Arsenal 3 - 1 Burnley
Arsenal drew level on points with Premier League leaders Chelsea after making hard work of beating Burnley.
Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring when he slotted in from close range but soon afterwards he was forced off injured.
Burnley equalised when David Nugent latched on to Leon Cort's header and looped the ball over Manuel Almunia.
Theo Walcott curled in a sublime shot to ease the embarrassment of Nicklas Bendtner's awful finishing before Andrey Arshavin rifled in a third.
Denmark international Bendtner, who scored for his country in midweek, is in the running for miss of the season with at least three of his fluffed efforts on goal.
Fortunately for Arsenal, the impressive Walcott was able to supply the cutting edge to his game that has often been lacking to keep the Gunners' title ambitions on track.
The result lifted Arsenal to second in the table, only behind Chelsea on goal difference although the Gunners have played a game more.
Manchester United, in third place have the chance to leapfrog both their rivals when they take on Wolves in Saturday's late kick-off.
And while Arsenal's victory keeps the title race wide open, it also served to leave Burnley deep in relegation trouble.
Brian Laws' side have now won only one of their last 17 league games - and it is hard to see how they will turn things around after another performance lacking guile and belief.
In contrast, there was mental toughness in evidence from the hosts, who were determined to show that the horrific broken leg suffered by Aaron Ramsey against Stoke last weekend would not derail their season.
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Peterborough 0 - 1 Coventry
Jon Stead's first-half winner saw Coventry close in on the Championship play-off places as Peterborough slipped a step closer to relegation.
Stead looked second favourite when he broke through in the first half but shrugged off defender Craig Morgan and stabbed the ball past Joe Lewis.
Tommy Rowe saw a powerful drive blocked as the hosts pushed for an equaliser.
Charlie Lee and Lee Frecklington both shot over as Posh surged forward but Coventry held on to clinch the points.
Posh are now 13 points adrift of safety with just 12 games remaining and their brief flirtation with second-tier football is rapidly coming to an end.
The Sky Blues, meanwhile, are up to eighth and only three points off the play-off places.
www.bbc.co.uk
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QPR 3 - 1 WBA
1 - 0 J. Simpson 13.min.
2 - 0 M. Connolly 18.min.
2 - 1 C. Brunt 36.min.
3 - 1 A. Buzsaky 67.min.
