Normal EPL service resumes
Danny Welbeck’s header eased the pressure on Arsene Wenger as Arsenal made it two victories in a week with a 1-0 success at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
England striker Welbeck struck on the hour mark at the Hawthorns to boost the Gunners’ top-four aspirations following successive defeats in their last two Premier League matches.
That had left Wenger’s position under scrutiny, yet the picture now looks more positive for the Arsenal manager and his team following this win and a midweek success over Borussia Dortmund which secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Arsenal had to dig deep against a Baggies side set up to frustrate and hit them on the counter-attack, yet the home side’s resistance was eventually broken by Welbeck’s first club goal in seven outings.
GUNNERS’ FANS PROTEST
Despite the win, at full-time some Arsenal fans held up a banner calling for Wenger to quit.
Asked if he was affected by the protest, Wenger said: “I don’t want to comment on that. I try to do my best for this club that I love.”
Liverpool ended their three-match losing streak as Glen Johnson’s late goal clinched a hard-fought success against Stoke at Anfield.
Reds captain Steven Gerrard was dropped to the bench on the 16th anniversary of his Liverpool debut and Brendan Rodgers’ side were lacklustre without him.
Liverpool improved after Gerrard came on for the final 16 minutes and England right-back Johnson popped up with the winner in the 85th minute after Rickie Lambert’s header had hit the bar.
RED DEVILS CRUISE
Robin van Persie scored only his fourth goal for Manchester United this season as the hosts cruised to a 3-0 win over Hull at Old Trafford.
United’s injury problems continued early in the first half when Argentina midfielder Angel di Maria was forced to come off.
But Louis van Gaal’s side took the lead in the 16th minute as video technology showed Chris Smalling’s scrambled effort had crossed the line to give the much-maligned defender his first goal since December 2013.
United captain Wayne Rooney got the second goal, sweeping home from 20 yards in the 42nd minute, and van Persie netted in the 66th minute to seal his fourth-placed team’s third successive win.
Saturday results:
West Brom 0 Arsenal 1
Burnley 1 Aston Villa 1
Liverpool 1 Stoke City 0
Man United 3 Hull City 0
QPR 3 Leicester City 2
Swansea City 1 Crystal Palace 1
West Ham 1 Newcastle 0
Sunderland v Chelsea