Arsenal regained their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table following their 3-0 win at Fulham, while Manchester United were forced to share the spoils with Southampton on Sunday.

Saturday’s victory at Crystal Palace by second-place Manchester City narrowed the gap for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. The Gunners responded with a display of composure that has characterized their unexpected title charge.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard scored in the first half to set Arsenal up for a fifth consecutive league victory. Leandro Trossard assisted on all three goals.

With eleven league games remaining, the north Londoners are closing in on the championship.

Since being knocked out of first place by a loss to City, which occurred during a four-game losing streak, Arsenal have demonstrated the resolve of potential champions with a resolute response.

It was Arsenal’s 11th win in 14 away league matches this season, highlighting their resilience and maturity that has put them in position to win the league title for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” in 2004.

“We scored beautiful goals. I’m really happy to win away from home, especially with a clean sheet,” Arteta said.

“It’s great to see the goals distributed through the team. Leandro laid on three assists and could also have scored too.”

In the final 14 minutes of the match, Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus made his first appearance since suffering a knee injury at last year’s World Cup.

With Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones in attendance, the Gunners ensured that their celebrity fan enjoyed his trip to Craven Cottage.

Gabriel gave Arsenal the lead in the 21st minute when he rose above three Fulham defenders to head home Trossard’s corner kick from close range.

Arsenal launched another aerial attack in the 26th minute.

Trossard again provided the assist by dribbling down the left flank before lofting a cross to Martinelli, who easily outjumped Antonee Robinson to score from close range.

Odegaard put the game out of reach in the final seconds of the first half as Arsenal capitalized on Fulham’s abject defense.

Trossard’s cross found Odegaard in the Fulham penalty area, and the midfielder, who was given far too much space, controlled the ball with his thigh and unleashed a powerful shot that beat Bernd Leno.

At Old Trafford, the dismissal of Casemiro compelled third-placed Manchester United to settle for a drab draw against bottom-placed Southampton.

United are undefeated in their last 22 home games, but this was a lackluster performance in their first league game since last week’s humiliating 7-0 loss to bitter rivals Liverpool.

Following a VAR review, the Brazilian midfielder’s initial yellow card for a high challenge on Carlos Alcaraz in the 34th minute was changed to a red card.

It was the former Real Madrid star’s second dismissal in eight appearances, following his dismissal against Crystal Palace, and he now faces a four-game suspension.

“Casemiro played over 500 games in Europe and never once got a red card. Now he has two in the Premier League,” United manager Erik ten Hag said.

“His absence is not the issue. We will deal with that. This game was influenced by the referee.”

With a 2-1 victory over Wolves at St James’s Park, Newcastle leapfrogged Liverpool into fifth place.

Free kick taken by Kieran Trippier in the 26th minute was met by a header from Sweden’s Alexander Isak.

Hwang Hee-chan equalized for Wolves in the 70th minute after a poor clearance by Trippier, but Miguel Almiron scored the game-winning goal nine minutes later when his shot deflected off Max Kilman.

In the race to qualify for the Champions League, Newcastle are four points behind fourth-place Tottenham with two games in hand after their first victory in six matches across all competitions.

Despite escaping the relegation zone with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at the London Stadium, West Ham was jeered off the field.

Ollie Watkins scored Villa’s first goal with a header off a cross by Emiliano Buendia in the 17th minute.

Said Benrahma converted a penalty kick for West Ham nine minutes later after Leon Bailey shoved Lucas Paqueta.