Arsenal banked another three points in the defence of their Premier League title as their trademark persistence once again paid off in a 1-0 home win over stubborn Hull City on Saturday.
It was not fluent or convincing but Martin Odegaard’s poacher’s goal in the 72nd-minute earned Mikel Arteta’s side a sixth league win by a single-goal margin this season.
Arsenal moved to 27 points from 10 games, six clear of second-placed Manchester City who will try to bounce back from consecutive defeats at Nottingham Forest later on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur’s recent revival came to a halt as they went down 1-0 at Leeds United for whom Noah Okafor struck the winner 97 seconds after coming off the bench at Elland Road.
There was controversy, though, with Leeds fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men in the first half when Jayden Bogle escaped a red card for a dangerous tackle on Mathys Tel.
Fulham and Newcastle United shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage — Jacob Murphy giving the hosts a late lead only for Rodrigo Muniz to equalise.
Arsenal showed last season a champions knack for picking up wins even without hitting top gear and it was very much in evidence against a Hull side who provided a stern test.
Captain Odegaard had not scored since September but was on hand to snaffle a rebound after Noni Madueke’s shot had been saved by Hull keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Tottenham were seeking a fourth successive win but faded against Leeds and Okafor drove home a low shot from the edge of the area in the 79th minute.
That proved enough for Leeds to end a five-match winless league run and move above Tottenham into eighth place with 14 points. Tottenham have 12 points.
Tottenham fans were furious that Bogle was spared any punishment for his rash lunge on Tel which resulted in the Tottenham winger being forced off with an ankle injury — the VAR check on the challenge taking four minutes.
Visiting manager Roberto de Zerbi played down the controversy, however.
“I’m sorry for the result, but first of all I’m sorry for the performance in the second half,” the Italian said. “We didn’t play like a top team, we played without the right spirit, the right character, the right physicality in the duels.”