Arsenal retained top spot in the Premier League after a 2-1 win over Brighton, but Manchester City and Aston Villa remain in close contention, with just three points separating first and third in the standings.

City briefly held first place after a 2-1 victory at Nottingham Forest, but Arsenal’s win later in the day restored their lead, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a two-point advantage. Villa trails by one point, extending its winning run to 11 matches across all competitions with a 2-1 comeback at Chelsea. Villa faces Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday, with a win potentially drawing them level on points at the turn of the year.

Arsenal’s victory was aided by an own goal from Brighton’s Georginio Rutter, following a 14th-minute opener from Martin Ødegaard. Brighton pulled one back through Diego Gomez in the 64th minute, and Yankuba Minteh struck the post before David Raya made a crucial save to preserve the win.

“Their goal changed the momentum a little bit and they pressed us towards the end, but we got the three points and that’s all that matters,” Ødegaard said. “Lots of positives and still some things we can improve, but overall a good game and another win.” Arsenal has benefited from a string of own goals in recent weeks, Rutter’s being the fourth in as many matches.

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Manchester City’s title charge continued thanks to Rayan Cherki, whose 83rd-minute strike secured a 2-1 win at Forest. Cherki, who also assisted Tijjani Reijnders’ goal, helped extend City’s league-winning streak to six games and an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions. “Today is a big win,” Cherki told TNT Sports. “I’m proud of the team because this game is very complicated to win.”

Aston Villa’s comeback at Stamford Bridge was powered by super-sub Ollie Watkins, who scored within five minutes of entering and netted the winner in the 84th. Villa has now won 12 of its last 13 league games, establishing itself as a serious title contender.

Liverpool’s revival continued with a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton. Florian Wirtz scored his first Premier League goal since joining the Reds, doubling Liverpool’s lead before half-time after Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring. Santiago Bueno pulled one back for Wolves, who have set a new record for the longest winless start to a Premier League season.

Elsewhere, Brentford routed Bournemouth 4-1 with Kevin Schade scoring a hat-trick, Fulham edged West Ham 1-0 thanks to Raul Jimenez, and Burnley drew 0-0 with Everton, leaving the relegation battle finely poised.