Monday’s briefing: Arsenal humble Man City and Marcus Rashford leaves Man Utd

Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to six points with a 5-1 thrashing of reigning champions Manchester City while Marcus Rashford left Manchester United for Aston Villa.

United suffered another home defeat as Jean Philippe-Mateta’s double fired Crystal Palace to victory at Old Trafford and Tottenham were also 2-0 winners at Brentford.

Rashford’s move to Villa was confirmed at 10pm ahead of what could be a busy transfer deadline day.

Arsenal kept their Premier League title dream alive with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Manchester City at the Emirates.

Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal ahead after 104 seconds before Erling Haaland – who had told Mikel Arteta to “stay humble” after a fiery draw between the clubs earlier in the season – hauled City level in the 55th minute.

However, Thomas Partey restored Arsenal’s lead just a minute later, with teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly adding a third with his first goal for the club – before mimicking Haaland’s celebration – and Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri completed the rout.

The statement victory took Arteta’s side back up to second, six points behind leaders Liverpool, with a shell-shocked City remaining in fourth, 15 points off the pace.

Manchester United endured another low in their rollercoaster season as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s brace secured Crystal Palace a fourth win in their last six trips to Old Trafford and Lisandro Martinez suffered a serious-looking injury.

Ruben Amorim had hoped to have turned a corner after racking up three straight wins in all competitions since a 3-1 loss to Brighton led him to suggest this might be the “worst team” in the club’s history.

But United’s first Premier League home game since then ended in another painful defeat, with