Monday’s briefing: Arsenal show mettle as Liverpool scrape win at Forest

Arsenal emphatically reaffirmed their Premier League title credentials by thrashing north London rivals Tottenham 4-1 to restore their five-point lead at the top of the table.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot said his side produced their worst performance of the season after snatching victory at relegation battlers Nottingham Forest and both Celtic and Rangers lost ground on leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership title race.

In the Women’s FA Cup, holders Chelsea needed extra time to see off Manchester United, while Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool also progressed to the last eight.

Mikel Arteta: Arsenal showed what they are made of

Mikel Arteta said his “outstanding” Arsenal side proved what they are made of after they thumped Tottenham to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

After facing accusations of bottling their title bid in the wake dropping two points at Wolves, Arsenal delivered a statement performance against their arch-rivals with an emphatic 4-1 win.

Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres both scored twice – Randal Kolo Muani replied for Tottenham after Eze’s opener – and Arteta said: “It feels like we showed what we are made of. I cannot be prouder of what I’ve seen out there but especially with the context of the way we lived the last 72 hours.

“After what happened against Wolves and losing two points with the last kick of the game, it was tough. But that’s the beauty of this game.”

Arne Slot: We got more than we deserved

Liverpool boss Arne Slot accepts his side’s performance in their last-gasp win at Nottingham Forest was “the worst we’ve played”.

Slot’s men were woefully out of sorts at the City Ground, with former captain Jamie Carragher describing their first-half display as a “horror show”, but they left with the three points after Alexis Mac Allister pounced in stoppage time.

“The first half was really poor, the worst we’ve played until now, I think,” Slot said. “But the second half was much better, we controlled the game much more.

“We’ve been on the wrong side of the score after a good performance far too many times and today, I think we got more than we deserved. A draw would have been a fairer result than for us to win it.”

Kai Andrews’ late winner dents 10-man Celtic’s title hopes

Kai Andrews scored a late winner as Hibernian delivered another blow to 10-man Celtic’s William Hill Premiership title hopes.

The Hibernian substitute struck in the 87th minute in what was a rare second-half attack for the visitors after Benjamin Nygren had cancelled out Felix Passlack’s opener on the stroke of half-time.

The 2-1 defeat left third-placed Celtic, for whom Auston Trusty received a VAR-assisted red card in the 74th minute, six points adrift of leaders Hearts, while second-placed Rangers also lost ground after being held 2-2 at bottom side Livingston.

Livi led 2-0 through Brooklyn Kabongolo and Lewis Smith, but Rangers hit back after home winger Cristian Montano’s red card, with goals in the final 10 minutes from Emmanuel Fernandez and Mikey Moore.

Chelsea snatch extra-time winner in Women’s FA Cup

Naomi Girma scored an extra-time winner to help holders Chelsea progress through to the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Manchester United.

Chelsea hit the front with 12 minutes to go when Sam Kerr swept home on her 150th appearance but their lead was short lived as a free-kick for Manchester United ended with Simi Awujo bundling into the back of the net to force extra time.

The home side retook the lead nine minutes into extra time when Veerle Buurman’s header was parried by Phallon Tullis-Joyce into the path of Girma who poked in to send Chelsea through.

Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City progressed with a 4-0 win over Sheffield United, Arsenal eased through with a 3-0 victory over Bristol City and Liverpool defeat city rivals Everton 2-1, while Brighton and Charlton also reached the last eight.

What’s on today?

Manchester United can make it five wins in six unbeaten Premier League games under interim boss Michael Carrick when they face Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium (8pm kick off).

London City Lionessses take on capital rivals Tottenham in the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup at the Copperjax Community Stadium.