Darren Bent scored on his debut four days after becoming Aston Villa's most expensive player to give his new side a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League at Villa Park on Saturday.

The England striker, who joined for a club record fee of 18 million pounds (US$28.62 million) from Sunderland on Tuesday, swept the ball home from six meters in the 18th minute after goalkeeper Joe Hart could only push Ashley Young's shot into his path.

"They always say the first goal is important and we got it early, then defended really well and played really well," the 26-year-old Bent said.

"It's been a hard week but these are the occasions you enjoy because we have beaten one of the best teams in the country."

It was the second time this season Bent has scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over City, having converted a last-minute penalty for Sunderland in August.

The defeat completed a bad day for City whose title hopes took a knock as Manchester United and Arsenal won earlier.

City slipped from second to third, three points behind leader United having played two more matches than its arch-rivals.

The victory moved Villa up from 17th to 16th, three points clear of the relegation zone. It was the third time Bent has scored on his debut for a new club following first-game goals for Charlton Athletic and Sunderland.

Elsewhere, stunning hat-tricks from Dimitar Berbatov and Robin van Persie moved Manchester United and Arsenal ahead in the title race.

Berbatov's hat-trick - his third of the season - spearheaded unbeaten United to a 5-0 win over Birmingham City at Old Trafford, while Van Persie's treble gave Arsenal a 3-0 triumph over Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium where the Dutchman also missed a penalty.

The Bulgarian, who has scored three against Liverpool and five against Blackburn Rovers this season, took his league tally to 17 goals.

Berbatov also played a part in Ryan Giggs' goal just before halftime. Nani added the fifth after 76 minutes.

While Berbatov was banging in the goals in Manchester, Van Persie was doing the same in North London as Arsenal made it six wins out of six in home Premier League matches against Wigan.

Van Persie, who missed two months of the season through injury but is now returning to his best form, has scored six goals in his last three games but could have made that seven after blasting a penalty high over the Wigan bar.

Fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur lost ground on the leaders but was relieved to leave Newcastle United with a point after Aaron Lennon equalized in stoppage time to earn a 1-1 draw.

Fabricio Coloccini celebrated his birthday by putting Newcastle ahead after 59 minutes.

Also, Sunderland beat Blackpool 2-1 to move a point behind Spurs and United States midfielder Clint Dempsey's brace helped Fulham to a 2-0 win over Stoke.