Arsenal nicely consolidated their first place on Saturday against Sunderland (3-0) in a Premier League where the new coaches of Manchester United and Chelsea, Michael Carrick and Liam Rosenior, each obtained a fourth victory in as many games played.

Only third-placed Aston Villa, among the top teams, stumbled on the pitch at Bournemouth (1-1).

Unai Emery's team (3rd, 47 points) is struggling with only one win in its last five league matches, leaving it nine points behind the leader Arsenal (56 pts).

The Gunners are now counting on a poor performance from Manchester City (2nd, 47 pts) on Sunday in the match of the 25th round at Liverpool, the reigning champions, to make their title dream even more real.

The Londoners displayed all their qualities in grand style at home against Régis Le Bris' Back Cats: an ironclad defense, a fit attack and a bench rich in resources, despite the absences of the day (Odegaard, Saka, Merino).

Coming on in the second half, striker Viktor Gyökeres scored a brace (66th, 90th+3) to give the victory deservedly its due, a victory initiated by Martin Zubimendi (42nd, 1-0).

Sunderland are "a really tough opponent," very good at "breaking your press, keeping possession," and against whom it is "very difficult to create momentum," summarized manager Mikel Arteta. "I think the first goal really helped unlock that. And then the finishers came on and immediately had a huge impact."

- Man Utd on cloud nine -

The Manchester United that struggled under former manager Ruben Amorim has given way to a winning machine that is pleasant to watch, as seen on Saturday against Tottenham (2-0) at Old Trafford, where Michael Carrick secured a fourth victory in as many games.

The former iconic player of the club has reinstated a four-man defence, revived the young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and placed Bruno Fernandes a notch higher, in his preferred position.

"Michael arrived with the right ideas, he gave the players responsibilities and freedom on the field," the Portuguese captain summarized on TNT Sports.

The Red Devils' playmaker took a clever corner, played short with Mainoo, on the first goal scored by Bryan Mbeumo (38th) and took charge of the second (81st).

The opposing captain, Cristian Romero, abandoned his teammates, in every sense of the word, by receiving a red card very early (29th).

The pressure is becoming overwhelming for manager Thomas Frank, who has gone seven Premier League matches without a win and is stuck in 14th place.

- Chelsea continue -

Manchester United (4th, 44 pts) are now three points behind Aston Villa and remain closely followed by Chelsea (5th, 43 pts).

Liam Rosenior's Blues, the former Strasbourg coach, crushed bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton (3-1) in the first period with three goals, including two penalties, scored by Cole Palmer (13th, 35th, 38th).

Second-to-last Burnley (19th, 15 pts) lost 2-0 on Saturday in the must-win game against the first relegation-threatened West Ham (18th, 23 pts), at home no less.

The visitors were put in the lead after less than a quarter of an hour by another goal from Crysencio Summerville. The Dutch striker has scored in each of his last five games for West Ham, after netting just once in his first 38 appearances.

The East London club is now only three points behind Nottingham Forest (17th, 26 pts), the first team above the relegation zone.

Everton came away with a 2-1 victory at Fulham and appear in an unexpected eighth place with 37 points, two less than their neighbouring rival Liverpool (6th, 39 pts).

At the end of the day, Brentford (7th, 39 pts) slotted in between them thanks to a late 3-2 victory at Newcastle (12th, 33 pts). This was the Magpies' third consecutive league defeat, conceding a last-minute goal in the 85th minute to Dango Ouattara.