Chelsea made light of striker Diego Costa's absence to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a 3-0 win at champions Leicester City.
Kevin de Bruyne's first-half penalty and a superb strike by Raheem Sterling after the break earned holders Manchester City a comfortable 2-0 away win at Newcastle United in the weekend's last FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
West Ham United marked their first match at the Olympic Stadium with a 3-0 win over Slovenian side NK Domzale, Cheikhou Kouyate scoring twice to help secure a place in the Europa League playoff round.
Roy Hodgson has given himself the option to give England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his provisional squad on Monday. There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.
Lacazette fired the Gunners ahead in the eighth minute after poor defending by the home side before new signing Gabriel made it 2-0 in the 49th and Aubameyang put the icing on the cake with a superb shot into the top corner.
Arsenal's victory was scrappy and nervy but Laurent Koscielny's 72nd-minute winner was enough to move them two points clear at the summit after LeicesterCity's surprise push faltered with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.
Striker Glenn Murray scored a brace and Jose Izquierdo curled in a shot from outside the box to lift promoted Brighton to 10th in the standings, leaving West Ham in 17th just above the relegation zone.
Manchester United ended a momentous evening hinting at a brighter future after reaching the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory.
Manchester City shook off the impact of a COVID outbreak in their ranks to outclass Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge
With United unable to sign a replacement, the pressure will be on 21-year-old England forward Marcus Rashford to deliver the goals in a more central role than he has previously operated in.
Images from EPL matches played on Tuesday
Manchester City are about to find out whether Raheem Sterling has the ability to justify his enormous price tag or is just another over-rated young English footballer motivated purely by his bank balance.
Alexis Sanchez grabbed a 15-minute hat-trick as Arsenal shook off any hangover from their midweek League Cup defeat to thrash West Ham United 5-1 and climb to second in the English Premier League.
West Ham United players are motivated by their position in the Premier League table and they are keen to stay close to the top for as long as possible, manager Slaven Bilic said on Thursday.
Chelsea's terrible start to the season plumbed new depths on Saturday when the Premier League champions lost 2-1 at West Ham United.
Manchester City opened up a two-point lead over their neighbours Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League on Saturday thanks to another display of scintillating brilliance in a 7-2 thrashing of Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium.
Adrian fired past opposite number and Spanish compatriot Joel Robles immediately after the Everton keeper had crashed his spot kick against the crossbar as West Ham won 9-8 on penalties.
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
Charlie Adam scored twice as Stoke City beat Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday to show the flailing Premier League champions it will take more than one big-money signing to improve their fortunes.
Chelsea brushed aside London rivals West Ham United with a 2-1 away win that restored their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Monday.
Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Arsenal beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-2 to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
Five talking points from the Premier League weekend:
Manchester City made Raheem Sterling the most expensive English player in history when they completed a deal for the 20-year-old forward on Tuesday, rubber-stamping an acrimonious end to his Liverpool career.
Images from the FA Cup matches played on Saturday
Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut after a second consecutive defeat and LeicesterCity's improbable march towards the Premier League title showed no sign of slowing as they won a fifth straight match. Juventus stayed six points clear of Napoli after Italy's top two both won and Bayern Munich extended their Bundesliga lead to seven points. Here is a summary of results from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Chelsea overpowered West Ham United and Manchester City outclassed West Bromwich Albion as the Premier League title rivals signalled their intent at the start of a hectic holiday programme on Friday.
Leaders Manchester City kept up their unbeaten run with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Manchester United salvaged a 2-2 draw at Southampton, who sacked manager Mark Hughes on Monday.
Watford climbed into the top four of the Premier League after Tom Cleverley's 92nd-minute goal gave them a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
First-half goals by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi earned Arsenal a first win in four league games to revive their Premier League title hopes in the early kickoff at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to win a Premier League match for the first time since August while a late goal from Paul Dummett earned a 3-3 draw for Newcastle United against Manchester United on Tuesday.
Bitter rivals Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had wildly contrasting afternoons on Saturday as Arsenal went top of the Premier League and champions Chelsea lost again with their manager being sent off.
Dimitri Payet struck a brace for the Hammers against a tired Newcastle, whose players had to trudge the last mile to West Ham United's stadium after their team coach became stuck in London's rush-hour traffic before Monday's Premier League fixture.
Former Real youth player Joselu pulled a goal back for Alaves in the 59th minute, powering in a header from a free kick, but Benzema rounded off the victory for second-placed Real with an exquisite solo run and goal in the 70th minute.
Arsenal ended their away hoodoo against Premier League title challengers with a 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Sunday that left Chelsea five points clear at the top.
Chelsea and Manchester City tightened their stranglehold on the Premier League title race on Saturday, recording victories over struggling clubs to stretch further clear of their increasingly forlorn pursuers.
Cesc Fabregas kept alive Chelsea's hopes of finishing in the top four with a quickfire goal in a 1-0 win at Swansea City which leaves the Welsh side facing a major fight to retain their Premier League status.
Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic struck late goals to earn improving champions Chelsea a 2-1 victory at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
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