Arsenal move four points clear at the top of the Premier League as Man City lose to Villa

Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game at the Emirates after 39 minutes but it could have been a more one-sided result had Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice or Gabriel completed any one of a number of good chances in a game where Palace were organised, but also lacked accuracy in front of goal.

The Gunners ended the weekend four points better off than second-placed Bournemouth and five clear of Tottenham in third. Man City dropped to fifth with their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and Liverpool occupy seventh place after going down 3-2 to Brentford on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta praised his side's performance, telling the media: "I'm really happy because we knew the difficulty of the match. It was a crucial win against a good side. Today we were clinical and defensively excellent. No one really generates big chances against them with the way they set up.

"They [players] earned it. The way they compete and play, the way they want to win, it's amazing. The five [substitutes] that came on today made a big difference again. You see the other results in the Premier League, you have to be so good to win."

Arsenal are next in action against Brighton in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Matty Cash's 19th minute goal was the decisive moment in a tense encounter at Villa Park to propel Aston Villa into eighth, with 15 points from their nine matches played.

A disappointing City boss Pep Guardiola said after the game, on NBC: "That we are a really good team, we played a really good game but we miss again at the end, the actions when we attack the last line, the last pass, the last shot, the last cross and we need to be more present there.

"We started the game really well for 15, 20 minutes. They were better than us in the 3v1s, the 4v2s. We should attack the ball better, and after set pieces like they create because they are so good. In the second half we were much better, but we couldn't score."

Nottingham Forest's nightmare Premier League run, meanwhile, continued with a 2-0 defeat to an in-form Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.Despite a win over Porto in Steve Dyche's first game in charge, the new head coach wasn't able to replicate that form in his first league game as Marcus Tavernier (25') and Eli Junior Kroupi (50') breached his defence.

Dyche though was less than impressed with the officials after his side conceded their first goal from a disputed corner.Tavernier won the set-piece but replays showed the ball had bounced off the goalscorer and not Forest left-back Neco Williams. The new coach told Sky Sports: "It's a goal-kick. Everyone can see it's a goal-kick.

"It's really hard for us managers as well, when the linesperson gives a goal-kick, and the referee, who can't see it, overrules them.

"That's really tough for me to take, and then I get booked over things like that."

Bournemouth moved into second but Forest find themselves in 18th place, with five points from nine games - three adrift of Fulham in 17th and now five points behind Burnley, who needed a last-gasp winner from substitute South African striker Lyle Foster for a 3-2 victory over struggling Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.

Burnley had taken a first-half, two-goal lead with Zian Flemming (14', 30') netting a brace before Jorgen Strand Larsen pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after 42 minutes.

Marshall Munetsi completed the come-back with his goal in the fourth minute of injury time at the end of the opening period but Foster came on for Jaidon Anthony on 77 minutes and was on target five minutes into injury time for a dramatic last end to the tie.

In the final game of the day, Tottenham picked up a hard-fought 2-0 win against David Moyes' Everton, who were yet to concede from a corner all season, until this match.

Micky van de Ven popped up with two goals from set-pieces, the first on 19 minute, and then deep into injury time at the end of the first half and substitute Pape Matar Sarr sealed the result with his header in the 89th minute.

All of Sunday's results:Wolves 2-3 Burnley, Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace, Aston Villa 1-0 Manchester City, Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest, Everton 0-3 Tottenham

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