London, Feb 8 (V7N) — Arsenal strengthened their grip on the Premier League title race with a convincing 3-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday, moving nine points clear at the top of the table, while Tottenham Hotspur’s struggles continued with a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United that intensified pressure on head coach Thomas Frank.

At the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side broke the deadlock just before halftime when Martin Zubimendi struck from close range in the 42nd minute. Viktor Gyokeres doubled the lead in the 66th minute and added a second in stoppage time to seal a dominant win.

The Gunners, who last lifted a major trophy in the 2020 FA Cup, are chasing their first league title in 22 years. After finishing runners-up in each of the last three seasons, Arsenal now appear firmly on course to end their long wait.

Arsenal also reached the League Cup final in midweek with a win over Chelsea and will face Manchester City at Wembley on March 22. City, currently second, have the chance to cut the gap when they play Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

“We still have many games to win,” Arteta said. “Tonight I’ll enjoy a nice dinner and tomorrow watch a big match between City and Liverpool.”

Third-placed Aston Villa slipped further behind the leaders after a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth. Villa led through Morgan Rogers in the 22nd minute before teenage Brazilian Rayan scored his first Premier League goal to equalise after the break.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United extended their perfect start under interim manager Michael Carrick to four matches, taking advantage of Tottenham captain Cristian Romero’s red card midway through the first half. Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring in the 38th minute before Bruno Fernandes sealed the win late on.

The defeat left Tottenham languishing in 14th place, just six points above the relegation zone, with no league wins so far in 2026.

“It is what it is. We need to deal with it,” Frank said. “Cristian apologised to his teammates.”

Elsewhere, Chelsea climbed to fifth place with a 3-1 victory over bottom side Wolves, inspired by a first-half hat-trick from Cole Palmer. West Ham boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 win at Burnley, while Brentford dented Newcastle’s European ambitions with a 3-2 victory at St James’ Park.

Everton edged Fulham 2-1, courtesy of a late own goal from goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

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