Fulham 0 Arsenal 1
Arsenal Mertesacker 43'
Red cards Steve Sidwell (Fulham), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
LONDON // Arsene Wenger hit out at Steve Sidwell for the reckless tackle which earned him a red card in Arsenal's vital 1-0 win over Fulham.
Sidwell will miss Fulham's last four games of the season after he saw red for the second time in two appearances.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who was given a straight red for a dangerous tackle on QPR defender Armand Traore three weeks ago, caught Mikel Arteta on his standing foot with a lunge just 12 minutes of the game at Craven Cottage.
Arsenal also ended the game with 10 men after Olivier Giroud caught Stanislav Manolev with a last-minute challenge.
The Gunners manager had no qualms with Giroud's sending off, and that of Sidwell, which he thinks could have caused serious injury to Arteta had it happened a millisecond earlier.
"I think the referee could only give a red card [to Sidwell]," the Arsenal manager said. "We will see [if Arteta is OK]. He played the second half. I don't know how much damage is done. It is a kick, a bad kick.
"I don't know if he has twisted his ankle or not. In these kind of things it is a question of a fraction of a second.
"If you are fully on your foot at the moment you get it you break your leg. If you ease a bit off maybe that is why he got away with it."
Sidwell's tackle on Traore – a long sliding lunge while the Frenchman was at full pace, drew widespread condemnation, and the former Chelsea man can have no complaints about his dismissal.
Fulham manager Martin Jol admitted the 30-year-old midfielder, who has also been booked eight times this season, deserved to go.
"I can't defend him because that would only sound ridiculous," Jol said. "I was annoyed with him, but he says it is not intentional. He will regret that tackle. It was the first foul that spoilt the game.
"I know it was not intentional because he wanted to play. He has just come back from a three-match suspension and now he is out for another four matches again so it was not only disappointing him, but also for us because we had to play with 10 men for a long time, so that was more disappointing."
Despite the setback of losing Sidwell so early in the game, Fulham coped admirably, continuing to probe the Arsenal back four thanks to impressive performances from Urby Emanuelson, Eyong Enoh and Alex Kacaniklic.
They were left exposed at the back, however, and Per Mertesacker took advantage of some slack defending from a free kick to nod home a header just before half time.
The Gunners took their foot off the accelerator after the break though and they were left hanging on in the end for the win that moves them back up to third in the Premier League table.
"The final 10 minutes were really nervy. They started to play direct, in the box they had a few dangerous balls and it was difficult," said Wenger. "Still, it is a very important win for us."
Norwich City 2 Reading 1
Norwich City R Bennett 50', E Bennett 52'
Reading McCleary 72'
Norwich won for just a second time in 17 league games to enhance their survival claims and all but condemn Reading to relegation. Ryan Bennett and Elliott Bennett scored within three minutes of each other as Norwich climbed to 13th, seven points clear of 18th-placed Wigan. Garath McCleary pulled a goal back for Reading, who are 10 points adrift with 12 to play for.
Sunderland 1 Everton 0
Sunderland Sessegnon 45'+1
Stephane Sessegnon’s second goal in a week handed Paolo Di Canio victory in his first home game as Sunderland eased themselves further clear of relegation trouble. The Benin international’s strike in first-half injury time secured a second successive win for Sunderlandd and their first over Everton in 20 attempts. But more importantly, it was well deserved as they dominated for long periods.
Swansea City 0 Southampton 0
Southampton edged closer to Premier League survival as they ground out a goalless draw in a lacklustre encounter at Swansea City. The visitors may feel aggrieved they did not gain all three points after Adam Lallana had an effort ruled out for handball after an error by Michel Vorm just before half time. Nathan Dyer went closest for the hosts as Maya Yoshida cleared his effort off the line, but in truth neither side showed sufficient quality in the final third to craft a winner.
West Brom 1 Newcastle United 1
West Brom Jones 64'
Newcastle Gouffran 8'
Newcastle were left to rue a series of missed opportunities as they squandered a chance to pull away from relegation trouble at West Bromwich Albion. Newcastle dominated the first half and led through Yoan Gouffran’s early header. But after Papiss Cisse wasted another gilt-edged opening, the second half was a different story and West Brom hit the bar through Romelu Lukaku before Billy Jones equalised.
West Ham United 2, Wigan Athletic 0
West Ham Jarvis 21’, Nolan 80’
The chances of another famous Wigan escape act took a severe blow as they were beaten 2-0 at West Ham. Fresh from their midweek draw with league leaders Manchester United, the hosts scored once in either half to leave Wigan in the relegation zone and put another dent in the FA Cup finalist’s survival bid. A first Upton Park goal for Matt Jarvis and a Kevin Nolan volley secured the win which moved West Ham into the top 10.
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