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.

“It’s impossible to say (how long he will be out),” Wenger said of the Spain midfielder. “It’s a concern that he’s injured but it can happen. It’s part of sport and we have to face it.”

Arsenal, which is still in contention for all four trophies this season, climbed seven points clear of third-place Manchester City and piled the pressure back on United, whose game in hand is against Chelsea on Tuesday.

““We are all feeling pressure going into March. It’s part of being in the position we are in,” Wenger said. “We did the job here in a very professional way. We were intelligent, calm, patient and overall we were resilient when Stoke had their strong moments.”

Despite the match coming only four days before the League Cup final, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger selected his strongest possible side, although he may now wish he hadn’t.

Chief striker and top scorer Robin van Persie was already missing through injury, but the Gunners’ attack didn’t struggle in the Netherlands international’s absence early on against a one-dimensional Stoke team that had limited ambition all match.

Walcott smashed a shot against the post after little more than a minute before Nicklas Bendtner, Van Persie’s replacement, got on the end of a deep corner by Jack Wilshere to cross for Squillaci to head in his first league goal of the season.

Fabregas, who struggled with hamstring problems in December, was then forced to come off, having signaled to Wenger two minutes earlier that he was struggling. Wenger also has the second leg of the Champions League last-16 match at Barcelona on March 8 to worry about.

The rest of the half saw Arsenal dominate possession without finding a cutting edge as mid-table Stoke sat back with 10 men behind the ball, appearing to settle for a policy of damage limitation. The visitors’ only chance was a vicious volley by lone striker Jon Carew that was beaten away one-handed by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny in the 36th.

Arsenal dealt with the trademark long throws of Rory Delap well in the first half but found them difficult to defend after the break, with German defender Robert Huth heading one of them over in the 58th.

“Nobody likes to play Stoke,” said Wenger, whose team’s fluent passing style is the opposite approach to that of Stoke. “They have a very special way of playing the game. I am quite proud that we didn’t concede a goal against them.”

Walcott was fed by substitute Andrey Arshavin in the 64th but with the goal gaping, the England winger – Arsenal’s most dangerous player all night – miscued from a central position 10 meters out.

That was his last meaningful action of the game after falling awkwardly on his left ankle as he was challenged by Dean Whitehead.

A tense last 10 minutes saw Stoke punt some hopeful long balls into Arsenal’s area but Szczesny encountered few problems.

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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.

At the other end of the table, West Ham United, helped by a goal by loan signing Robbie Keane, won 3-1 at Blackpool to climb off the bottom.

Daniel Sturridge, another deadline day loan from Chelsea to Bolton Wanderers, scored the only goal in stoppage time to earn his new club a home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In the furore surrounding Fernando Torres’s £50 million departure and the £36 million arrival of his replacement Andy Carroll, Suarez sneaked somewhat under the radar despite, for a few minutes at least, being Liverpool’s record signing.

With Carroll still nursing a thigh injury and Suarez not having played for two months, Dalglish went with his tried and tested troops who, after a battling first half, forged ahead with Meireles’s shot.

Suarez was given a rapturous welcome when he came on and the fans were soon singing his name even louder after he ran clear and slotted his first goal, helped by a miscued clearance attempt by Andy Wilkinson.

“Everyone’s pleased for Suarez, that’s fantastic for him and great for the supporters,” manager Kenny Dalglish told Sky Sports.

“He’s not trained with the players yet so it’s something to look forward to when he joins the lads. That’s three wins and three clean sheets so it’s a good night’s work.”

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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.

Tevez made it four on 66 minutes, stooping to steer home as City looked to be cruising to victory.

But Kevin Doyle slotted a late penalty for Wolves to make it 4-2 and an 86th-minute goal from French defender Ronald Zubar set up a nerve-jangling finale.

City manager Roberto Mancini was happy with the way his side performed after a poor start to the game.

“I think we were bad in the first 20 minutes,” he said. “We didn’t play. But after that we played well. We scored four goals and had two or three good chances.”

Chelsea maintained their title hopes with a laboured 2-0 win over Blackburn thanks to second-half goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka.

Ivanovic opened the scoring on 57 minutes, firing a low shot through a forest of legs to the relief of under-pressure manager Carlo Ancelotti, before a flicked effort from Anelka on 76 minutes made the game safe.

The result put Chelsea back into the top four ahead of Spurs’ match against Manchester United on Sunday.

Ancelotti voiced hope that the result meant Chelsea had finally turned the corner after a protracted form slump.

“I think that the difficult moment is gone,” Ancelotti told Sky Sports. “We are coming back to get good results. It’s not easy to come back and close the gap for the first position but we have to try.”

In the late kick-off, third-placed Arsenal piled the pressure on West Ham manager Avram Grant after cruising to a comfortable 3-0 victory at Upton Park courtesy of two goals from Robin Van Persie and one from Theo Walcott.

Grant – reported to be facing dismissal earlier Saturday – was taunted mercilessly by Arsenal’s travelling supporters, who bombarded the beleaguered Israeli with chants of “You’re getting sacked in an hour.”

A miserable evening for the Hammers was completed when new signing Wayne Bridge hacked down Walcott to concede the penalty for Arsenal’s third, a development which sent fans streaming towards the exits.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was pleased his side had bounced back from two disappointing results in the FA and League Cups to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to five matches.

“We are in a good run in the Premiership and it’s important to continue,” said Wenger, who was delighted with the form of Van Persie.

“Today is the sharpest I’ve seen him. He gets stronger and stronger with every game,” Wenger told ESPN.

