Goals from Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp ensured Arsenal matched the feat of Leeds United in 1973-74 and Liverpool in 1987-88 of going 29 top-flight league matches without defeat from the start of a season.
Arsenal, with 73 points, did not extend their lead at the top, though, after second-placed Chelsea beat Fulham 2-1 in the west London derby and champions Manchester United trounced Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 to reach 61 points in third place.
A last-minute goal from Sami Hyypia gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over lowly Wolverhampton Wanderers, teenage England forward Wayne Rooney scored for 10-man Everton as they drew 1-1 with Leicester City and League Cup winners Middlesbrough won a goal-fest with Birmingham City 5-3.
The game in Leicester was overshadowed by tragedy, after an Everton fan was fatally injured in a road outside the stadium by a piece of flying debris on a day of high winds.
Bergkamp, who is seeking a new one-year contract to keep him at Highbury next season, made one and scored another as Arsenal rattled up a ninth consecutive league win despite an unconvincing second half.
The Dutch forward deftly laid off a flighted pass from Edu into the path of France winger Pires, who had time and space to tuck home a curling shot after 16 minutes.
Bergkamp followed up by meeting Thierry Henry's cross on the break with a half-volley, before Spanish defender Ivan Campo pulled one back in a goalmouth scramble in the 40th minute.
LIVING DANGEROUSLY
But Arsene Wenger's treble-chasing side lived dangerously after the break, when Bolton's Kevin Davies and Campo both missed great chances to equalise.
Wenger told Sky Sports News: "I feel that at 2-0 we eased off a little bit in the second half...we had one or two chances but our dominance had gone.
"We had a great first half -- great passing, great movement, great goals and then we thought it was job done.
"We got the three points, but we were lucky maybe in the last 10 minutes."
Chelsea, who host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday in a Champions League quarter-final first leg tie, kept the pressure on their rivals with a workmanlike win over Fulham.
Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen fired them into a seventh minute lead, Fulham levelled with Mark Pembridge's deflected free-kick but Irish playmaker Damien Duff, Chelsea's best player, restored their lead before the break.
Though lacking sparkle in the second half, it was enough to move Claudio Ranieri's side on to 64 points with nine league games left to play.
Ranieri summed up: "It was a good performance, it wasn't an easy match."
United, who face Arsenal in an FA Cup semi-final next month, needed a late flurry to see off Spurs and record their first win in five league games.
An inspired Ryan Giggs put United ahead, meeting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's cross from the right with a clever backheel.
Winger Cristiano Ronaldo put the result beyond doubt with a 20-metre shot in the 89th minute and fellow substitute David Bellion struck a minute later as United emerged from a bleak period in which they also made a Champions League exit.
"We played well and that's what we expect of the team," said manager Alex Ferguson. "Considering the conditions, which were very difficult for both teams, we played some very good football."
Paying tribute to Giggs, he said: "Ryan in that form is a sensational player. You've got to remember, 14 years up and down that line, we maybe expect too much at times, considering what those years take out of you."
Liverpool moved on to 45 points and the coveted fourth slot -- worth a place in the Champions League qualifiers for next season -- for at least a few hours.
Newcastle United (42pts) were playing Charlton Athletic (43pts) in a 1730GMT kick-off.
© 2024 Rediff.com -