Arsenal stretch lead after derby win

Arsenal FC survived a scare against arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC, who missed a penalty, before emerging 2-1 winners in the north London derby on Saturday to extend their Premier League lead to four points.

Bendtner winner
Arsène Wenger's side were below their best for much of the game but the hosts took the points with a 76th-minute header by substitute Nicklas Bendtner after Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov had cancelled out Emmanuel Adebayor's 48th-minute opener. The turning point of the match came when, with the match evenly-poised at 1-1, Manuel Almunia saved a penalty from Robbie Keane - who had earlier hit the bar - minutes before Bendtner headed in Cesc Fábregas's corner with his first touch.

Liverpool lifted
The Gunners lead the way on 43 points, four ahead of Manchester United FC, who play Everton FC on Sunday, while Chelsea FC, also in action on Sunday at Blackburn Rovers FC, are third on 34. Liverpool FC moved up to within a point of fourth-placed Manchester City FC after ending Portsmouth FC's sequence of seven consecutive away wins with a 4-1 win at Anfield. Yossi Benayoun (13) and a Sylvain Distin own goal (16) gave the Reds a 2-0 lead, which was halved by Benjani Mwaruwari (57), before Fernando Torres ended the contest with two fine strikes (67, 85).

City held
Manchester City remain without an away win since the opening day of the season after being held 1-1 at Aston Villa FC as Rolando Bianchi's opener (11) was cancelled out by Norwegian international John Carew (14). At the other end of the table Bolton Wanderers FC's perfect home run under Gary Megson continued after El Hadji Djouf (72) and Nicolas Anelka (78, 90) earned the Trotters a 3-0 win that saw them leapfrog opponents Birmingham City FC and Middlesbrough AFC.

Late winners
Middlesbrough lost 2-1 against West Ham United FC, for whom Scott Parker scored a last-minute winner, while Sunderland AFC also conceded a last-gasp Stephen Hunt effort that presented Reading with a 2-1 victory. Elsewhere, Fulham FC and Wigan Athletic FC shared a 1-1 draw.