Premier League talking points: Arsenal back in the race? Is Leicester's defence key to title charge?

​Is it too late for Arsenal to get back into the title race? Will Leicester's defence steer them towards the title? Will that penalty cost West Ham a place in the top four? Your talking points from Saturday's Premier League games...

Too late for Arsenal to get back in the race? (Everton 0-2 Arsenal)

A trip to Goodison Park is usually one of the last things you'd want at the end of a week that had already seen you knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League.

Credit must go to Arsene Wenger, then, for re-motivating Arsenal for their lunchtime kick-off on Saturday, and dominating a poor Everton side from start to finish.

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Alex Iwobi, in particular, was terrific and Mohamed Elneny also cast further doubt over Mathieu Flamini's hopes of breaking back into the first team.

The trouble for Arsenal, though, is that Leicester won as well, and they remain 11 points off the pace - albeit with a game in hand. With only eight games to go, it may now be a case of too little too late.

Leicester the 1-0 specialists (Crystal Palace 0-1 Leicester)

There was a time, a fair while ago, that a clean sheet looked so unlikely at Leicester that boss Claudio Ranieri promised to take them all out for pizza if they managed to keep just a single one.

Now, though, things have changed and the Foxes have become 1-0 specialists as they close in on an unprecedented title, a result they managed for the third time in a row - and fourth time in five - at Crystal Palace. 

Leicester have become a defensive force at just the right time, and they will certainly have more players than match-winner Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy to thank if they are still top in mid-May.

Norwich pile the pressure on Tyne-Wear duo (West Brom 0-1 Norwich)

With all the focus at the bottom of the table heading into this weekend surrounding the Tyne-Wear derby, Norwich did well to keep their heads down and go about their business at The Hawthorns on Saturday, claiming three points and upping the ante even further on their relegation rivals.

It wasn't a great game on Saturday afternoon, but Alex Neil's side just about wanted it more, as Robbie Brady's strike secured a desperately-needed win - their first in the Premier League since January 2.

The result lifted Norwich out of the relegation zone, for at least 24 hours, and put them right in the driving seat heading into the closing weeks of the season. Their next two home games are even against Newcastle then Sunderland.

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This is the stage of the season where you want to be facing sides who have nothing left to play for, and West Brom were ideal opposition for Norwich. Tony Pulis' side all-but secured safety for themselves a fortnight ago and appeared to at least half be thinking about their summer holidays already.

Penalty decision may cost West Ham top four (Chelsea 2-2 West Ham)

If we reach the end of the season and West Ham have missed out on the top four by just a couple of points, then boss Slaven Bilic may well look back to the 88th minute at Stamford Bridge on March 19 and wonder what might have been.

With the Hammers closing in on a 2-1 victory, Ruben Loftus-Cheek went down under a challenge from Michail Antonio and referee Robert Madley pointed straight to the spot. Cesc Fabregas made no mistake with the conversion.

Replays appeared to show that the whole incident also appeared to take place outside of the area, and Slaven Bilic was less than pleased with referee Bobby Madley's decision to point to the spot.

Guus Hiddink's unbeaten Premier League run goes on but, not for the first time in the 13-game sequence, the Dutchman may not be 100% certain how his side escaped defeat.

Afellay growing in importance at Stoke (Watford 1-2 Stoke)

Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri may get more of the headlines at Stoke, but you would be hard-pressed to find a more influential presence than Ibrahim Afellay in Mark Hughes' side at the moment.

The Dutchman lost his place midway through his debut season at the Britannia Stadium, but he won his spot back in December and hasn't looked back since.

His performances have grown in quality as he has adapted to life in the Premier League, and against Watford he was brilliant in the middle of the park, pulling the strings as Stoke secured a far more comfortable victory than the 2-1 scoreline would suggest.

A few more like he managed at Vicarage Road, and Afellay could help Stoke qualify for Europa via the Premier League for the first time.

Swansea should be safe with 36 points (Swansea 1-0 Aston Villa)

While 40 points is the traditional mark at which Premier League sides usually celebrate safety, Swansea's current total of 36 - following their win over Aston Villa - should be enough to see them survive this season.

One more point shouldn't be too much of an ask from their final seven games, and only three sides have gone down with more than 37 in the top flight since the turn of the century. 

Victory was secured in largely unemphatic style on a drab evening at the Liberty Stadium, but the Swansea management and fans won't care one jot after a run of three wins in four games that has all but guaranteed they will still be in the Premier League in 2016/17.