Danny Welbeck eases pressure on Arsene Wenger as Newcastle climb out of relegation zone
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Joshua Evans
A second-half strike from Danny Welbeck against Norwich City helped to ease some of the pressure on Arsenal
boss Arsene Wenger. The England striker found the net in the 59th
minute to give Wenger a much-needed win in front of a disgruntled crowd
at the Emirates.
A significant proportion of the club's fans staged a protest against the club's manager
during the game, holding up signs calling for him to be sacked. But a
well-taken goal from substitute Welbeck in a generally drab encounter
moved Arsenal up to third in the table and boosted their hopes of
Champions League football next season.
Elsewhere,
a stoppage-time penalty from Jermain Defoe rescued a dramatic point for
Sunderland at Stoke City. The 33-year-old striker scored in the 93rd
minute of the match at the Britannia Stadium to cancel out Marko
Arnautovic's goal.
The Stoke star earlier found the net in controversial circumstances,
after Peter Crouch held off Black Cats defender Younes Kaboul inside the
box.
Sam Allardyce's men struggled to fashion clear-cut chances in the
game but were given a lifeline in the closing moments, as Geoff Cameron
tangled with Defoe.
Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Defoe - who already had seven shots at goal - stepped up to fire home.
Despite Defoe's last-gasp goal at the Britannia, the Black Cats find
themselves back in the relegation zone following Newcastle United's
similarly dramatic 1-0 win against FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace. The
Magpies moved out of the relegation zone thanks to Andros Townsend's
20-yard free-kick.
However,
the real hero of the afternoon for the Toon Army was goalkeeper Karl
Darlow, who saved a second-half penalty from former Newcastle player
Yohan Cabaye. The win moves the Magpies one point above their local
rivals in the table, but Benitez's men have played one game more.
"We still have to play another two games. We will enjoy this weekend
because we won and then we will focus on the next one against Aston
Villa, which will be a tough one," the Spaniard told the BBC after the game at St James' Park. "The victory means a lot - it gives us momentum, confidence and a connection with the fans."
At
Goodison Park, Everton eased pressure on their under-fire boss Roberto
Martinez with a 2-1 win against Bournemouth. The Toffees, who lost their
FA semi-final to Manchester Unite last weekend, won courtesy of
64th-minute goal from Leighton Baines.
The fullback's strike ended Everton's run of eight league games
without at win, and came after goals from Tom Cleverley and Marc Pugh,
both of whom scored inside the opening ten minutes.
Some Everton fans protested against their manager during the match,
but the Spaniard subsequently insisted he did not allow the issue to
cloud his thinking. "In football you have to concentrate on affecting
the game and just winning. The winning feeling allows you to move on.
That's what we can take from today," he said to the BBC.
"Those aspects (fans organising banners to be flown over Goodison)
are not for me. My concentration is preparing the players and preparing
for the game."
Meanwhile,
Watford striker Troy Deeney scored two late goals to deny Aston Villa
their fourth league win of the season. The Championship-bound Midlands
club took the lead at Vic
arage
Road through Ciaran Clark, while Jordan Ayew's second-half goal meant
they led 2-1 going into the dying moments of the game.
But Deeney struck twice in three minutes to seal victory for the
Hornets and helped ease their fans' pain of losing their FA Cup
semi-final to Crystal Palace last weekend. Villa's misery was compounded
by the sending off of Aly Cissokho in the 73rd minute.
And at
The Hawthorns, Slaven Bilic's West Ham United side boosted their hopes
of European football next season with a one-sided win against West Brom.
A brace from Mark Noble and a headed effort from Cheikhou Kouyate saw
the Hammers win 3-0 to reclaim fifth place in the Premier League.
West Ham are now unbeaten in 10 league matches and they leapfrog
Manchester United, who play Claudio Ranieri's table-topping Leicester
City side on Sunday (1 May).
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