PIX: Arsenal hang on to beat Spurs, maintain lead; City keep pressure

IMAGES of English Premier League matches held on Sunday

Arsenal held on to beat battling local rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 away and remain a point clear at the top of the Premier League after an emphatic first-half display and a nervous second period in an electric derby atmosphere on Sunday.

An own goal by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and efforts from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz put the Gunners in control at halftime and although Spurs fought back through Cristian Romero's strike and a Son Heung-min penalty, the visitors claimed the three points.

Victory kept Mikel Arteta's Gunners ahead of second-placed champions Manchester City, whose 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest later on Sunday put them within a point with a game in hand.

Liverpool are four points behind City in third spot, but like Arsenal having played 35 matches with three games left.

Tottenham's defeat hit their hopes of playing Champions League football next season as they stand seven points off fourth-placed Aston Villa, albeit still with two games in hand.

Having built such a commanding lead it looked as though Arsenal could inflict humiliation on their arch-rivals but in the end they were happy to hear the final whistle -- the players celebrating in the corner with their fans.

"I was praying at the end. It was a really emotional game. This is a tough place to come and a great team to play against. We had to dig in and suffer," Arteta, who reached 100 Premier League wins as Arsenal manager, told Sky Sports.

City keep pressure on Arsenal with 2-0 win 

Manchester City took another step in their bid to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title with a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland on target.

Pep Guardiola's men kept the pressure on leaders Arsenal, pulling to within a point of the Gunners -- who held on to win 3-2 at Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the day -- in the table with a game in hand.

"I think the most important thing is to not think (about the title race), especially these moments, but take it day by day," Haaland told Sky Sports. "Honestly if you overthink, you're going to be crazy in your head, so relax now, enjoy, focus on the next one."

Forest had matched City in a nervous first half at the sun-drenched City Ground before Gvardiol got the holders on the scoreboard with his second career league goal when he headed in Kevin De Bruyne's corner kick from the near post in the 32nd minute. Forest had only 10 men on the pitch at the time following an injury to Neco Williams.

"I didn't expect to score, but I found myself in a good position, Gvardiol said, then added about the title race: "We need to be focused on ourselves, and that's what we're doing. Four more finals until the end -- let's do it."

Haaland made a quick impact when he entered the game as a substitute in his first action since missing two matches with a muscle injury.

The Norwegian took a pass from De Bruyne in the 71st minute, took three touches, then launched it into the far corner for a league-leading 21st goal of the season. He had previously been level with Chelsea's Cole Palmer.

"It was more than hard, such a difficult game but we knew that," Guardiola said. "The game we played in Brighton (a 4-0 win on Thursday) feels like a few hours ago so it is always difficult.

Guardiola said his side did not feel added pressure from kicking off after Arsenal's win.

Bournemouth set club PL points record

Goals from Marco Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert gave Bournemouth a comfortable 3-0 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday to ensure the club's highest points total in the Premier League era with three games left to play.

The 10th-placed Cherries have amassed 48 points, two more than their previous best total of 46 achieved in the 2016-17 season. South-coast rivals Brighton, who finished sixth last year, are 12th on 44 points.

Brighton dominated possession in the first half but went behind when Senesi reacted quickest to head home from a corner in the 13th minute, and despite having the lion's share of the ball, the visitors only managed a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Making his first Premier League start this season after 12 substitute appearances, Turkish striker Unal fluffed a couple of good chances before netting the second for Bournemouth seven minutes after the break, sending a powerful looping header from Dango Outtara's cross over the keeper and into the net.

Sent on to chase the game, Brighton substitute Julio Enciso wasted no time getting involved after coming on in the 66th minute, blazing a great opportunity wide before curling a brilliant effort just past the top corner.

That was as close as Brighton came to pulling a goal back, and it was Kluivert who rounded off the scoring with a superb run down the right flank before cutting inside Lewis Dunk and firing home.

The only dark cloud on an otherwise joyful afternoon for Bournemouth came in stoppage-time when winger Antoine Semenyo left the field on a stretcher before the home side extended Brighton's winless league run to six games.

Bournemouth defender Adam Smith, who started his second spell at the club in 2014, credited the current crop of players for their strong showing this season.