Monday briefing: Arsenal and Hearts build big leads at top

Arsenal enjoyed a bumper weekend as they beat Crystal Palace while Manchester City joined Liverpool in slipping up.

There were also wins for Bournemouth, Burnley and Tottenham, while in Scotland Hearts sank faltering champions Celtic.

Eze does it for Arsenal

Eberechi Eze scored against his old club as Arsenal recorded a 1-0 win against Palace to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.

Eze fired home from another Arsenal set-piece with a sumptuous finish six minutes prior to the interval as Arsenal saw out their seventh consecutive victory.

Palace failed to muster a single shot on target against an Arsenal side who have now conceded just three times across 13 matches in all competitions so far.

Defeats for Liverpool and Manchester City made it an extra profitable weekend for the Gunners.

Boss Mikel Arteta said: “I just told the boys that I value this victory more than any other victory this season because we knew the difficulty of it.

“We are where we are and it is a credit to us because we’ve been very, very consistent, but it really doesn’t mean anything other than let’s keep doing a lot of things that we’re doing really well.”

Villa Cash in against below-par City

City’s title hopes took an early blow after Matty Cash’s first-half goal earned Aston Villa a 1-0 win.

Cash fired home from the edge of the area in the 19th minute and that proved enough for a fourth league win in a row for Villa, who celebrated Unai Emery’s third anniversary in charge in style.

It was also a third successive home victory over Pep Guardiola’s side, who fell six points behind Arsenal and face the prospect of another hunt of Arteta’s men after Christmas.

Guardiola said: “Arsenal have been solid for many years, this time the concern is how we can improve, better, better, better and to be close.

“(The season) is so long. So long. This is my experience. There are many teams there.”

Dyche downed on south coast

Bournemouth moved up to second after a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Sean Dyche’s first Premier League match in charge of Forest ended in defeat after Marcus Tavernier scored direct from a corner and Junior Kroupi hit his fourth goal in three outings.

Dyche said: “I call it a collective down day from the off. When you get a collective down day it’s the hardest thing to change while the game is going on, and half-time is your first break to actually change it.

“I was pleased with that side of it when we did make decisions. I thought the second half was a stronger performance.”

Elsewhere in the Premier League on Sunday, two Micky van de Ven goals and Pape Sarr’s late header gave Tottenham a 3-0 win at Everton and moved them up to third, while Burnley won 3-2 at Wolves who remain rock-bottom.

Hoops in a Jam

Hearts’ dream start to the season continued with an exhilarating 3-1 win over beleaguered champions Celtic.

The Jambos are now eight points clear at the top of the William Hill Premiership, raising the prospect of a genuine title race in Scotland featuring a team outside the Old Firm for the first time in years.

Hearts took the lead through a comical early Dane Murray own goal before Callum McGregor equalised.

They claimed a famous victory through goals from Alexandros Kyziridis and Lawrence Shankland early in the second half.

Under-pressure Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers said: “I’ve always taken responsibility. There’s never been a time that I haven’t.

“When you’re the manager at Celtic, you’re responsible for the results, despite whatever else happens. So that responsibility is on me.”

Danny Rohl got his first win as Rangers boss, 3-1 at home to Kilmarnock.

What’s on today?

Port Vale, languishing in 21st in League One, host high-flying Stockport at Vale Park.

In Spain, Atletico Madrid can climb back into the top four with a win at Real Betis.