Arsenal win at Liverpool, Chelsea hit top form

Ten-man Arsenal ended a nine-year win drought at Anfield with a battling 2-1 victory on Sunday to move back into second place in the English premier league.

After Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sent off in the 36th minute, goals from Thierry Henry - his 16th league goal of the season - and Freddie Ljungberg put Arsenal 2-0 up. Despite Jari Litmanen's reply they held out for a vital win.

Earlier, Chelsea recovered from the loss of an early goal to overpower Bolton Wanderers 5-1 at Stamford Bridge.

The two games completed another action-packed premier league weekend as nine games produced 35 goals and helped fuel the most open title race for years.

GRITTY VICTORY

Arsenal's gritty victory takes them to 33 points, above Liverpool on goal difference and three points behind surprise leaders Newcastle United, who beat Leeds United 4-3 on Saturday.

Leeds are fourth on 32 points, ahead of Manchester United, 6-1 winners over Southampton, and Chelsea, both on 30. Liverpool have a game in hand over the other five clubs.

Sunday's win stretched Arsenal's remarkable unbeaten away league record this season to 10 games and brought some Christmas cheer to Highbury following Tuesday's 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle.

But it made it one point from nine for stuttering Liverpool, who went down 4-0 at Chelsea last week after a goalless home draw with Fulham.

Liverpool's caretaker manager Phil Thompson said he was "extremely disappointed" and blamed a "lack of quality" for the defeat.

"We won because of a lot of hard work really," said Arsenal's man-of-the-match midfielder Ray Parlour.

"We were all disappointed after the Newcastle game, we had a man sent off again but this time we battled on for a great victory."

Goalscorer Henry added: "It shows the mentality and the spirit we have at Arsenal. Even with 10 men we were still creating chances."

After Ashley Cole had scrambled a Michael Owen effort off the line in the 23rd minute the game appeared to swing Liverpool's way in the 36th when Van Bronckhorst was sent off after receiving a second yellow card, for diving.

It was the 40th red card of Arsene Wenger's five-year reign, but the referee made amends 10 minutes later, ruling that goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek had brought down Ljungberg and Henry stroked home the resultant penalty.

LIVERPOOL PRESSURE

It came six years to the day since their last league goal at Anfield, an Ian Wright penalty in a 3-1 defeat, but this time it took only seven minutes for the next to arrive as Ljungberg ran 60 metres to connect with a low cross from Robert Pires.

Liverpool hit back within two minutes when halftime substitute Litmanen headed in Owen's sliced shot, paving the way for half an hour of Liverpool pressure.

The home side, however, rarely got into position for the killer touch.

"There was a lack of quality with much of our play, we just needed to be a bit calmer," said Thompson, who added that new loan signing Nicolas Anelka would be available for the game at Aston Villa on December 26.

Chelsea were shocked by Kevin Nolan's opener for Bolton after just two minutes and looked toothless for the next 40.

However, they equalised with a great goal in the 42nd minute as Graeme Le Saux's long pass found Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who fed former Bolton player Eidur Gudjohnsen to drive home from outside the box.

Gudjohnsen's neat footwork on the stroke of halftime repaid the favour to Hasselbaink who fired in his 15th goal of the season.

It was a different game after the break as a Boudewijn Zenden lob, a Colin Hendry own goal and a first league goal for Frank Lampard completed a comprehensive victory