Saturday's English Premiership Round-up

Nicklas Bendtner came off the bench to snatch victory for Arsenal when he slid in to score with six minutes left.
Until then Arsenal had been frustrated as Robin van Persie fired a volley just over the bar and Emmanuel Adebayor hesitated and his shot was blocked. Van Persie's toe-poked effort hit the post before the Dutchman's flick was saved by Jussi Jaaskelainen, who then saved Bendtner's close-range header. But the Dane converted Van Persie's cross to finally end Bolton's resolve. It had seemed Arsenal would be foiled by a dogged display from the visitors, who showed virtually nothing coming forward but proved very difficult to break down at the back. And they might have been pegged back to a draw had Kevin Davies done better with a shot from six yards that he directed straight at Manuel Almunia in the closing stages. Chances were rare until the last quarter of the match, with Bolton's blanket rearguard comfortably keeping Arsenal out.

Curtis Davies' header and a Scott Carson own goal sent Aston Villa third in the Premier League with victory in the Midlands derby against West Brom.
Davies returned to haunt his old club by stooping to nod Villa in front from Gareth Barry's right-wing cross against the run of play. Villa doubled their lead when Carson let a low cross from Gabriel Agbonlahor squirm under his body and into the net. James Morrison pulled one back but West Brom rarely looked like equalising.

Everton sealed their place in the top six as goals from Marouane Fellaini and Mikel Arteta condemned Hull City to their fourth straight league loss.
The hosts dominated from the outset but Fellaini's opener, a close-range header from Leighton Baines's cross, should have been ruled out for offside. Arteta troubled Hull all afternoon and he made it two with a spectacular free-kick on the stroke of half-time. Hull never threatened a fightback as Everton easily held their lead. The win moves David Moyes's side seven points clear of seventh-place Wigan, who play on Sunday, and they remain three points behind Arsenal in fifth. Everton have kept clean sheets in their last six games in all competitions, taking 13 points from the last 15 available. Hull, on the other hand, have won just one of their last 12 games and are without a point since drawing with Liverpool on 13 December. Manager Phil Brown will be furious that Fellaini's goal was allowed to stand but could have no complaints at the result given Everton's superiority in a physical encounter.

Kenwyne Jones struck his seventh goal of the season late on to rescue a point for Sunderland and make it nine matches without a victory for Middlesbrough.
Afonso Alves' first league goal since October looked to have earned Boro the win, the Brazilian linking up well with Stewart Downing before rifling in. But Jones slid in to score from David Healy's superb cross to snatch a draw. The Black Cats could even have gone on to win it from Carlos Edwards' header, but Adam Johnson cleared off the line. Defeat would have been harsh on Boro, though, despite a grandstand finish from Sunderland that was in marked contrast to the 80 minutes of football that had preceded it. A draw was just about the right result, although Downing more than most could feel aggrieved he was not on the winning side after an all-action display that underlined his commitment to the Boro cause despite having a transfer request denied by the club only this week. The winger has been heavily linked with a move to Tottenham but, if his celebration following Alves's strike is anything to go by, the 24-year-old is unlikely to be going anywhere this month.

Andy Carroll scored his first Premier League goal to equalise for Newcastle and prevent his team from slipping to a third straight league defeat.
Michael Owen struck the post before his 20-yard strike put the Magpies ahead. Craig Bellamy equalised with a composed finish from 10 yards, while Shay Given made an unbelievable save from Jack Collison after the break. Carlton Cole put West Ham in front with a vicious close-range strike before Carroll headed his team level. The Hammers and Newcastle are the subject of intense speculation, with several key players at both clubs strongly linked with moves during the transfer window. But they cast aside their off-the-pitch uncertainty to produce an entertaining game in which the quality of attacking play was far in excess of the respective defensive displays. The draw was probably a fair result for the 300th Premier League game to be played at St James' Park. And as well as stopping the rot at Newcastle it meant that West Ham failed in their attempt to win three straight Premier League fixtures for the first time under Gianfranco Zola.