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Second half goals from Kolo Toure and Tomas Rosicky gave Arsenal victory over managerless Bolton. With Sammy Lee leaving the club on Wednesday, Archie Knox was placed in temporary charge for the game which was dominated by the Gunners. The hosts were on the attack right from the start, with Alexander Hleb getting round the Bolton defence before cutting back for Emmanuel Adebayor who didn't make clean contact with his finish, allowing the ball to be cleared. The Togolese international had another chance soon after, heading Bacary Sagna's cross just wide of Jussi Jaaskelainen's goal. Despite Arsenal dominating the possession, the visitors were happy enough to defend and were obviously frustrating the Gunners. Tempers flaired on 20 minutes, when a challenge involving Gavin McCann and Sagba sparked a reaction from both sets of players, with referee Mike Riley giving yellow cards to McCann along with Cesc Fabregas and El-Hadji Diouf for their part in the discussions. McCann was Bolton's saviour soon after, winning the ball with a sliding tackle on Adebayor with the home fans screaming for a penalty, but the protests were waved away by referee Riley. Adebayor got behind the Wanderers defence before half-time, meeting Eduardo's cross but his header was poor and wide of Jaaskelainen's post once again. The scores were level at the break but Arsenal came out of the traps quicker in the second 45, Emmanuel Eboue capitalised on a poor clearance from McCann but his effort was high and wide of the target. Jaaskelainen was called into action soon after, turning away an effort from Fabregas after a good counter attack. Arsenal were getting closer to breaking the deadlock, with Adebayor and Eduardo linking up well before Abebayor fired just wide from 20 yards. Gunner's captain William Gallas could have given his side the lead just after the hour, diverting a corner goalwards but Jaaskelainen reacted quickly to make the save. Bolton's defence was finally breached with just over 20 minutes to go, with Kolo Toure smashing home from 25-yards after a well worked free-kick. Without creating any chances, Bolton were always on the backfoot and were lucky not to go two down soon after. Adebayor beat the Wanderers defence and rounded Jaaskelainen before stumbling over when trying to cut the ball back to Theo Walcott. However, Arsenal secured the points with 10 minutes remaining, Walcott played the ball across the face of the Wanderers penalty area, allowing fellow substitute Tomas Rosicky to tap home from close range. The defeat leaves Bolton at the foot of the Premier League table, who will now turn their attentions to the UEFA Cup as they host Portuguese outfit SC Braga on Thursday. |
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