Arsenal and Man City bounce back from European defeats

Premier League round-up: Arsenal, fresh from being beaten by reigning European champions Bayern Munich, cruised to a 4-1 victory over Sunderland that took them back to within a point of Chelsea at the top of the table.

The game was all but over by half-time with Olivier Giroud netting twice before Tomas Rosicky made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute.

Arsene Wenger's men did not stop there and Laurent Koscielny added a fourth before third-bottom Sunderland pulled a late consolation back through Emanuele Giaccherini.

Manchester City , however, did not have it nearly as comfortable against their former manager Mark Hughes's Stoke .

Looking to bounce back from their European loss to Barcelona, Manuel Pellegrini's men were frustrated during a goalless first half and were indebted to a 70th-minute strike from Yaya Toure – his 13th league goal of the season – to get the 1-0 win.

City, who play Sunderland in the Capital One Cup final next weekend, remain two points behind Arsenal but have a game in hand.

At the other end of the table, Fulham came within four minutes of a much-needed victory in new manager Felix Magath's first game in charge, only to have to settle for a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers West Brom .

The Cottagers looked set to climb off the foot of the table after taking a 28th-minute lead through Ashkan Dejagah but they were denied a first victory in eight league and cup games by an 86th-minute equaliser from Matej Vydra.

That goal kept Fulham in last place but they are now only a point behind Cardiff after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were thrashed 4-0 at home by Hull .

Nikica Jelavic notched twice for Steve Bruce's side, between goals from Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore, as Hull moved six points clear of 18th-placed Sunderland .

In the other mid-afternoon kick-off, upwardly-mobile West Ham continued their impressive recent form with 3-1 a home win over Southampton .

Visiting Southampton took an eighth-minute lead through Maya Yoshida but West Ham replied with goals from Matt Jarvis, Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan to secure their fourth successive win.