Theo Walcott scored the quickest Premier League goal of the season after 20 seconds yesterday to give Arsenal a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers and keep them a step ahead of rivals Tottenham in the race for the Champions League.
Walcott pounced in the late kick-off at Loftus Road in west London just moments after Gareth Bale, newly crowned English player of the year, had celebrated a spectacular winner as Spurs beat Southampton 1-0 in north London.
Bale cut inside from the right and held off a defender before firing home from 25 metres in the 86th minute against his former club.
At the bottom of the table, Wigan and Aston Villa also celebrated late victories to improve their chances of avoiding relegation to the Championship.
Callum McManaman scored in the 80th minute at the Hawthorns to give Wigan a 3-2 win over West Brom after Roberto Martinez’s team had twice fallen behind.
Villa left Carrow Road with a 2-1 triumph over Norwich City courtesy of Gabriel Agbonlahor’s double, including the 89th-minute winner.
Arsenal reclaimed third place on 67 points, two ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea, who visit champions Manchester United today. Spurs are fifth, also on 65 points, but have a game in hand on Arsene Wenger’s side.
Second-placed Manchester City drew 0-0 at Swansea City yesterday.
With Newcastle United drawing 0-0 at West Ham, and Sunderland not playing – against Stoke City – until tomorrow, the relegation picture is also tight and unpredictable.
Just five points separate eight clubs between Wigan, in 18th place and the third relegation spot, and the Potters, who are 11th.
QPR and Reading, who beat Fulham 4-2 at Craven Cottage yesterday, are already down.
Newcastle felt they should have had three points at Upton Park after a Papiss Cisse effort midway through the first half was ruled not to have crossed the line.
With his winner at White Hart Lane – in a game that was delayed for 30 minutes because of a traffic accident near the ground – Bale became the first Spurs player to score 20 league goals in a season since Juergen Klinsmann in 1994-95.
“We got what we deserved for our play in the second half with a moment of individual brilliance in the split second that Southampton allowed Bale some space and he managed to put the ball in the back of the net,” Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters.
“Bale is in a moment of outstanding form, scoring goals out of nothing with great ability and really enjoying himself.”
Bale’s ex-Southampton youth team-mate Walcott also passed a personal milestone yesterday – the first time he has scored 20 goals in all competitions in a senior season.
But Arsenal were indebted to keeper Wojciech Szczesny for preserving the three points as the Pole made an outstanding save from Loic Remy, diving low to his left with seven minutes remaining.