A William Gallas goal nine minutes from time enabled Arsenal to reclaim fourth place in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Victory saw the Gunners move ahead of Aston Villa, who do not play until today, on goals scored, although they remain 10 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that drew 2-2 at Villa on Boxing Day.
Alex Song missed out through injury, but Robin van Persie and Kolo Toure found themselves on the bench as Gael Clichy, Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adebayor returned.
Adams also made changes following his side’s 4-1 defeat at home to West Ham United. Papa Bouba Diop and David Nugent came in for Glen Little and Jermain Defoe, the former Spurs striker, who were named as substitutes.
Nugent began on the right of a five-man midfield as Pompey opted to use Peter Crouch as a lone front-man.
The plan worked as Arsenal were able to exert pressure only occasionally in the first 20 minutes through set-pieces that came to nothing.
It was Pompey who at last brought the game to life when Crouch hit a post in the 23rd minute. Nugent crossed from the right and the striker, having out-jumped Gallas, saw his header bounce back off the post with Gunners keeper Manuel Almunia beaten.
Portsmouth’s David James almost gifted Arsenal an opener two minutes into the second half when he flapped Nasri’s corner to Mikael Silverstre. Adebayor tried to pounce, but the ball was cleared.
Wenger sacrificed Emmanuel Eboue for an extra attacker in the 66th minute, but it was the teenager Carlos Vela who came on, not van Persie.
But hopes of an away win were dashed when Diop rashly fouled Vela near the left touchline and France defender Gallas headed home Denilson’s free-kick, with James again failing to make any contact after coming off his line.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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