ARSENAL moved a point above Manchester City to the top of the Premier League after being held to a frustrating goalless draw by Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium.
Boro had several chances to take the lead in the first half, with a free-kick from Gaston Ramirez hitting the post and Petr Cech saving well from both Adama Traore and then Ramirez's header. The Gunners upped their tempo following the restart, Victor Valdes saving Alexis Sanchez's goal-bound effort, but could not conjure a winner on what was manager Arsene Wenger's 67th birthday as a stoppage-time goal from Mesut Ozil was ruled out for offside, which brought to an end a run of seven straight victories.
In the early kick-off, Tottenham were left hanging on to secure their own goalless draw at Bournemouth. Spurs could have put pressure on both City and rivals Arsenal with a victory, but it was the Cherries who had the better of things at the Vitality Stadium and should arguably have taken all three points.
Erik Lamela and Moussa Sissoko were both fortunate not to be sent off in a feisty match which yielded six yellow cards, while Bournemouth's on-loan Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere completed 90 minutes at club level for the first time since September 2014.
Leicester continued their momentum from the midweek Champions League victory over Copenhagen as they beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at the King Power Stadium. The champions took the lead just before half-time when, on 42 minutes, Ahmed Musa picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area and the Nigerian frontman smashed it into the roof of the net.
Japan forward Shinji Okazaki doubled the home side's advantage in the 63rd minute when he drilled the ball in from 18 yards. Any prospects of a comeback were ended with 10 minutes to go when Christian Fuchs rifled in his first Leicester goal from 25 yards. Yohan Cabaye scored a late consolation for the visitors on 85 minutes.
Xherdan Shaqiri scored in each half as Stoke won 2-0 at Hull to move out of the bottom three. The Swiss midfielder opened the scoring on 26 minutes when he cut inside and drilled the ball into the top-right corner. Shaqiri doubled Stoke's lead five minutes into the second half when he clipped a 20-yard free-kick up over the wall and past Hull goalkeeper David Marshall.
Scott Arfield scored a last-minute winner as Burnley beat Everton 2-1 at Turf Moor. Wales forward Sam Vokes put the Clarets ahead in the 39th minute when he knocked in from close range after the ball was patted out by Toffees goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Everton were level on 58 minutes through a low finish from Yannick Bolasie, the Congo forward's first goal since a summer move from Palace. Just when time seemed up, Johann Berg Gudmundsson's shot came back off the crossbar and Arfield tapped in, to the delight of the home supporters.
There was also late drama at the London Stadium, where Winston Reid netted deep into stoppage-time to give West Ham a 1-0 win over bottom club Sunderland. New Swansea manager Bob Bradley collected his first point in the job following a goalless draw against Watford at the Liberty Stadium, where Gylfi Sigurdsson hit the post in the second-half.
