Arsenal 1 Blackburn 0: Arsenal extended their lead at the Premier League summit to five points but Blackburn made them work every inch of the way to defend Philippe Senderos' opener.
Senderos struck early on at the Emirates Stadium and could added more, only for Brad Friedel to put in a polished performance to keep the visitors in the game.
Mark Hughes' men even threatened themselves at times but Arsenal held on, with Emmanuel Adebayor adding a second in stoppage-time, taking advantage of their title rivals dropping points at the weekend.
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