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)