Aston Villa suffered a disappointing defeat to Everton to lose grip on Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)

Arsenal avoided further misery in the Premier League title dreams on Sunday as Aston Villa fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat to Everton at Villa Park.

The Gunners had the opportunity to go nine points clear at the top of the table on Saturday evening after Manchester City suffered defeat to Manchester United earlier in the day.

However, Mikel Arteta's men failed to score for the second straight Premier League game as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest. The stalemate left Villa with the opportunity to cut the gap to just three points ahead of their game against Everton.

Fortunately for Arsenal, David Moyes' men pulled off one of the shocks of the weekend with a scrappy 1-0 win at Villa Park. Thierno Barry's goal on the hour handed the Toffees a huge three points and dented Villa's title hopes.

Thierno Barry scored Everton's winner against Aston Villa(Image: PA)

It could have been worse for Unai Emery's men, with Jake O'Brien having a goal disallowed in the first half for...