Premier League title is Arsenal's to lose after Palace victory

(AFP) - Arsenal took a firm grip on the Premier League title race with the Gunners edging out Crystal Palace on Sunday as title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City fell to defeat.

City sit just inside the top five, narrowly ahead of local rivals Manchester United who climbed above Liverpool courtesy of a third consecutive victory as they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 on Saturday.

Newly-promoted Sunderland sit fourth after stunning Chelsea, while Leeds United and Burnley also won this weekend as all three are on course to buck the trend of sides being relegated straight back to the Championship.

After finishing second for the past three seasons, Arsenal’s time under Mikel Arteta for a first league title in 22 years looks to have come.

“It’s very early, we’re still in October,” said Arteta, whose team is seeking a first Premier League title since 2004.

“The emotional state is really high but there are a lot of things to get better.”

The Gunners were again able to rely on their strength from set-pieces and an exceptional defensive record to beat Palace 1-0 at the Emirates.

Eberechi Eze scored his first league goal against his former club after Palace failed to clear a Declan Rice free-kick.

Arsenal have already plundered 11 goals from set plays in nine games, the earliest any side has reached double figures for set-piece goals in Premier League history.

Arteta’s men have still not hit top gear offensively, but it has not mattered thanks to a club record run of clean sheets.

Arsenal have conceded just three times in 13 games in all competitions to open up a six-point lead over City and move seven clear of Liverpool.

“I probably value this victory more than any other victory this season,” said Arteta.

“It was a really positive weekend for us, especially because we did what we had to do and then it shows the difficulty of the league, and how complicated it is to win these games.

“We didn’t score a second goal and when you don’t do that you are in danger, but we restricted them to very little.”

The clean sheet was achieved despite centre-back William Saliba being withdrawn because of injury at halftime and Rice also going off midway through the second half with an undisclosed problem.

Arteta will hope Arsenal’s fortress-like defence can finally deliver the silverware that has eluded the North London club for so long.

With David Raya in goal and the commanding centre-back partnership of Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, clean sheets have become Arsenal’s trademark in this campaign.

Their defensive solidity even extends to Europe where the formidable back line remain unbreached after three Champions League games.

By contrast, Liverpool have not kept a clean sheet in nine games after a 3-2 defeat at Brentford.

Arne Slot appears at a loss to halt the champions’ alarming slide and worse could be on the horizon with the in-form Aston Villa and City to come before next month’s international break.

City’s reliance on Erling Haaland’s scoring streak to bring them back into the title race was exposed in a 1-0 defeat at Villa.

No City player other than the Norwegian has scored more than once in the Premier League this season.