Arsenal Reclaim Top Spot as City and Liverpool Keep Pressure On

TDT | Manama

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Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Brighton, responding swiftly to pressure from Manchester City, who had briefly gone top with a lunchtime win at Nottingham Forest.

City’s 2-1 success at the City Ground owed much to the brilliance of in-form Rayan Cherki. The French midfielder set up Tijjani Reijnders to open the scoring before Forest replied through Omari Hutchinson. Cherki then struck decisively late on, firing home from Josko Gvardiol’s knockdown to secure an eighth straight league win for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Arsenal, however, ensured City’s stay at the summit was short-lived. Dominant in the first half at the Emirates, the Gunners led through a fine Martin Ødegaard strike. Their second goal came fortuitously when Georginio Rutter turned Declan Rice’s corner into his own net. Brighton threatened a comeback after Diego Gomez pulled one back, but a crucial David Raya save preserved Arsenal’s narrow win — their seventh one-goal victory of the league campaign.

At Anfield, Liverpool beat Wolves 2-1 on an emotional evening marked by tributes to the late Diogo Jota. Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring before Florian Wirtz netted his first goal for the club. Wolves responded through Santiago Bueno, but the Reds held on to extend their unbeaten run to seven games and climb into the top four.

Elsewhere, Fulham edged West Ham 1-0 through Raul Jimenez, Burnley were held 0-0 by Everton, and Brentford surged into the top half with a 4-1 win over Bournemouth, inspired by a Kevin Schade hat-trick.