Arsenal’s title hopes suffered a major blow on Tuesday night as a robust Watford side stunned them 2-1 at the Emirates, leaving the Gunners nine points behind league leaders Chelsea, who drew 1-1 at Liverpool.

If Arsenal fans thought their night couldn't get any worse, the fact that Tottenham climbed above them to second place via a superior goal difference after a scoreless draw at relegation-threatened Sunderland will really rile them.

Manager Arsene Wenger watching from the stands after the FA punished him with a four-match touchline ban for pushing the fourth official in the Gunners' win over Burnley earlier in January. Despite that, the home side were expected to eke out a routine win against a team that were winless in their last seven Premier League matches.

The Hornets proved that no match can be taken for granted, with two goals in a space of three first-half minutes left the home side reeling.

First, it was ex-Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul, whose fierce drive got a deflection from Aaron Ramsey and left a sprawling Petr Tech with no chance as the visitors took the lead in the 10th minute itself.

If the first goal was fortuitous, the second was anything but as Etienne Capoue, another ex-Spurs man, latched onto a lax Arsenal throw before dribbling past two defenders and letting loose a low shot which rebounded into Troy Deeney’s path, who stroked it into an unguided net to double the visitors lead.

And the Hornets could have tripled their lead when wing-back Daryl Janmaat’s fierce shot was parried away to safety by Cech with the home side seemingly unable to rise from their stupor.

It wasn't until the second half that the Gunners would start to express themselves with the ball and even then, it was mostly young winger Alex Iwobi who did all the hard running as the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were largely anonymous for large parts of the game.

The 20-year-old Iwobi set up substitute Theo Walcott after a brilliant run down on the left wing, but Watford keeper Heurelho Gomes made a decent save to deny what would have been his fourth goal in two matches.

Iwobi went close minutes later but Gomes again stymied the home side, gathering the winger’s low shot well but was unable to deny him a second time after Sanchez did well on the byline to set up the winger, as Arsenal got a lifeline just before the hour-mark.

Substitute Lucas Perez then went closest to finding the equaliser for the home side, with his left footed shot cannoning off the bar with Gomes well beaten for a change. Watford managed to cling on for the win, which sees them rise to 13th in the league table but it is bad news for Arsenal, who will need a miracle if they are to overhaul Chelsea, who despite drawing at Liverpool managed to extend their lead at the top.

While Arsenal slumped to a home defeat, their arch-rivals Tottenham didn't fare much better, failing to beat bottom-ranked Sunderland in an uninspiring 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.

The likes of Harry Kane, Dele All and Christian Eriksen all started for the Lilywhites but despite having more than 70 percent possession on the night, were sluggish in attack.

Captain Hugo Lloris was rested for the midweek fixture and his deputy Michel Vorm was called into action early on, saving well from Fabio Borini as the away side looked like they were still recovering from their last-gasp FA Cup win over Wycombe Wanderers on the weekend. 

Defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama had arguably the best chances for Spurs, testing Vito Mannone from distance with a searing shot in the first half and then later sending a unmarked header over in the second half. 

While Sunderland were lucky to finish the game with 11 men after Jack Rodwell’s wild lunge on Mousa Dembele was deemed worthy of only a caution from match official Lee Mason, it was Spurs' lack of cohesion in the final third that really cost them the win.

While Spurs move up to second in the table due to a superior goal difference over Arsenal, it will be of scant comfort for them as Chelsea seem to be too far ahead and look odds-on for their sixth league title.