Arsenal overcame a fierce test at struggling Fulham to squeeze a 1-0 win that maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League, which had been threatened earlier in the day by Manchester City.

Leandro Trossard’s 58th-minute tap-in turned a game that had seen Fulham, now on a three-match losing streak, dominate the first half at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Manchester City had climbed to the top of the table with a 2-0 win at home to Everton, prior to the Gunners’ late kickoff in the London derby in the west of the capital.

The result moves Arsenal three points clear at the top, although defending champions Liverpool can cut that to just a point if they beat Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

Fulham, who had lost at Aston Villa and Bournemouth, prior to the international break, enjoyed the better of the early chances with Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson both dragging efforts that should have heavily tested the keeper.

Arsenal, in contrast, enjoyed some nice spells in possession, but failed to test their former keeper Bernd Leno, in Fulham’s goal, in the opening 30 minutes.

Instead, it was the openings Fulham continued to find that nearly upset the odds when Tom Cairney found room from a corner and rifled a drive back across the face, but there were too many bodies in the way, allowing Arsenal to block the goal-bound effort.

The first moment of note came for record-signing Victor Gyokeres, who had endured a painfully slow start due to a lack of service. The Swedish striker found space in the box, but at a tight angle and his low drive was comfortably parried clear.

The best moment was the final kick off the half when Declan Rice struck a trademark drive from range, but the curl from his instep took the ball just wide of the post with Leno cemented to the spot.

Bukayo Saka nearly opened up Fulham immediately at the start of the second period as he shimmied in from the right and stabbed the ball towards goal. Sander Berge stuck out a leg at the ball and nearly deflected it into his own net, but for a Fulham bundle on the line swinging the danger away.

It wasn’t long until the breakthrough came, though, as Gabriel rose highest to flick Saka’s corner to the back post where Trossard turned in with his thigh.

Saka nearly doubled the lead moments later with a low drive, which Leno did well to turn wide, while the England man also had a penalty awarded and overturned after VAR asked Anthony Taylor to review his decision after substitute Kevin clearly played the ball first.

Despite the respite, Fulham were not able to muster the challenge in the second half that they had in the first period.

Man City eye return to the top of the Premier League

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland kept up his torrid scoring pace with two goals in five second-half minutes early on Saturday, which lifted City provisionally top of the table with victory over Everton.

Pep Guardiola’s men moved to 16 points after eight games, dropping Arsenal and Liverpool to second and third, respectively. Everton dropped to 10th on 11 points.

The 25-year-old Haaland – who scored in an 11th consecutive game for club and country for a season total of 23 goals – broke the deadlock in the 58th minute when he leapt to head home Nico O’Reilly’s cross from the left.

The Norwegian doubled City’s lead five minutes later when he latched onto Savinho’s cross and struck a blistering left-foot shot from the middle of the box that was slightly deflected by Everton’s James Tarkowski past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Haaland was hungry to complete a hat-trick, with three brilliant chances in the dying minutes, with Pickford racing out to save two of them with his legs. Haaland took the ball around Pickford on the third, but his looping shot from an impossibly tight angle dropped wide of the net.

Haaland shook his head in frustration, while the crowd chanted “Haaland! Haaland!” for his efforts.

City’s Phil Foden hailed Haaland for breaking the deadlock, calling the moment “very important”.

“We know he’s got that quality to time his runs to perfection and be in the right position. If they mark him out of the game, he is still capable of scoring, and we know he only needs one chance to score.

“He remained very patient; there wasn’t a lot of space for him today. And as you can see, he is always there for us at the right times; that is the sign of a world-class striker.”

There was no emotional homecoming for Everton winger Jack Grealish, who was ineligible to face his parent club. A TV camera showed Grealish at the game, but the absence of the league’s joint assist leader was a gaping hole for David Moyes’s team.

City, who thoroughly dominated in the second half, had 19 shots to Everton’s five, and seven on target to the visitors’ one.

Everton squandered a handful of chances. Early in the game, Iliman Ndiaye raced down the right side before sending a cross to Beto, who slid to just get his foot on the ball but poked it wide.

City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped a long shot from Ndiaye over the bar later in the first half.