Arsenal moved within a point of Chelsea in third in the English Premier League standings with a hard-fought 2-1 win over 10-man Leeds on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners watched as their London rivals lost a 2-0 lead on Saturday to draw 2-2 against Wolves, and knew a win would move them closer to third place and an automatic Champions League spot.
Mikel Arteta’s charges got off to a perfect start when Eddie Nketiah gave them the lead after just five minutes.
Goalkeeper Illan Meslier totally miss-kicked his clearance straight to Nketiah, who rifled the ball back into the net from close range.
The hosts made it 2-0 five minutes later, and it was Nketiah once again, finding the back of the net after he got to the end of a Gabriel Martinelli ball.
Leeds’ hopes of an unlikely comeback got a hit in the 25th minute after Luke Ayling, making his 500th Premier League appearance, was shown a straight red card for a foul on Martinelli.
Diego Llorente however halved the visitors’ lead just after the hour-mark, but it proved to be just a consolation as Arsenal held on for the win.
The win means the Gunners are on 66 points, one behind Chelsea in third, with three more matches to go.
In another match, Everton moved close to safety thanks to a deserved 2-1 win over Leicester City.
The Toffees beat Chelsea 1-0 last week and were in good spirits at the King Power Stadium.
Vitali Mykolenko gave the visitors the lead after just six minutes, and despite Patson Daka equalising for the hosts in the 11th minute, It was Frank Lampard’s charges that had the last laugh as Mason Holgate scored what proved to be the winner on the half-hour mark.
The win moved Everton 16th on the standings on 35 points, and have two matches at hand over their closest rivals.
