3 talking points from the Premier League weekend
Arsenal's march towards the Premier League featured a historic contribution from teenager Max Dowman.
Erling Haaland's barren run has hit Manchester City's title bid, while Tottenham received a glimmer of hope in their fight against relegation.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points from this weekend's action:
Teenage dreams for Dowman
Questions over Arsenal's lack of guile and ability to handle the mental strain of going for a first league title in 22 years were about to be raised once more -- until Mikel Arteta's men were saved by 16-year-old Max Dowman.
"He changed the game every time he got the ball," said Arteta, who tore down the touchline in manic celebration at both his side's late goals in Saturday's dramatic 2-0 win over Everton.
Dowman was the creator for the opener as his cross deceived Jordan Pickford, handing Viktor Gyokeres a tap-in.
Pickford was stranded upfield moments later after going forward for a late Everton corner when Arsenal broke.
Dowman collected possession deep inside his own half and weaved past Vitaliy Mykolenko and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall before running free towards an open goal and becoming the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
"To do it at that age, in this context, with the pressure and expectations to win the game, it's just not normal," added Arteta.
The Gunners boss has a delicate balancing act to strike between giving Dowman the minutes to flourish while not putting too much expectation on his shoulders.
But his impact has taken Arsenal a giant strike towards ending their long wait for the title, with the leaders now nine points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.
City slump amid Haaland barren spell
Manchester City remain alive for now in four competitions, but their season is at risk of unravelling quickly.
Draws against two of the sides in the relegation battle -- West Ham and Nottingham Forest -- in their last two league games have allowed Arsenal to gallop clear at the top.
City have a mountain to climb when 15-time European champions Real Madrid visit the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday protecting a 3-0 first-leg lead.
And they go head-to-head with Arsenal for the first silverware of the season in next weekend's League Cup final.
Early in the campaign, City were able to rely on a steady stream of Erling Haaland goals to keep pace at the top of the table, but the Norwegian's form has tailed off in 2026.
Of Haaland's 42 goals for club and country this season, 38 came in his first 28 appearances of the campaign.
And two of his four in the 18 games since have come from the penalty spot.
"Erling knows it, we need his goals but we need to create more," said City boss Pep Guardiola.
"For him to be involved we have to create that threat. He will be back soon."
Spurs hope for salvation
Just moments away from another damaging defeat in a dismal season that threatens to end in the humiliation of relegation, Tottenham savoured a moment of hope when Richarlison's scuffed strike hit the back of the net at Anfield.
Trailing to Dominik Szoboszlai's 18th-minute free-kick, Igor Tudor's side salvaged a 1-1 draw against Liverpool thanks to Richarlison's 90th-minute goal.
Instead of sitting level on points with third-bottom West Ham and fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest, 16th-placed Tottenham hold a slender one-point advantage over their relegation rivals.
The gritty draw was just reward for an improved second-half display as Tottenham ended a run of five successive league defeats.
They are still winless in 12 league games, but the sight of Tudor jubilantly punching the air after Richarlison's goal underlined the significance of the result.
With a crucial clash against Forest scheduled for next week, Tottenham still have their fate in their own hands.
No wonder a relieved Tudor called the draw a potential "turning point" in the relegation fight.