Premier League: Arsenal edge Chelsea to close the gap on leaders Liverpool, Man Utd beat Leicester

Chelsea's bid for a Champions League spot weakened following their lifeless 0-1 loss at Arsenal on Sunday, while Fulham secured a 2-0 victory against Tottenham. Manchester United continued their upward trend with a 3-0 win at Leicester.
A solitary goal from Mikel Merino settled an uninspiring match at the Emirates, helping Arsenal strengthen their second position and reduce Liverpool's advantage to 12 points.
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The absence of Cole Palmer through illness proved costly for Chelsea, who delivered a lacklustre performance that hampered their top-four aspirations.
Despite maintaining fourth position presently, Chelsea face pressure from five clubs between Manchester City in fifth and Aston Villa in ninth, all within four points of Enzo Maresca's side.

Arsenal's goalscoring difficulties have persisted since Kai Havertz's season-ending injury forced midfielder Merino to adopt a forward position. The Spanish international proved decisive from a corner, heading in Martin Odegaard's delivery at the far post after 20 minutes.
Whilst Chelsea created few chances, they nearly equalised when David Raya mishandled Marc Cucurella's attempt, with the ball rolling wide.
Robert Sanchez produced an excellent save to prevent Merino from scoring Arsenal's second, in what was the half's finest attempt.
The match concluded quietly with minimal attacking threat, as the subdued display intensified criticism of Maresca's tactical approach amongst Chelsea supporters.
"We did enough to deserve to win the game," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. "Now we have the international break so let's take a chance to breathe and bring some players back hopefully."

Tottenham, fresh from their Europa League quarter-final qualification against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, experienced another post-European setback at Craven Cottage.
Fulham's triumph elevates Marco Silva's team to eighth position, four points from fourth place and three behind fifth.
A fifth-place finish should secure Champions League participation next season, owing to English clubs' strong European performances.
Spurs have struggled with their Premier League form following European fixtures, winning just three of 10 league matches after Europa League games.
Ange Postecoglou's team were second-best throughout, conceding in the 78th minute when Rodrigo Muniz converted Andreas Pereira's pass. Ryan Sessegnon sealed the victory against his previous club with an elegant finish.
"It's been a difficult campaign for sure," said Spurs captain Son Heung-min.
"But I feel we've lost too many games that we should have got stuff out of, and this was one of those games."
Leicester set unwanted record

United extended their unbeaten streak in open play to seven matches with a convincing win over a struggling Leicester side.
Rasmus Hojlund broke his 21-game goal drought by scoring to put United ahead in the 28th minute.
Alejandro Garnacho had to be patient for his first goal since November, having been flagged offside early in the second half. However, he eventually found the net with a quick shot that Mads Hermansen should have saved.
This victory marked United’s fourth win against Leicester this season, including two matches where Ruud van Nistelrooy served as the interim manager for the Red Devils. Unfortunately for the Dutchman, he hasn't achieved the same success at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester's situation has worsened, suffering 13 losses in their last 14 league games and now sitting nine points behind safety. Additionally, they set an unwanted record as the first Premier League team to go seven home games without scoring.
Bruno Fernandes capped off United's victory with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box, marking his seventh goal in as many games.