Arsenal, Man City keep EPL title race tight

LONDON, England (AP):

Arsenal survived a late scare yesterday at Tottenham Hotspur to stay narrowly ahead in the English Premier League's (EPL) title race.

A 3-2 win at the Tottenham Stadium ensured Mikel Arteta's Arsenal remained at the top of the standings, ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal had to endure a nervous finish despite powering to a 3-0 lead in a London derby that was supposed to be one of their biggest tests in the title chase.

"The last 20 minutes wasn't nice, but it was worth it," Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka said afterwards. "We know it is a big derby and they don't want to lose 3-0 at home. Momentum shifted their way, but I am proud of the boys - we managed to get the three points."

An own-goal from Pierre-Emile Hojberg and further strikes from Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal into a commanding position at the break. In the face of a potential rout, Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and a penalty from Son Heung-min in the 87th minute.

Under pressure, Arsenal held on and remain one point clear at the top, having played a game more than City.

The advantage is still with Pep Guardiola's City, who will clinch a fourth-straight title if they win their remaining games this season and responded to Arsenal's win with victory of their own at relegation-fighting Forest.

With Liverpool's title hopes further diminishing after dropping five points in two games this week, it is down to Arsenal to challenge City's domestic dominance.

Having collapsed late on, in last season's title race, Arteta's players look more capable of going the distance this time.

MAN CITY WIN

Arsenal's win meant the pressure was on City to keep the heat on their title rivals.

City were always favourite to beat Forest, who are desperately fighting for survival, but without Phil Foden, who was ill, and Erling Haaland on the bench, Guardiola was without two of his big match-winners in the starting 11.

An injury to goalkeeper Ederson also forced City into a change at halftime.

Guardiola's City look to be in unstoppable form and a 2-0 win extended their unbeaten record in the league to 19 games, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at the start of December.

Back then, there were questions about City's ability to win a sixth title in seven years. While Arsenal may be leading, City's title-winning know-how could make the difference.

So could Haaland, who stepped off the bench to score the goal that effectively killed off Forest's challenge.

Josko Gvardiol headed City in front in the first half, but Chris Wood had two clear chances from close range to score for Forest.

Haaland missed City's last two games through injury but was quickly back on the scoresheet with a clinically taken goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Among those in the crowd to watch were his father, Alf-Inge, and rock star Noel Gallagher.

The goal saw Haaland move clear of Cole Palmer as the league's top scorer with 21 goals.

BOURNEMOUTH RECORD

Without a win in their first nine league games this season, Bournemouth are now in the top half of the table and have set their own EPL points record.

A 3-0 win against Brighton moved Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth up to 10th and on 48 points. Bournemouth's previous best in the topflight was 46 points in the 2016-17 season under former manager Eddie Howe.

Goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert secured victory against Brighton, who are going in the other direction after six games without a win.