London clubs' erratic start to the Premier League season improved with victories for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on Saturday but Manchester sides continued to make the running, with City and United the top two.
Manchester City are already working on how they can improve next season after sealing a spot in the Champions League, manager Pep Guardiola said as he mulled over potential targets in the summer transfer window.
English football clubs splurged on the final day of the transfer window, laying out 210 million pounds to take total gross spending to a record-high 1.4 billion pounds as the Premier League again flexed its unrivalled financial muscles.
Wenger's future at Arsenal will be decided after FA Cup final
Chelsea captain John Terry is assessing whether to retire from football after the Premier League champions' final game of the season against Sunderland on Sunday.
The points table of the English Premier League 2016-17 season.
Wenger dropped Rob Holding for the visit to Stoke, preferring Shkodran Mustafi alongside Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac at the back.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
Liverpool had to be satisfied with a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal on Saturday as their usually prolific attacking trio were well shackled by their improving hosts.
Reports in British media put the latest bid at 125 million euros.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
The 24-year-old limped off the pitch in the first 15 minutes of the match at Vicarage Road and was replaced by Adam Lallana but manager Juergen Klopp said that the Brazilian had not been badly injured.
Chelsea took a major step towards the Premier League title with an impressive 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
'I think they're in a big fight now'
'We knew it was going to be hard to play against them, but I give all the praise to the lads for the hard work.'
Hull City and Swansea City earned valuable victories in their battle for Premier League survival but Middlesbrough slid further towards the drop after a 4-0 hammering at Bournemouth.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge was substituted with a thigh injury as the English Premier League club beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in a pre-season match in Germany on Tuesday.
Sean Dyche's Burnley side looked to have secured a crucial point in their fight to move clear of the bottom three but Eriksen broke their hearts with a clinical finish for third-placed Spurs in the 91st minute.
Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea had the look of champions again as they maintained their comfortable seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday -- but Tottenham Hotspur will not give up the chase.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Saturday's clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford is already shaping up as an early-season eliminator to challenge runaway leaders Manchester City for the Premier League title.
City's Aguero doubtful starter for Watford trip
Watford climbed into the top four of the Premier League after Tom Cleverley's 92nd-minute goal gave them a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane was named player of the month after scoring six goals in four league games.
If Claudio Ranieri was hoping there might be a player lurking in his reserves to salvage Leicester City's unravelling season he was left disappointed on Saturday as his side were beaten 1-0 by third-tier Millwall in the FA Cup fifth round.
Liverpool beat Leicester City 2-1 to post a fourth successive Premier League victory but conceded their first goal of the season after a nightmare mistake by new keeper Alisson.
'I don't agree that Mesut has not had an impact on big matches. What about the win at home to Chelsea this season and Manchester United the year before?'
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has heaped praise on teammate Anthony Martial for the professional and mature manner in which the forward has responded to recent criticism from manager Jose Mourinho.
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the Premier League fixtures on April 28-30
Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has put to bed all speculations about him leaving Old Trafford this summer.
Arsenal travel across town to a vengeful Chelsea on Saturday knowing that another depressing defeat at Stamford Bridge would see their Premier League title hopes swept away with the lunchtime leftovers.
On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion), Antonio Conte's side also missed out on two of their other targets - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger brushed off suggestions that his four-match touchline ban for pushing a fourth official was too lenient, saying his critics would still not be satisfied if he was put behind bars.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been given a four-match touchline ban after admitting a Football Association (FA) misconduct charge for appearing to push the fourth official during their Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
John Terry has had many highs and a few lows in his two decades at Chelsea, so it was fitting that he was both hero and villain in what was possibly his last full appearance for the club he joined as a 14-year-old schoolboy.
A game that had been meandering along amid much mediocrity came to life on the stroke of halftime when Can's extraordinary overhead scissors kick from Lucas's chipped through ball rocketed into the top corner.
The Football Association will investigate reports of crowd trouble among West Ham United supporters at Saturday's Premier League game against Watford.
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