EPL - Arsenal holds top spot with late goal
Published 3/1/2008 8:27:36 PM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul
Arsenal showed plenty of fighting spirit which they will need to stay the course in the race for the Barclays Premier League as substitute Nicklas Bendtner rescued a 1-1 draw with a stoppage-time equaliser to deny Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium and keep the Gunners top of the table. An own goal from Philippe Senderos looked to have proved enough to hand a determined Villa side victory, which would have been a first home defeat of the season for Arsenal.
After losing Eduardo to an horrific broken leg in the controversial last-gasp draw at relegation-battlers Birmingham, manager Arsene Wenger had called for a response from his men. And while there was plenty of effort, Arsenal lacked a decisive touch in the final third, with strike pairing Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott unable to conjure up a finish in front of goal, before young Dane Bendtner struck from close range with almost the last kick of the game.
Meanwhile, Manchester United moved to within 1 point of Arsenal with a stylish 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage, where they required the presence of such luminaries as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo for only the last 20 minutes. Owen Hargreaves scored a wonderful free kick and Park Ji-Sung added the second before an own goal accounted for the third.
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