London: A Thierry Henry hattrick put Arsenal firmly on course for the Premier League title after they ended a torrid week with a 4-2 win over Liverpool at Highbury on Friday.

The win gives Arsenal, now unbeaten for 31 games, a seven-point lead over Chelsea with both clubs having seven matches remaining. Chelsea, who have 70 points, play Middlesbrough on Saturday.

After going out of the FA Cup and Champions League over the last seven days, Arsene Wenger’s men found themselves 1-2 down at halftime with Sami Hyypia and Michael Owen on target for Liverpool and Henry replying for the home side.

But two goals within two minutes at the start of the second half, the first from Robert Pires and then a brilliant second from Henry, gave them the lead. Henry passed a late fitness test on a back injury to make the starting line-up and grabbed his hattrick in the 78th minute, his 25th League goal of the season. (reuters)