At the Hawthorns, two goals from Peter Odemwingie – including an 87th-minute winner – handed West Bromwich Albion a 3-2 victory over Blackpool as the Baggies ended their six-match losing streak.

Blackpool looked to have secured a share of the points when Gary Taylor-Fletcher equalised on 80 minutes before Odemwingie’s late effort denied Ian Holloway’s men a draw.

Stoke meanwhile moved up to eighth place with a 2-0 win over Bolton.

Stoke defender Danny Higginbotham opened the scoring, bundling home from close range on 37 minutes. A Matthew Etherington penalty doubled the Potters’ lead on 64 minutes to secure the points.

At the DW Stadium, substitute Andrew Johnson scored an 86th-minute equaliser just 10 minutes after coming on as Fulham secured a 1-1 draw against Wigan, who had taken the lead through striker Hugo Rodallega.

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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.

In Bolton, Owen expressed disappointment that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had missed an opportunity to reduce Chelsea’s lead to only a point after the champions were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City on Saturday.

“It’s always a tough place to come. We created enough chances and dominated so we’re disappointed to only get a point,” Owen said, playing down the significance of his 200th goal in England.

“It’s nice to score goals but it’s obviously tinged with a bit of disappointment because we didn’t get the three points.”

Asked about failing to capitalise on Saturday’s results, which saw both leaders Chelsea and Arsenal beaten, Ferguson added: “Teams drop points when we don’t expect them.

“Away from home we’ve scored seven goals and only got three points, it’s a very difficult league.”

Bolton had taken a shock lead after six minutes when Knight punished some slack marking from United centre-half Jonny Evans to flick home a Petrov corner with the outside of his right boot.

United finally got back on level terms though midway through the half with a scintillating individual effort from Nani.

After gathering the ball on halfway, the Portuguese international set off on a weaving run that took him to the edge of the Bolton area, and as the home defence backed off, the winger unleashed a hard low shot past Jaaskelainen.

United though were then rocked by Bolton’s second goal on 67 minutes, Petrov rounding off a superb counter-attack which he had started by scoring with a rasping effort that took a big deflection off Darren Fletcher.

Bolton should have made it 3-1 shortly afterwards, when Johan Elmander cleverly eluded Nemanja Vidic to go clear on goal only to blaze his shot over the bar.

Wanderers were left to rue their profligacy moments later when Owen, who had replaced Fletcher, glanced in his landmark goal in club football.

It seemed Villa would have to settle for a point until Heskey — signed by then Liverpool manager Houllier for £11 million a decade ago –headed in Stephen Warnock’s cross two minutes from time for what was his third goal in four games.

“It was the perfect return because we got three points,” Houllier said.

“Emile’s header was fantastic,” Houllier added after Heskey’s first league start in six months.

Stewart Downing put Villa ahead at Molineux before Matt Jarvis equalised just after the hour mark.

In the day’s other Premier League match, Stoke came from behind to win 2-1 away to Newcastle.

Kevin Nolan put the Magpies ahead from the penalty spot after Robert Huth fouled Andy Carroll before Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones equalised with a 67th minute header.

But the visitors secured victory five minutes before full-time when Newcastle’s James Perch headed into his own net from a Stoke corner.

Source: supersport.co.za

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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.

Benitez’s side did not lose a game when Steven Gerrard and Torres started together last season. The trouble was the pair did not appear in the same line up often enough due to injury.

They combined to unlock the visitors defence as Liverpool responded to Benitez’s demands for a much improved performance following the disappointing setback at Tottenham.

Torres, scorer of 14 Premier League goals last term, was afforded far too much space inside the Stoke penalty area and tucked Gerrard’s bobbling low cross beyond keeper Thomas Sorensen.

Stoke have not won at Anfield for 50 years yet they must fancied their chances of putting the record straight when they saw the Liverpool teamsheet.

With Daniel Agger absent due to a back problem, Benitez gave 18-year-old Daniel Ayala his senior debut alongside Jamie Carragher at the heart of the defence after Martin Skrtel failed to recover from a cracked jaw he suffered at Tottenham.

Yet the Spanish teenager, a former Seville youth player, did not let his side down as he produced a mature performance which will have encouraged his manager.

What will not have pleased Benitez was the way his side struggled to kill off the contest despite creating a string of chances.

Emiliano Insua spurned a glorious chance to double the lead in the 22nd minute, the unmarked Argentina defender wastefully firing into the side netting following Torres’s powerful run and cross.

Torres was by far the most threatening player on the pitch.

Commitments with Spain in the Confederations Cup meant he was playing up to the end of June yet he looked anything but jaded as he caused the Potters defence constant problems.

Another powerful run at the end of the first half by Torres resulted in a corner from which his side doubled the lead.

Gerrard’s inswinging kick was met by the unmarked Kuyt and although his header was blocked on the line by James Beattie, Johnson was well positioned to smash home from inside the six-yard area.

Despite their high-tempo end to the half, Liverpool were guilty of some slack defending at the start of the second half.

Jose Riena, who had been virtually redundant in the opening 45 minutes, produced a flying save to deny Rory Delap’s powerfully struck effort in the 48th minute.

Then Johnson came to his side’s rescue when he hacked a dangerous cross away as Stoke players lined up to pounce.

Johnson was proving value for money and was unfortunate not to score a second goal on the hour mark, Sorensen just doing enough to keep out his low effort.

Liverpool’s night was complete when Kuyt scored from close range after good work by the industrious Gerrard beofre substitute Ngog made it 4-0 with virtually the last kick.

Source + Pic: supersport.co.za