Nerby Arsenal defeated Newcastle 1-0 in the EPL, moving them within three points of Manchester City who held the game.
Published April 25, 2026
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a tense 1-0 win against Newcastle thanks to Ebelesi Eze’s thunderous strike.
Manchester City started a league campaign from pole position for the first time since October after they beat Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday to take Arsenal into the lead.
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But Eze put the Gunners into the lead with a stunning first-half strike at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Eze’s 10th goal of the season increased their lead over second-place City to three points. Arsenal had defeated Southampton 2-1 in the league and booked their place in the FA Cup final.
For Arsenal, this was a vital victory. Arsenal lost 2-1 to City last weekend, ending their hopes of winning the title.
Arsenal have lost just three of their first 49 games this season and four of their previous six, making it their first consecutive league defeat since 2023.
The North Londoners, who enabled City to lift the trophy by taking a huge lead in the 2023 and 2024 title race, are at risk of squandering a golden opportunity to win England’s first crown since 2004 after a recent slump.
City have a game against Arsenal and the fate of the title is in their hands.
However, their next league game is not until they visit Everton on May 4, giving Arsenal the chance to move six points clear when they host Fulham next weekend.
Before that, Arsenal visit Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
City’s victory over Burnley ended their 209-day run at the top of the table as Arsenal outscored them.
Arsenal are back at the top of the table on goal difference, one goal ahead of City, but their inability to improve on the score against a struggling Newcastle side could come back to haunt them.
Newcastle are in even worse form than Arsenal, with this being their ninth defeat in 12 league games, putting even more pressure on manager Eddie Howe.
Howe’s side had just one league win in 17 visits to the Emirates and, despite a lively start, once again departed empty-handed.
Will Osula should have scored from close range in the opening seconds before Bruno Guimarães’ 20-yard blast blew the whistle.
The England midfielder put Arsenal ahead in the ninth minute when Eze’s goal went just wide of the edge of the area, but Newcastle ignored the warning.
Once again, Arsenal’s set-piece mastery paid off, but Newcastle defended disastrously.
Martin Odegaard found Kai Havertz inside the area, teed up Eze (who remained unmarked in almost the same position as his shot a moment earlier) and curled a superb curler into the top corner from 18 yards.
Arsenal’s 17th goal of the season from a corner set a new Premier League record for a single season.
Arteta’s side, who had only played six short corners all season before facing Newcastle, played three short corners in the first half alone, exploiting weaknesses in the visitors’ defence.
Arsenal themselves were far from perfect, with keeper David Raya almost caught out by Sandro Tonali’s dipping drive from distance.
Havertz limped off in the 34th minute, extending an injury-plagued season.
And there was even more bad news for Arteta on the injury front when Eze was sent off early in the second half.
Arsenal had lost their rhythm after the injury and Yoan Ouissa should have made them pay with a volley from eight yards.
Arsenal’s anxiety was evident both in the stands and on the pitch when Raya saved Dan Byrne’s header in the closing stages.
Shaking his head on the touchline, Arteta breathed a sigh of relief as the exciting title race unfolded once again.
