LONDON, Dec 3: Arsenal slipped 14 points off the Premier League pace on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers as champions Chelsea edged Middlesbrough 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

John Terry headed his first league goal for a year after 62 minutes to take Chelsea to 40 points.

Liverpool are second on 28 after beating Wigan Athletic 3-0 thanks to two goals for Peter Crouch to make it six wins in a row and reach their highest league position for three years.

Manchester United, who host Portsmouth later on Saturday, have 27, with Tottenham behind them on goal difference after a 3-2 home win over bottom club Sunderland.

Arsenal and Bolton both have 26, first-half goals by Abdoulaye Faye and Stelios Giannakopoulos having given Bolton their eighth straight home win.

Everton made it four wins in five games with a 2-0 success at Blackburn Rovers, who had Andy Todd sent off after half an hour.

Results:

Blackburn Rovers 0 Everton 2

Bolton Wanderers 2 Arsenal 0

Chelsea 1 Middlesbrough 0

Liverpool 3 Wigan Athletic 0

Newcastle United 1 Aston Villa 1

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Sunderland 2

West Bromwich Albion 0 Fulham 0

—Reuters