Thierry Henry followed up his hat-trick heroics against Roma in midweek with a double for Arsenal today in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa which put them four points clear at the top of the Premiership.
Robert Pires' 17th-minute opener ensured Arsenal extended their scoring run to 55 consecutive games.
The Frenchman slid the ball past Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman after Dennis Bergkamp had found him with a clever through-ball.
Henry then repeated his set-piece exploits of midweek as he curled a free-kick into the top corner four minutes into the second half.
German midfielder Tomas Hitzlsperger rattled in a left-foot shot in the 64th minute to bring Graham Taylor's side back into contention.
However it was Henry who had the final word as he stroked home a penalty with eight minutes left.
Chelsea moved up to third, at least until tomorrow, with a 3-0 win over Sunderland.
The opening goal was scored by French defender William Gallas in the 58th minute as he arrived at the far post to volley home.
His compatriot and central defensive partner Marcel Desailly grabbed a rare goal and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink added another to seal the win and force Sunderland into the relegation places.
West Brom were the ones to climb out of the drop zone as they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at The Hawthorns.
Transfer-listed striker Danny Dichio scored the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute.
Tottenham failed to take advantage of Boro's slip-up as they were held 1-1 at Birmingham.
City goalkeeper Nico Vaesen failed to deal with Christian Ziege's cross from the left and the loose ball fell to Teddy Sheringham, who made no mistake in the 55th minute.
But the Blues hit back 13 minutes later when full-back Jeff Kenna netted his first goal of the season.
Blackburn beat Fulham 2-1 at Ewood Park as they ended a run of three straight defeats.
Striker Dwight Yorke netted his fourth goal of the season in the 35th minute, tucking the ball past Edwin van der Sar after good work between David Dunn and Damien Duff.
But Rovers couldn't hold on and #11million striker Steve Marlet fired in an equaliser on the hour mark.
Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel's excellent season continued as he saved a penalty from Marlet six minutes later as Craig Short brought down Luis Boa Morte.
That save proved crucial as Rovers restored their advantage in the 77th minute with a bizarre goal. Yorke's goalward header was cleared but ricocheted back into the net off unfortunate Fulham defender Rufus Brevett.
Steve Howey's first goal of the season put Manchester City ahead at home to Bolton after 25 minutes as he headed home following a corner on the left.
Eyal Berkovic added a second in the 56th minute to increase City's lead and heap further pressure on Sam Allardyce's strugglers.