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Ten-man Arsenal takes over top spot

Sat 20th, March 2010

London, England (Sports Network) - Despite playing the entire second half with only 10 men, Arsenal moved to the top of the Premiership table on Saturday with a 2-0 win over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium.

Denilson struck in the opening five minutes for the Gunners, but right before halftime, Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen was sent off after fouling Guillermo Franco inside the penalty area.

However, Alessandro Diamanti missed the spot kick, and Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas converted one of his own seven minutes from time to secure the win.

Arsenal is now one point clear of second-placed Manchester United, which faces Liverpool on Sunday, while they lead Chelsea by three points with the Blues set to face Blackburn.

It appeared that Arsenal was headed for an easy evening as they struck inside of five minutes with Denilson playing a one-two with Nicklas Bendtner before firing into the lower right corner.

Diamanti went close with a free kick that curled over the crossbar four minutes later, but West Ham was handed a glorious chance to equalize right before the break.

A long ball from midfield put Franco in behind the Arsenal defense, and as he attempted to bring it down inside the area, Vermaelen tripped him from behind, earning the Belgian a red card and giving the Hammers a penalty kick.

Diamanti struck the ball well towards the lower right corner, but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia made a great save at full stretch to keep it out.

West Ham struggled to break down a well-organized Arsenal defense, but they came within inches of leveling the match in the 78th minute when Carlton Cole's shot beat Almunia but struck the post.

Arsenal took advantage and put the game away in the 83rd minute when Fabregas tried to chip a ball past West Ham defender Matthew Upson and had it strike Upson's arm inside the area.

The Gunners skipper then sent goalkeeper Robert Green the wrong way from the spot to ensure his side of all three points.

Tottenham kept hold of its top-four spot with a 2-1 win over Stoke City as Niko Kranjcar tallied the winning goal in the 77th minute, while Aston Villa's Champions League hopes took another hit as the Villains needed a goal from John Carew eight minutes from time to salvage a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton.

Hugo Rodallega's goal in stoppage time pushed Wigan seven points above the drop zone as the Latics beat Burnley, 1-0, Darren Bent scored twice in Sunderland's 3-1 win over Birmingham, Everton beat 10-man Bolton, 2-0, and Hull City suffered a damaging 3-2 defeat at Portsmouth as Nwankwo Kanu scored in the 89th minute to win the game for Pompey.