play-off spot, but the 54-year-old American still believes the season can provide some positives.

“It’s been steady and even though Swansea is a long-term project, we got to still dream for this season,” he said. “In the Championship you always got to believe that play-off place is alive, in this game you got to dream.”

He praised the team’s supporters, saying he wanted to engage with them and listen to their views to better understand the club.

“These fans are passionate, they are real, and I want to hear what they got to say when I am in Swansea,” he added.

Agencies