Premier League Results 3rd April

Arsenal 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arsenal keep pace with Chelsea and Manchester United after managing to score an injury time goal against Wolves. Arsenal dominated and deserved their win, but they should have scored more. And perhaps would have done, if Nicklas Bendtner had started. Wolves are probably still safe but they could be dragged back into it if they lose their next game.
Arsenal were without both their broken leg victims, Cesc Fabregas and Aaron Ramsey.
David Jones was the only Wales-eligible player to start for Wolves and he nearly scored from a free kick but when he was substituted, his replacement was Dave Edwards, back in the squad for the first time since his ankle injury. Wayne Hennessey was also on the bench but not Sam Vokes. I don’t often agree with anything Mick McCarthy says but making sure Arsenal faced no more than one Wales player at a time is a tactic of which I thoroughly approve.

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Aston Villa
It might be an exaggeration to say Aston Villa bounced back from their thrashing by Chelsea but they got the three points so it doesn’t really matter if they bounced or limped. And as half of their players were said to be carrying injuries, ‘limp’ was probably the right word. Villa remain faint possibilities for the Champions’ League and Bolton aren’t quite back in the relegation mix yet.
Sam Ricketts was unlucky not to get an assist for Bolton but he also did his job defensively, with Bolton letting in just the one goal. James Collins was very solid in central defence for Aston Villa.

Burnley 1-6 Manchester City
Burnley did nothing to help their chances of staying up – Match of the Day magazine though they might actually win this but the reality was very different. Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat meant that Manchester City are now in 5th place but Burnley now have the worst goal difference in the League.
Craig Bellamy played the full match for Manchester City and grabbed the second goal after five minutes.

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea
This match was billed as the ‘title-decider’ and it’s true that the winner of this match, Chelsea, are now top of the league. But considering the twists and turns we’ve had already this season, it would be silly to write of Manchester United and you won’t catch me writing off Arsenal.
Chelsea’s winner was offside but as Manchester United’s should have been disallowed for handball, the result was probably fair.
Ryan Giggs played the full match for Man Utd but not even he looked particularly threatening. There were rumours that Owen Hargreaves might be ready for a place on the bench but it didn’t happen this time.

Portsmouth 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
Portsmouth still technically have a chance of finishing 17th but we all know that’s not going to happen. I’d actually be shocked if they managed 19th. Blackburn are 11th but have a good chance of finishing in the top half.
Paul Robinson was fit, so Jason Brown was sent back to Blackburn’s bench, which seems very unfair after his excellent performances. The rumour is that he will look for first-team football elsewhere in the summer, and I can’t really blame him. News of the World claims Jason will buy out the final year of his contract but they’ll say anything.

Stoke City 2-0 Hull City
Stoke’s win was enough to propel them into the top half of the table but Hull remain in the bottom three. Although they do face Burnley next weekend and if West Ham United carry on the way they’ve been going, you can’t rule out a Hull survival.
Ryan Shawcross returned to the squad following an ankle injury but he stayed on the bench, with Danny Collins keeping his place in defence. Boaz Myhill played in goal for Hull.

Sunderland 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Darren Bent had a point to prove to the visitors and put his new team ahead as early as the 1st minute. He scored a penalty to make it two at the half-hour mark, and although he missed two more penalties before the game ended, Sunderland finished the match the winners. With 38 points, they are probably, if not mathematically, safe. Tottenham dropped out of the top five with a disappointing performance (not that I was disappointed, I love seeing Tottenham lose).
Gareth Bale

had a poor game by his standards and the referee showed a rare lack of bias in not allowing Sunderland to re-take one of the missed penalties after Gareth appeared to encroach. But he was still one of Tottenham’s best players and was unlucky not to score from a header.