Mesut Ozil provided a timely reminder of his importance to Arsenal's title hopes with a superb header in a 3-1 win against Stoke that moved the Gunners to the top of the Premier League on Saturday. The futures of Ozil and Alexis Sanchez remain uncertain with the Arsenal duo entering the final 18 months of their current deals. But both were central figures as Arsene Wenger's team secured the two-goal margin of victory that lifted them above Chelsea on goals scored. Ozil's stunning second-half header, a goal that came about in controversial circumstances in the eyes of Stoke manager Mark Hughes, was the highlight of the win.
Arsenal had fallen behind to Charlie Adam's 23rd-minute penalty but levelled before half-time thanks to Theo Walcott's 10th goal of the season. Ozil and Alex Iwobi struck after the break to shift the pressure onto Chelsea 24 hours before Antonio Conte's side host West Bromwich Albion. Wenger had complained angrily about referee Lee Mason's decision to award a penalty after Stoke's Joe Allen was floored by a leading elbow from Granit Xhaka.
A last-gasp Fraizer Campbell header brought Crystal Palace a point in a see-saw 3-3 draw at fellow Premier League strugglers Hull on Saturday. Londoners Palace came into the encounter on the back of a rousing 3-0 win over Southampton which snapped a six-match Premier League losing streak. But they were on the brink of a damaging loss which would have left them on the brink of the bottom five before Campbell nodded home from a Wilfried Zaha cross to keep them three points above the bottom three.
The dropped points left Hull firmly in the drop zone just a point clear of tailenders Sunderland as they missed out on a win bonus which would have seen them go above out of sorts Leicester. Italian striker Stefano Okaka's first two Watford goals inspired a 3-2 comeback win over Everton on Saturday, leaving Ronald Koeman's side with one win in 10 Premier League games. Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Everton, bookending the scoring, but Okaka's double - the first a brilliant flick - and a Sebastian Prodl header earned Walter Mazzarri's men victory.
It was Watford's first win over Everton since a 2-1 success in March 1987 and took them above the Merseyside club in the table, putting them level on points with Manchester United. Everton have gone five games without a win and now face a daunting pair of home games against Arsenal and derby rivals Liverpool before a trip to champions Leicester City. Everton received a blow this week with the news close-season signing Yannick Bolasie is likely to miss the rest of the campaign due to a serious knee injury.
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