Gunners Leave Late As Cottage Cruise For Utd

Marc Albrighton's landmark strike counted for nothing as Arsenal struck late to secure a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
The Villa winger (54) answered Robin van Persie's opener (17) with the 20,000th goal in Premier League history, but it was Yossi Benayoun's first in the league for the visitors (87) which settled it.
Both sides were barely recognisable from the weekend, Villa responding well to criticism of their surrender to Liverpool and the visitors looking leaden-footed from their in-vain Eastlands exertions.
Nevertheless it was the Gunners who went ahead, van Persie burying a penalty after a tug on Theo Walcott, who missed a one-on-one moments later.
But Gabby Agbonlahor had tested Wojciech Szczesny early on, and Villa were level when the lively Albrighton beat Per Mertesacker to Thomas Vermaelen's hospital ball and slotted under the keeper.
Arsene Wenger made a slew of substitutions in search of a winner, and it was Benayoun who came up trumps with the softest of downward headers from a van Persie corner.
Home tempers frayed, and Alan Hutton failed to see out injury-time as he earned a second booking for clattering Vermaelen.
Manchester United kept pace with rivals City with a serene 5-0 win over a supplicant Fulham at Craven Cottage.
All the work was done in the first half as United waltzed into a 3-0 lead, Danny Welbeck (5) providing the neat finish from five yards after Nani had danced unopposed down the left and crossed from the byline.
Fulham rallied briefly and only a last-ditch tackle from Phil Jones - who had earlier been clattered by a Clint Dempsey elbow - denied Bryan Ruiz a clear sight of goal.
Shaken by the earlier blow, that was to be Jones' last contribution, but United tightened their grip on the game on 28 - Nani glancing Ryan Giggs' cross past David Stockdale.
Welbeck thought he had a penalty after being barged in the back, but it mattered not when Giggs (43), afforded the space of the Fulham penalty area, took a pass from Nani and his deflected shot looped over a stranded Stockdale.
Fulham had to improve after the break and Dempsey planted a free-header straight at Anders Lindegaard before MMoussa Dembele drilled a shot from the edge of the area just wide.
John Arne Riise followed suit with a trademark thump from range, but United - who saw Young follow Jones into the treatment room after an awkward fall on his ankle - finished with a flourish as Wayne Rooney's (88) wonderful drive from 30 yards was followed by Dimitar Berbatov's (90) impudent flick from Antonio Valencia's cross.