Arsenal beat Stoke City 1 – 0 on Wednesday night thanks to a Sebastien Squillaci early goal which takes the Gunners within one point of log leaders Manchester United.

The France centre back headed home from five yards (meters) out in the eighth minute but the Gunners, who have played one match more than United, also lost Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott to injury at Emirates Stadium.

Fabregas, the team’s inspirational captain, trudged off with a hamstring injury in the 14th minute. Walcott was carried off on a stretcher in the 70th with what manager Arsene Wenger confirmed was a sprained ankle.

Walcott is “definitely out” of the League Cup final against Birmingham on Sunday, Wenger said. Fabregas will be assessed on Thursday but the manager said he is in doubt when the London side aims to end a five-year trophy drought at Wembley.

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Liverpool‘s new £22.8 million striker paid off last night as Luis Suarez came off the bench to score Liverpool’s second goal on his debut against Stoke City to give the Reds a much needed 2 – 0 win.

After Raul Meireles’s 47th-minute opener the Uruguay striker, a deadline day capture from Ajax Amsterdam, joined the fray in the 63rd minute and tucked in the second goal to secure seventh-placed Liverpool’s third successive win and take them within two points of Sunderland.

It was a bad night for Manchester City as they could draw 2-2 only at Birmingham City. Tottenham Hotspur gained ground as Peter Crouch’s early goal earned them a 1-0 win at Blackburn Rovers.

Manchester United, who beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Tuesday, lead the way with 54 points, five ahead of Arsenal. Manchester City have 46, Chelsea 44 and Spurs 41.

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Manchester City captain Carlos Tevez scored a double to help his side beat Wolves 4 – 3 and move to the top of the English Premier League table.

Argentinian international Tevez struck his 14th and 15th goals of the season while Ivorian brothers Kolo and Yaya Toure both netted as City took a slender one-point lead over Manchester United.

United, who also have three games in hand over City, will return to the top if they avoid defeat to fifth-placed Tottenham in Sunday’s crunch match at White Hart Lane.

Serbian midfielder Nenad Milijas had fired Wolves into a shock lead on 12 minutes, rifling home a rebound after a Matthew Jarvis cross.

City’s blushes were spared five minutes before halftime however when Kolo Toure controlled on the edge of the six-yard box and prodded a deflected shot past Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey.

And four minutes after the restart, City were in front, captain Tevez weaving his way through the Wolves defence before finishing calmly.

Yaya Toure made it 3-1 five minutes later, lifting his shot over Hennessey to join his brother on the scoresheet after good work by £27-million signing Edin Dzeko, making his debut for City.

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Manchester United striker scored his 200th English Premier League goal to salvage a point for his team in a 2 – 2 draw against Bolton Wanderers on Sunday.

Former Liverpool and England star Owen glanced in a 74th-minute header to give United a share of the points at the Reebok Stadium after Bolton had twice taken the lead through Zat Knight and Martin Petrov.

The draw saw United leapfrog Arsenal into second place in the table, three points behind league leaders Chelsea.

In a later kick-off, new Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier’s first league match in charge of the Birmingham club saw them move up into fifth place as they won 2-1 away to Midlands rivals Wolves.

Houllier was indebted to Emile Heskey for the second time in a week as the former England striker’s late goal sealed victory after he inspired a midweek comeback League Cup win over Blackburn Rovers.

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Liverpool crushed Stoke City 4- 0 at Anfield on Wednesday night with Fernando Torres at the forefront.

Having lost their opening game at Tottenham 2-1, Rafael Benitez’s side were under pressure to overcome a team they twice failed to beat last season.

Spain international Torres gave his side the perfect start by notching his first goal of the campaign in the fourth minute before Glen Johnson marked his home debut by making it 2-0 on the stroke of halftime.

Holland international Dirk Kuyt increased Liverpool’s lead in the 78th minute and David Ngog put the seal on an impressive display in stoppage time.

Liverpool could not score against Stoke in 180 minutes of action last season, but it took just four minutes to unlock the Potters defence this time.

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