LONDON: Arsenal swept Wolves aside to climb to second place in the Premier League on Saturday as a fifth consecutive draw resulted in Manchester City being ejected from the top four.

The Gunners’ 4-1 win lifted them above Manchester United on goal difference. Arsenal had ended their contest with Wolves by half-time as own goals from Ronald Zubar and Jody Craddock were followed by Cesc Fabregas finishing off a trademark passing move on the stroke of the interval. Andrey Arshavin made it 4-0 after the interval before Craddock claimed a late consolation side for Wolves, who slipped into the relegation zone.

Manchester City surrendered their coveted spot in the top four to Tottenham after being held to a 3-3 draw at home to Burnley. It was a fifth consecutive draw for City, who slip back to fifth. Burnley’s draw at Manchester City was their first point on the road since their return to the top flight.

An even better outcome had looked on the cards when a Graham Alexander penalty and a Steven Fletcher strike gave the Burnley a 2-0 lead. But Shaun Wright-Phillips reduced the deficit two minutes before the break and second half strikes from Kolo Toure and Craig Bellamy had City on track to claim the points before Kevin McDonald snatched an 87th-minute equaliser.

Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone were on the mark as Tottenham moved up to fourth with a 2-0 win over Sunderland. Elsewhere, Aston Villa overran struggling Bolton in a 5-1 rout while Blackburn lifted themselves out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 win over bottom side Portsmouth.

Spanish La Liga

BARCELONA: Ten-man Real Madrid survived a late fightback by Atletico Madrid to win 3-2 and keep the pressure on Spanish league leaders Barcelona on Saturday.

Kaka gave Real the lead after just five minutes. Chances came and went for both sides but Real were more clinical with Marcelo doubling the advantage with an acute drive with his weaker right foot. Still not fully fit, Sergio Aguero was introduced in the second half and after running through on goal was brought down by Sergio Ramos who was dismissed. However, Real went further ahead through Gonzalo Higuain after 73 minutes before Atletico launched an assault which saw Diego Forlan and Aguero both score.

Pedro Rodriguez scored a brace as Barcelona kept up a one-point lead over Real with a 4-2 win over Real Mallorca. Barcelona went ahead through Pedro after a delightful back-heel from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Jose Nunes levelled for Mallorca, heading home at the far post from a corner but Barcelona scored twice in the run-up to half-time. Pedro scored again and then Thierry Henry grabbed his first goal after an injury-plagued start to the season. Mallorca were unable make any real inroads after the break and substitute Messi increased Barcelona’s advantage from the penalty spot. There was still time at the end for a consolation from Alhassane Keita.

A battling performance by Deportivo La Coruna saw them keep up their push for a place in Europe with a 2-0 win at Getafe despite being reduced to nine men. Struggling Malaga picked up an important point against Tenerife. Tenerife stormed into a two-goal lead through Roman Martinez and Alejandro Alfaro but Malaga hit back through Edinho Arnaldo and Javi Lopez.