Arsenal and Aston Villa were the big winners on Saturday afternoon as they made major strides towards Champions League qualification and Premier League survival respectively.
There was also a major blow for Reading as Nigel Adkins saw his former side Southampton leave the Madjeski Stadium with all three points after a comfortable 2-0 win, whilst Norwich played out a 2-2 draw with Swansea at Carrow Road.
Tomas Rosicky was the hero for Arsene Wenger's Gunners as the Czech maestro hit his first and second goals of the season to secure a hard fought 2-1 victory over West Brom. The Hawthorns has hosted some memorable encounters between the two sides over the past couple of seasons and it was much the same today.
The visitors started brightly and took the lead with 20 minutes gone when Gervinho set up Rosicky. The Ivorian was set free by a terrific cross field ball from Mikel Arteta, and the much maligned winger showed some nifty footwork to work the angle for his cross, which Rosicky headed home emphatically.
Both Ben Foster and Lukasz Fabianski were tested before Rosicky notched his second on 51 minutes. Aaron Ramsey played the ball into Arsenal's number 7, who smashed home at the second attempt after Foster denied his first strike.
West Brom were handed a route back into the game with 19 minutes to play when Per Mertesacker conceded a penalty and was sent off for a foul on Shane Long. James Morrison smashed low and hard past Fabianski, but subsequent saves from the Polish goalkeeper and some stalwart defending from his back four allowed Arsenal to hold on to three vital points.
Aston Villa dragged Stoke City into the relegation mire with a 3-1 win at the Brittania. Tony Pulis' side have been in awful form and Villa ensured it continued thanks to goals from Gabby Agbonlahor, Matthew Lowton and Christian Benteke.
Paul Lambert's men took the lead after just 9 minutes through Agbonlahor, but the crowd didn't see another goal until the 80th minute when Michael Kightly equalised for the hosts.
It could've been truly morale sapping for the battling away side, but an absolutely stunning strike from Lowton put them back on top with 3 minutes left. Benteke rounded things off in injury time to haul Villa out of the relegation zone and move Stoke to within 4 points of the drop zone.
Southampton pulled well and truly away from that dreaded bottom three with a 2-0 win at Reading in the early kick-off.
Much like last weekend at the Emirates, Reading were dreadful. Nigel Adkins faces an almost impossible task to save his new club from relegation now that the Royals find themselves 8 points from safety with 6 games to go.
Mauricio Pochetinno on the other hand has now guided the Saints to back to back Premier League wins, and they now sit 11th in the table on 37 points. Goals from Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana on 34 and 72 minutes respectively ensured this afternoon's win.
Norwich City certainly aren't safe just yet after letting a 2-1 lead slip at home to Swansea.
Michu had given Michael Laudrup's side the lead after 35 minutes, before goals from Robert Snodgrass and Michael Turner turned the match on its head.
Luke Moore then popped up with his fifth goal of the season to earn the Swans a draw, but the signs were still there that they're suffering from a Capital One Cup hangover.
As for the Canaries, they're now 5 points clear of the drop zone with 6 games to go.
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