Stuttering Arsenal given title jolt, Liverpool end losing run

April 11 : Arsenal suffered a painful blow to their Premier League title hopes with a 2-1 home defeat nL1N40U04X by Bournemouth, while Liverpool boosted their push for a Champions League place with a comfortable 2-0 win over Fulham at Anfield on Saturday.

In the battle of unlikely top-five contenders, Brentford and Everton battled out a 2-2 draw.

Alex Scott's winner for Bournemouth at The Emirates threw the title race wide open as leaders Arsenal laboured to a first league defeat in nine games.

The London club remain on 70 points, nine clear of second-placed Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola's side have two games in hand starting with Sunday's trip to Chelsea and host Arsenal next weekend. Bournemouth are up to 10th on 45 points.

"Extremely disappointing. It's a big punch in the face," Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. "We were very far from the level that we're expecting, that's for sure."

In their first Premier League match for almost a month, Arsenal could have built a 12-point cushion with six games left to play, but could have few complaints as Bournemouth emerged with a deserved three points to boost their European hopes.

Bournemouth took the lead when 19-year-old Eli Junior Kroupi turned in a deflected cross at the far post in the 17th minute.

The French youngster has now scored 10 times in the top flight this season - the first teenager to reach that mark in his debut campaign in the Premier League since Robbie Keane for Coventry City in the 1999-2000 season.

Arsenal struggled to respond but got a helping hand when Bournemouth's Ryan Christie was adjudged to have blocked a shot with his arm, allowing Viktor Gyokeres to equalise from the spot in the 35th - his 11th goal in all competitions this year.

The anxious hosts