Arsenal defeated London rivals Chelsea 1-0 for their first win in four Premier League games on Sunday as a headed goal by stand-in striker Mikel Merino boosted their faint hopes of catching up with runaway leaders Liverpool.
Merino scored in the 20th minute when he stooped to flick his looping header over Robert Sanchez in the Chelsea goal after a Martin Odegaard corner.
The Spanish midfielder, who has led Arsenal's attack in the absence of injured colleagues in recent weeks, came close to a second goal in the 60th minute but his side-footed volley was kept out by a fine save by Sanchez.
Chelsea were also missing firepower up front with top scorer Cole Palmer absent through injury while centre forward Nicolas Jackson remains sidelined, also due to injury.
Without them, Chelsea struggled to threaten Arsenal's backline. The closest they came to an equaliser was in the 37th minute when defender Marc Cucurella hammered an angled volley at David Raya only for the ball to squeeze through the Arsenal goalkeeper's hands and go just wide.
The win left second-placed Arsenal 12 points behind Liverpool who face Newcastle United in the League Cup final later on Sunday.
Both the top two teams have played 29 games with a further nine rounds of fixtures to go.
Chelsea are fourth, one point ahead of Manchester City and five behind third-placed Nottingham Forest.
For all the millions of pounds Newcastle United have invested in an array of talent from around the globe since a Saudi Arabia-backed takeover in 2021, it was Dan Burn, born down the road in Blyth, who proved the hero to end decades of hurt on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz's hopes of capturing a third successive Indian Wells title went up in smoke on Saturday and the Spaniard said his inability to tame his nerves was more of a disappointment than the stunning semi-final defeat by Jack Draper.
McLaren's Lando Norris swept to victory in a wet and wild Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off defending champion Max Verstappen in a white-knuckle finish to a Formula One season-opener littered with crashes and safety cars.
Manchester City could only muster a 2-2 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, dropping points in a blow to their hopes of playing European football next season.
After struggling with setup issues through Australian Grand Prix practice, Max Verstappen was surprised by his Red Bull car's performance on Saturday as the Formula One defending champion took third place in qualifying for the season-opening race.
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