Gunners flop again as Blues surge ahead

CHELSEA continued their seemingly irresistible surge towards regaining the English Premier League title as a late Gary Cahill goal saw them snatch a 2-1 win at Stoke City on Saturday.

The latest triumph for Antonio Conte’s unstoppable charges came after London rivals Arsenal’s season continued to unravel with a third straight 3-1 away league defeat, this time at West Bromwich Albion.

The Gunners’ fourth loss in five league games raised further questions about the future of underpressure manager Arsene Wenger, who announced intriguingly afterwards: “I know what I will do. You will soon know.”

Willian put Chelsea ahead after 13 minutes thanks to a blunder by Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant, but Jon Walters equalised with a penalty before half time after being fouled by Cahill.

The England defender made amends in the 87th minute with a deserved winner and, after Phil Bardsley had been sent off for Stoke in added time, Conte celebrated with his staff on the touchline. Arsenal’s defeat came amid more protests from

some of the more vociferous of the Gunners’ faithful about Wenger as the manager acknowledged that his side were in the middle of “a unique bad patch” in his two-decade reign.

After dismal defending saw West Brom’s Craig Dawson head home twice from corners in a convincing win for Tony Pulis’s men, Wenger said: “We lose game after game at the moment and that for me is much more important than my future.” Yet as the debate about his prospects became ever louder – one plane trailed a banner over the ground that declared “Wenger Out” while another trumpeted “In Arsene We Trust” – the Frenchman said he would clarify his future soon.

Basement club Sunderland were held 0-0 at home to poor travellers Burnley, while third-bottom Hull City were trounced 4-0 by Everton, for whom league-leading scorer Romelu Lukaku scored twice in added time, taking his season’s tally to 21.

Leicester City’s remarkable resurgence under new manager Craig Shakespeare continued with a fourth successive win under his stewardship.

The champions won 3-2 at West Ham United with first-half goals from Riyad Mahrez, Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy for their first league success away from home all season.

Like Leicester, Crystal Palace eased their relegation worries with a third straight win, 1-0 at home to Watford. – Reuters