Gabriel Magalhães’ second-half strike ensured Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table, reaffirming their title credentials after a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The first half had few chances, which were far and in between. After the break, it was Arsenal that continued to threaten to score, and they went ahead as Saka’s corner went right across the face of the goal while Gabriel was on hand to it into the roof of the net. 

The Gunners thought they had a penalty when the ball struck Cucurella’s arm, but the VAR review revealed that it wasn’t a penalty. Arteta’s men moved two points clear of Manchester City, who secured a late win over Fulham.

The Arsenal boss declined to consider his Arsenal side as a title contender stating that the team had a long season ahead, with Manchester City still the team to beat.

 “We are getting much better as a team and competing much better. We are getting really good results right now, but this is long, long. Just look at the last six years, what Manchester City have done. With the best manager in the world, the best team in the world.” Arteta said

Arteta had rave words for his former boss and team, stating that their consistency in the last couple of seasons in every competition was unmatched.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal manager Unai Emery started his reign as Aston Villa manager with a 3-1 win over Manchester United.

They took the lead within just seven minutes through Jacob Ramsey, and less than five minutes later, Villa doubled their lead through Lucas Digne, who netted from a direct free-kick from the edge of the area.

Luke Shaw’s shot from the edge of the box got a goal back for Manchester United, although it took a deflection off Ramsey. Ramsey restored Aston Villa’s two-goal lead four minutes after the break as United lost for the first time since the second of October.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu