Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus scored his first goals since his return to full fitness as they thumped Leeds United 4-1.
Second-placed Manchester City's lunchtime victory at home to Liverpool had cut the gap to five points, but Arsenal restored their eight point lead with victory in London.
Gabriel Jesus's first-half penalty - awarded for Luke Ayling's mistimed challenge on the Brazilian - put Arsenal ahead just after the half-hour mark.
The Gunners went further ahead two minutes into the second half when Ben White converted Gabriel Martinelli's low cross via the underside of the crossbar.
Arsenal dominated from that moment on and Gabriel Jesus - recalled for a rested Bukayo Saka - made it 3-0 with a first-time finish from Leandro Trossard's driven cross.
Leeds defender Rasmus Kristensen's pulled a goal back for the visitors, but Granit Xhaka's late header from Martin Odegaard's assst completed the scoring with six minutes remaining.
The defeat leaves Javi Gracia's team hovering a point above the relegation zone with 10 games of the campaign left to play.
Gabriel Jesus later said: "Everyone is playing so well. It is easy to come back. The most important thing is that everyone that has come in has played good.
"I want to score every game, you know. But sometimes it can't happen. I am more happy with the three points than the goals. Congrats for the team. Zini [Oleksandr Zinchenko] joked with me yesterday, because we were practising penalties and I just took that one like I always do, stopping. He said 'in the game, you never do it like this', so I showed him clips. I was calm and I remember him as well.
"To compete against a strong opponent and a team that scores a lot of goals, we look at this. We said before the game not to look at goal difference and focus on the points. But sometimes you have to try and score more and more as it might matter at the end of the season."
