The ten men of Arsenal put in one of their best offensive performances in the first half, and then the best defensive performance in the second to hold out for a commendable 1-0 win over Sunderland, while Chelsea finally got their groove back with a 4-1 victory over Wigan.
Gareth Bale was the man of the moment yet again for Tottenham, scoring a brilliant brace to give Spurs a vital 2-1 win over a valiant Newcastle side as Swansea ran riot at the Liberty Stadium, thumping Queens Park Rangers 4-1.
At the Stadium of Light, it was all Arsenal in the first half as pass after pass, move after move and chance after chance were created, with Sunderland lucky not to go in at halftime with the game well beyond them.
Asmir Begovic was the man of the match for Stoke in their 1-0 loss to Arsenal last weekend, and Simon Mignolet continued the goalkeepers' trend of denying Arsenal with a string of brilliant first half saves, particularly a couple of them off Aaron Ramsey.
The Arsenal midfielder, who had an assured first half, before filling in rather admirably at right-back following the sending off of Carl Jenkinson, first tested Mignolet with a 22-yard effort, which was thwarted by the fingertips of the Sunderland goalkeeper.
Mignolet then made a save with his feet, when Ramsey looked absolutely nailed on to score. There were several other chances for the Gunners, with Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla running the show in the middle of the park.
The goal final came in the 35th minute, off another wonderfully crafted move from Arsenal. Jack Wilshere drove forward through the middle, before finding Theo Walcott inside the penalty area, who took his time before laying it off to Cazorla to strike a peach into the bottom corner.
Sunderland needed to show better resolve in the second period and they did, showing more intent, even of Arsenal were comfortable at the back with a makeshift backline, following an injury to Laurent Koscielny during warm up.
Bacary Sagna, who filled in at center back, had a wonderful game, and was Arsenal's outstanding defender, making several clearances while standing his ground in the aerial battle between Steven Fletcher.
Arsenal were dealt a blow just beyond the hour, when Jenkinson, on a yellow, lunged unnecessarily at Stephane Sessegnon, leaving referee Anthony Taylor with no choice but to show a second yellow.
It was now a test for Arsenal's defense, and they stood up admirably, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny making a couple of absolutely brilliant saves, particularly one off a Fletcher header which looked like creeping into the top corner, before Szczesny's hands clawed it out.
Walcott hit the post at the other end, as Arsenal missed several chances on the counter, but eventually took all three thoroughly earned and deserved points.
At Stamford Bridge, Rafa Benitez eased the pressure on himself as Chelsea, despite a couple of hiccups, eventually coasted to a 4-1 win over Wigan, with Ramires, Eden Hazard, Frank Lampard and Marko Marin getting the goals.
Ramires opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, before Hazard smashed home off a low cross from Cesar Azplicueta early in the second half.
Shaun Maloney brought the butterflies back at Stamford Bridge with a strike just before the hour, but Lampard, as he always does, calmed those nerves with a crucial third goal.
The 34-year-old, who has reportedly been offered a new contract, moved to within four goals of Bobby Tambling's all-time record of 202 goals, with a trademark low strike on the edge of the box.
Marin added the gloss with a late header in stoppage time to keep Chelsea in third, on 49 points from 26 games, with Arsenal fifth on 44 points, as Spurs stay fourth on 48.
Results: Stoke 2-1 Reading; Chelsea 4-1 Wigan; Tottenham 2-1 Newcastle; Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal; Norwich 0-0 Fulham; Swansea 4-1 QPR.
