Premier League round-up: Arsenal, West Ham, Aston Villa get vital victories, Leeds beat Southampton

It was not the day that the Premier League title race and relegation battles were resolved, but Saturday’s action saw vital points won and lost across the country.

Arsenal beat Leicester to extend their lead atop the Premier League. The Foxes had been on a strong run, thrashing Tottenham and giving Manchester United a good scare in recent weeks, but Mikel Arteta’s men are made of sterner stuff.

January signing Leandro Trossard had the ball in the net early with an unstoppable strike but VAR intervened to halt Arsenal’s celebrations.

Despite that disappointment, Gabriel Martinelli put the Gunners in front early in the second half and they never looked back.

Aston Villa kept themselves above the relegation fray with a resilient 2-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park. As a result Sean Dyche’s side slip into the bottom three and face the very real threat of relegation.

The Villans dominated the ball in the opening half but it was the hosts who were making chances.

Everton looked impressive on the break and tested Emiliano Martinez but the Argentinian would not be beaten.

It was Villa then who opened the scoring through Ollie Watkins when Idrissa Gana Gueye was penalised for a tackle on John McGinn. Everton protested vociferously after what had seemed a fair tackle, but the penalty was not reviewed by VAR and Watkins stepped up to convert from the spot.

Emiliano Buendia sealed victory for the visitors with a late close-range strike.

West Ham, beginning the day outside the drop zone on goal difference alone, hosted Nottingham Forest and fired in 10 shots and stack up 10 corners in the first half without troubling Keylor Navas.

The Hammers seemed to run out of ideas in the second half, and Forest came out of their shell, beginning to test the West Ham defence.

But then the match was turned on its head with two goals in four minutes from Danny Ings. The journeyman striker’s first was a trademark poacher’s finish, finding a way to turn Jarrod Bowen’s cross home.

The second was even scrappier with Said Benrahma going on a mazy run into the box before flicking the ball towards the near post where Ings found a way to put it in the net.

Five minutes later Declan Rice added a third, then Michail Antonio made it 4-0.

The Hammers had the worst difference between goals scored and expected goals scored before Saturday, and Forest felt the full force of West Ham’s reversion to the mean.

In the battle of the bottom sides, Leeds, playing for the first time under new manager Javi Gracia, welcomed Southampton to Elland Road.

Saints were themselves playing only their second match with Ruben Selles at the helm, and the first since his promotion from caretaker to full-time manager.

It was a tight, nervous affair but Junior Firpo got the only goal of the game when Leeds caught Saints out with a quickly-taken short corner routine.

Gavin Bazunu, so often the hero for Saints in a dreadful season, took an age to get down and won’t be pleased to have been beaten by so tame a finish.