Odegaard keeps Arsenal six points clear as Leeds end Tottenham’s winning run

Arsenal maintained their defence of the Premier League title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hull City, while Tottenham Hotspur’s recent improvement came to an end in a narrow defeat by Leeds United.

Martin Odegaard scored in the 72nd minute to secure Arsenal’s sixth league win of the season by a single-goal margin. Mikel Arteta’s side were far from their fluent best, but once again found a way to collect three points.

The Arsenal captain reacted quickest after Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis had saved Noni Madueke’s effort, turning in the rebound for his first goal since September.

The result took Arsenal to 27 points from 10 games, leaving them six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. City were due to visit Nottingham Forest later on Saturday as they looked to recover from consecutive defeats.

Hull provided a stubborn test and restricted Arsenal for long periods, but the hosts’ persistence eventually proved decisive.

At Elland Road, Leeds ended Tottenham’s run of five league matches without defeat as Noah Okafor scored 97 seconds after being introduced as a substitute.

Tottenham had been aiming for a fourth successive victory, but their performance faded and Okafor settled the match in the 79th minute with a low finish from the edge of the penalty area.

The victory lifted Leeds above Tottenham into eighth place with 14 points. Tottenham remain on 12 points.

The match was overshadowed by a first-half incident involving Leeds defender Jayden Bogle and Tottenham winger Mathys Tel. Bogle escaped a red card after a dangerous challenge which left Tel with an ankle injury and forced him to leave the pitch.

The video assistant referee review lasted four minutes, prompting anger among the travelling Tottenham supporters, who believed Bogle should have been sent off.

Leeds were fortunate to avoid being reduced to 10 men, but visiting manager Roberto de Zerbi focused on his side’s second-half display rather than the decision.

“I’m sorry for the result, but first of all I’m sorry for the performance in the second half,” the Italian said. “We didn’t play like a top team, we played without the right spirit, the right character, the right physicality in the duels.”

Fulham and Newcastle United drew 1-1 at Craven Cottage in the other match. Jacob Murphy put the hosts in front late on, before Rodrigo Muniz equalised.