Arsenal went five points clear at the top of the Premier League
after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Unbeaten Arsenal is on 36 with a game in hand and, with
champions Manchester United not in action until Monday, Chelsea
moved second temporarily after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over West
Ham at Stamford Bridge.
High-flying Manchester City needed a win to overhaul Chelsea but
were instead held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Wigan. City stay
fourth, level with United on 30 points but behind on goal
difference.
Champions United will host Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday
night while fifth-placed Liverpool are clashing with Bolton
Wanderers on Sunday.
Villa had been superb lately and it looked as though an
excellent run could be extended when Craig Gardner penetrated
Arsenal's defence in the 14th minute.
But Mathieu Flamini's ferocious shot and Emmanuel Adebayor's
thumping header within 12 minutes before the break consolidated
Arsenal's unbeaten record this season.
Arsenal survived concerted pressure from the home side, who came
close to equalize in the second half when a John Carew header came
back off the crossbar, to take all points.
Chelsea's revival continued as Joe Cole's late winner settled a
scrappy encounter against former club West Ham.
Cole raced on to Didier Drogba's header after 76 minutes and
rounded West Ham keeper Robert Green to score the only goal as the
visitors appealed in vain for offside.
Nolberto Solano came close for West Ham, but Chelsea claimed the
points after an ill-tempered game which ended in five yellow cards
for the hosts and three for West Ham.
Chelsea now extends their unbeaten league run at Stamford Bridge
to 70 games, which traced back to February 2004.
Elsewhere, Derby County remained at the bottom after a last-gasp
1-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Sunderland while Middlesbrough
replaced Sunderland in the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw at
Reading.
European hopefuls Portsmouth and Everton shared points after a
0-0 draw at Fratton Park and Blackburn bounced back from a midweek
home drubbing with a 3-1 win over Newcastle at Ewood Park.
(Xinhua News Agency December 2, 2007)