Arsenal extend Premier League lead, Villa surge up to third

Arsenal secured a narrow 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday, reestablishing their five-point advantage at the summit of the Premier League, while Aston Villa mounted a thrilling comeback to defeat Brighton 4-3 and rise to third position.

Although the Gunners did not perform at their peak during the match at the Emirates Stadium, they managed to edge closer to securing their first league championship in 22 years, courtesy of strikes from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta capitalised on his squad's depth by resting key players including Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Jurrien Timber from the outset, with captain Martin Odegaard returning to the starting lineup for the first time since early October.

Merino retained his forward role despite Viktor Gyokeres being back in action, and he justified the selection by netting another crucial goal for Arteta.

The Spanish midfielder was expertly found by Ben Whites pinpoint cross and rifled in his 11th goal across all competitions for club and country this term.

Brentford manager Keith Andrews made extensive changes too, benching their leading marksman Igor Thiago among others.

Nevertheless, the Bees continued to trouble the table toppers and came close to levelling when Kevin Schades header was spectacularly stopped by David Raya, facing his old team, just before the interval.

Saka entered the fray on the hour and sealed the result in added time, his powerful effort proving too strong for Caoimhin Kelleher.

Villa staged an exhilarating recovery against the Seagulls to extend their impressive run with an eighth triumph in their last nine league outings.

Brighton handed Villa early gifts in a chaotic opening. Jan Paul van Hecke nodded in from a corner after Villas keeper Marco Bizot spilled the ball, then Pau Torres deflected Jack Hinshelwoods delivery beyond Bizot into his own goal.

Ollie Watkins, who had managed only one goal in his prior 19 outings this season, flipped the script with a brace in quick succession before halftime.

The England forward bundled in Ian Maatsens driven cross before sprinting onto Morgan Rogers superb pass to blast past Bart Verbruggen.

Amadou Onana finalised the turnaround with a header at the far post from Matty Cashs corner, and Donyell Malen extended the lead to 4-2.

Van Hecke responded with a curling finish for his brace, creating a nervy finish, but Brighton endured their initial home loss of the campaign.

Wolves endured a run of eight straight losses as Igor Jesus header clinched a 1-0 success for Nottingham Forest at Molineux, propelling Sean Dyches side four points above the drop zone.

Burnley stayed entrenched in the lower reaches after Daniel Munozs solitary strike delivered a 1-0 victory for Crystal Palace, boosting them to sixth place.