Arsenal restores five-point Premier League lead as Liverpool drops points at Anfield

By  STEVE DOUGLASSunday May 3, 2026

Arsenal kept rolling, while Liverpool and its embattled manager Arne Slot endured another bruising afternoon.

The Gunners tightened their grip on the Premier League race with a 2-0 win over Brentford that restored a five-point cushion at the top, while Liverpool were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Anfield after benefiting from a late own-goal.

Slot is likely to face renewed scrutiny after his side slipped to eighth in a disappointing title defense, with his call to leave Mohamed Salah on the bench for a second consecutive match sure to draw attention.

“It’s clear,” Slot said, “that teams that play us now think they can get a result.”

One of the day’s more striking results came at Elland Road, where Chelsea’s title hopes took another hit in a 3-1 defeat to Leeds.

The loss dropped Chelsea to fourth and left them nine points behind Arsenal, whose unbeaten run in all competitions has now reached 18 matches as they continue to look like genuine contenders for a first league crown since 2004.

Squad depth

Arsenal’s depth was again on display against Brentford, with the league leaders seeing off the visitors while preserving their perfect home record at Emirates Stadium this season.

Mikel Arteta was without first-choice center backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba because of injury, and he also chose to begin with Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber and Eberechi Eze among the substitutes.

Two of the stand-ins combined for the opening goal in the 11th minute, when Mikel Merino met Ben White’s cross with a header, and Saka later made the points safe from the bench, squeezing a shot over the line in stoppage time for the second.

Injuries, however, are beginning to pile up for Arteta, particularly in central defense. Cristhian Mosquera, who had been deputizing for Saliba, also looks set for a spell out after hobbling off late in the first half. Declan Rice was then taken off in the 83rd minute with a suspected calf issue.

With Arsenal in a relentless stretch of matches every three or four days, Arteta used the occasion to urge the game’s authorities to better protect players.

“Rest? That’s quite a positive word to use,” Arteta said of his team selection. “We had to make some changes.

“We can play minutes,” he added, “but if they can please give us just a little more time to recover and to make the welfare of these players a little bit easier, that would be great.”

Manchester City remains Arsenal’s nearest challenger and produced a wild 5-4 victory at Fulham on Tuesday.

Wirtz denied

Florian Wirtz still has not scored for Liverpool since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in the offseason, and his late attempt to salvage a point against Sunderland was ultimately credited as an own-goal after it deflected off defender Nordi Mukiele and spun into the net.

Sunderland, meanwhile, continue to exceed expectations on their return to the top flight. Sitting sixth, they grabbed the lead in the 67th minute through a deflected effort of their own, as Chemsdine Talbi’s long-range strike struck Virgil van Dijk’s leg and looped into the far corner beyond Alisson Becker.

Liverpool’s 2-0 win at West Ham on Sunday had ended a three-match losing streak, but it offered only brief relief for Slot and his underperforming squad.

“Far too many times this season we don’t concede a lot of chances but the ones that we do go in,” Slot said. “We weren’t lucky enough to get the win over the line but in recent weeks we would have lost this game so that is a positive.”

Unexpected loss

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had little to celebrate after the setback at Leeds, coming only three days after his 10-man team had battled to a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

“A very poor night,” Maresca said. “They (Leeds) deserved to win the game, they were better in all aspects.”

Leeds were 2-0 up by halftime after goals from Jaka Bijol and Ao Tanaka. Pedro Neto pulled one back in the 50th minute, but a costly mistake by Tosin Adarabioyo handed Dominic Calvert-Lewin the chance to tap in Leeds’ third.

Chelsea did have one encouraging note: playmaker Cole Palmer returned as a second-half substitute for his first appearance in more than two months after a groin injury.

Still winless

Wolverhampton remain without a win this season after falling 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest, whose second-half winner came from Brazilian striker Igor Jesus. After 14 rounds, Wolves have only two points.

Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Brighton 4-3, extend their winning streak to four matches and move up to third place, overtaking Chelsea. Ollie Watkins scored twice for Villa.

Crystal Palace edged Burnley 1-0 thanks to a goal from Colombia wing back Daniel Munoz.