Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal had only themselves to blame after losing 1-0 to Sunderland. He said: "We lost a game and we can only fault ourselves because we didn't score. Some players were not at their best and we gave a goal away on the only situation where Sunderland could score one, a set-piece, and that sums it up well. Rather than focusing on any individual, I believe it's more down to the fact that we made a big mistake on the corner, because the game was there for the taking in the last 20 minutes. But of course, 1-0 down makes it more difficult."

 Martin O'Neill hopes Emile Heskey's 86th-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Burnley will spur the striker on to more goals. The England international has been spending a lot of time on the bench this season and it was his first Barclays Premier League strike since 18th April. He pounced at the far post to nod home James Milner's cross and cancel out Steven Caldwell's ninth-minute header. "It is obviously very important for him. He has the reputation of being a provider for other players to score goals," said O'Neill, who worked with Heskey when the pair were at Leicester. "That's fine, it's okay, but I think if you are a centre-forward you have to get your quota in. It was a great boost for him. He took it very well indeed. I've worked with him a long time and I think he is capable of scoring more goals than he does do."

 Alex McLeish saluted a "world class" finish from Lee Bowyer as his side extended their unbeaten run to four matches with victory over Fulham. Bowyer put the icing on an outstanding performance by netting the 16th-minute decider after latching onto a pass from James McFadden. The former England midfielder has made a big impact since initially moving to the West Midlands on loan in January and then completing a permanent move from Upton Park during the summer on a free transfer. "The goal was the one bit of class we produced in the game. It was trademark Lee Bowyer," said McLeish. "It was a late run onto a great pass and the execution was world-class. When Lee first came here, I got some people raising their eyebrows saying his legs had gone and he was not the same player. But he has proved a lot of people wrong. He can run all day, has class about him, and is a real leader."

 Assistant manager Neil McDonald handed his boss Sam Allardyce a tonic ahead of a hospital visit. Blackburn ended a run of 10 successive defeats on the road in the league by recording a 2-0 victory against Allardyce's former club Bolton. McDonald said: "Hopefully we have put a bit of a smile on his face and taken a little bit of stress away from him. "I would like to think it will give him a chance to recover knowing his team has done well. Sam is a person who looks after himself. He is always having check-ups and making sure he is in good health. Luckily they have found it out very quickly. I am told it is routine operation, so he should be back fighting fit very soon. I would imagine he would be okay next week for match against Chelsea."

 Manager Gary Megson has sent his best wishes to Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce. Allardyce, who had a successful eight-year spell at Bolton, is having an angioplasty - a procedure to widen one of his coronary arteries - on Friday. Megson said: "I rang him and had a good chat and of course our thoughts are with him and his family. Everyone at Bolton wishes him a speedy recovery and a return to full health."

 Burnley Chairman Barry Kilby is confident Premier League football has put the Clarets on a sound financial footing, despite reporting operating losses of £8.9m in the year ending 30th June, 2009. In the annual report to shareholders, Mr Kilby said: "Promotion was gained at a cost in the financial year. However, the increase in turnover from being in the Premier League this season should more than compensate for the losses incurred over the past few years and I expect to report a significant profit for this financial year to bring our balance sheet back into a healthy position." The AGM results show a 47 per cent increase in match-related income from last year, which saw Burnley progress in two cup competitions and reach the Coca Cola Championship play off finals at Wembley. Commercial and retails incomes also increased dramatically. Burnley Football Club will hold its Annual General Meeting at Turf Moor next month.

 QPR have signed teenage Chelsea goalkeeper Rhys Taylor on loan. The Wales Under-21 international has signed a deal with the Championship club until 4th January. While Taylor, 19, is yet to feature for the Blues he has been a regular for the reserve team and recently signed a new deal at Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2012. "Rhys comes highly recommended and we're delighted to have him on board," QPR manager Jim Magilton told the club's website. "It gives us the opportunity to work with a very good young goalkeeper and it gives Rhys the chance to work with a top-class goalkeeper and professional in Radek (Cerny). I've no doubt he'll push Radek all the way and that competition is running throughout the squad, so I couldn't be happier."

