CHELSEA continued its surge towards regaining the English Premier League (EPL) title as a late Gary Cahill goal helped the side eke out a 2-1 win at Stoke City and move 13 points clear.

    The latest triumph for Antonio Conte’s unstoppable charges came after London rival Arsenal’s season continued to unravel with a third straight 3-1 away league defeat, this time at West Bromwich Albion.

    The Gunners’ fourth loss in five league games leaves them fifth and raised further questions about the future of under-pressure manager Arsene Wenger, who announced intriguingly afterwards: “I know what I will do. You will soon know.”

    Conte had been without the in-form Eden Hazard through injury for what always promised to be an awkward fixture for Chelsea at Stoke and, just as they had recently held Manchester City at home, the Potters again made life difficult.

    Willian put the leaders ahead after 13 minutes thanks to a blunder by Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant but Jon Walters equalized with a penalty before halftime after being fouled by Cahill.

    The England defender made amends in the 87th minute with a deserved winner and, after Phil Bardsley had been sent off for Stoke in added time, Conte celebrated with his staff on the touchline as Chelsea moved on to 69 points, leaving all the pressure on their nearest pursuers who play the next day.

    Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, which hosts Southampton, and third-placed Manchester City, which welcomes fourth-placed Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium, now both have to win to get back within 10 points of the leaders.

    Arsenal’s defeat came amid more protests from some of the more vociferous of the Gunners’ faithful about Wenger as the manager acknowledged that his side was in the middle of “a unique bad patch” in his two-decade managerial reign.

    After dismal defending saw West Brom’s Craig Dawson head home twice from corners in a convincing win for Tony Pulis’s men, Wenger told reporters: “We lose game after game at the moment and that for me is much more important than my future.”

    Yet as the debates about his prospects became ever louder — one airplane trailed a banner over the ground that declared “Wenger Out” while another trumpeted “In Arsene We Trust” — the Frenchman said he would clarify his future soon.

    His team, though, now look in serious jeopardy of not enjoying a 20th successive season of Champions League football in 2017-18 — and if Manchester United wins at Middlesbrough, Arsenal, currently fifth on 50 points, will drop to sixth, two points behind Jose Mourinho’s men. (SD-Agencies)