Arsenal showed how to battle it out on Boxing Day, usually the busiest day in English football, by beating West Ham 3-1 to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points.
Newcastle moved into second place with a 3-0 win over Leicester on Monday to lift defending champions Manchester City into third place.
Said Benrahma’s 27th-minute penalty gave David Moyes’ West Ham a 1-0 lead at half-time after the VAR ruled out a Gunners penalty.
But Arsenal manager Mikel Arrieta saw his side improve after the break with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli scoring early in the second half.
Eddie Nketiah sealed victory against former Arsenal manager Arsene Wegner after coming on for the injured Gabriel Jesus to give Arsenal a tenth consecutive Premier League home win.
Manchester City visit Leeds on Wednesday and are one point adrift of Newcastle, but with two games to spare.
Monday’s seven games were the first in the Premier League in just over a month due to Qatar’s lengthy World Cup break.
KANE ANOTA
Harry Kane, who returned to the Premier League after missing a penalty in the World Cup quarter-final defeat by France two weeks ago, scored to help fourth-placed Tottenham to a 2-2 draw with Brentford.
Kane fought off chants of “You have let your country down” from a section of Brentford supporters. He headed in after a pass from Clement Lenglet in the 65th minute. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg equalized six minutes later for Tottenham.
Vitaly Kanelt and Ivan Toney scored for Brentford.
LIVERPOOL WINS AGAIN
Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-1 for the third successive league game to remain sixth in the table, one point behind Manchester United. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk scored in the first half before Stefan Bajcetic scored near the end.
“We must be a headache for everyone,” admitted coach Jürgen Klopp. “We’re not in the best position, there’s a gap between us and the other teams, we know that.”
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton manager Julen Lopetegui made his Premier League debut in an added-time 2-1 win against Everton. The defeat put Everton manager Frank Lampard under pressure.
Brighton beat Southampton 3-1 at St. Mary’s and are one point adrift of Liverpool. Southampton lost four in a row and dropped to the bottom of the table.
Fulham won the capital derby for the second time in 29 attempts, beating nine-man Crystal Palace 3-0.
TUESDAY DUELS
Manchester United face Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford and Chelsea, who are ninth, host Bournemouth.
