Arsenal beat Chelsea to restore five-point lead over Man City

By Tosin Omojola –

Arsenal kept their title dream alive, tightening their hold on the top spot of the English Premier League with a vital win over London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

A win for Manchester City, who had beaten Leeds United 1-0 earlier on Sunday, had reduced the gap at the top to just two points, although Pep Guardiola’s side have played a game fewer.

However, the Gunners responded perfectly at the Emirates, restoring their five-point lead at the summit with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Chelsea.

William Saliba headed the hosts into the lead in the 21st minute before Piero Hincapie diverted Reece James’ inswinging corner into his own net for Chelsea’s equaliser in the final minutes of first-half added time.

Jurrien Timber then restored Arsenal’s lead in the 66th minute with a close-range header, moments before Chelsea were reduced to 10 men as Pedro Neto received two bookings in two minutes.

Mikel Arteta’s side survived some late scares before securing victory to reopen a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, who, however, have a game in hand, while Chelsea missed the chance to put pressure on the top-four places.