 Everton's Barclays Premier Reserve League fixture at home to Sunderland has been brought forward to Monday 23rd November from Tuesday 24th November, kick off 7pm at Stobart Stadium.

 Roy Hodgson could find little fault with his side's performance after they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Birmingham. Lee Bowyer scored the only goal of the match with a delightful lob over Mark Schwarzer, but Fulham could consider themselves somewhat unfortunate after dominating the second 45 minutes in rain-swept conditions. Hodgson said: "It was a very good team performance, but a bad result. We played very well in the second half, but even in the first half, we had plenty of chances. Full credit to Birmingham for the way their back four defended and their midfield players also got plenty of tackles in. But I don't think we could have done any more than we did today. We dominated the game that much, but just a goal eluded us."

 Phil Brown had mixed emotions after seeing his side play out a thrilling 3-3 draw with West Ham at the KC Stadium. The Tigers came from two goals down to lead at half-time, with the aid of a dubious penalty decision by Mark Clattenburg. However, Manuel Da Costa dragged the Hammers level after Bernard Mendy had been dismissed for a foul on Scott Parker. Brown had no complaints over the sending off but felt his side should have had a second penalty when substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink seemed to be impeded by Matthew Upson. He said: "It's absolute classic. Matthew Upson is climbing all over him and if he gives the first one the second one is an absolute stonewall certainty. If you look at that penalty, I am disappointed with a point - but I am grateful for a point in the Premier League at any stage. Even when we found ourselves 2-0 down we were playing well enough," Brown added. "They were trusting each other with the ball and were probing and confident, We were causing West Ham problems."

 Rafael Benitez is confident his side can still finish in the top four this season following a 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield. In a match which saw Daniel Agger and Ryan Babel forced off with injuries, Liverpool took the lead through Martin Skrtel before falling behind to goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland. Yossi Benayoun rescued a point for the Reds, but they remain some way off the pace in the Barclays Premier League. Yet Benitez maintained: "We will finish in the top four when we get our injured players back. We had a shocking day with injuries. Glen (Johnson) was not happy with a calf (and failed a late fitness test). Then we lose Agger and Babel. We had one problem after another. You cannot be happy with a home draw, but to lose three players from our game plan is very difficult. And of course we had three players on the bench who have been for treatment in Belgrade and had not been training with the team."

 Mark Hughes says his Manchester City side felt a deep frustration that they were not able to hang on to a winning position against Liverpool. City had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Anfield, having forced their way back into the match and taken the lead. Martin Skrtel had given Liverpool the lead, only for Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland to put City ahead. But within seconds of Ireland's goal, Yossi Benayoun grabbed Liverpool's equaliser. Hughes felt his side deserved more and said: "We restricted Liverpool to a very few opportunities but the ones they did have, they scored from. But we restricted their influential players from having an impact on the game. We were good on the break and carried a real threat in the second period when Carlos Tevez came on. We had to chase the game, and Carlos gave us a real energy. We retained possession and got back from one-down to take the lead. We had another winning position and let it slip. We were caught straight after we had scored and had several chances to clear the ball before Benayoun put it away. My players are disappointed, they had an opportunity to win. Scoring twice and getting a point at Anfield is something you would normally be happy with. Maybe we will be come the end of the season, but at the moment it feels like a chance missed."

 Sir Alex Ferguson admits he is unlikely to make any forays in the transfer market when the window reopens in January. Ferguson has been linked with moves with a number of players, including the likes of Everton youngster Jack Rodwell. However, Ferguson insists he will not pay over the odds for anyone and is happy to stick with what he has got at Old Trafford. "I'm in the same position as I was in the summer," said Ferguson. "There are a lot of players out there, all valued by their current clubs at £50million. Given the prices being asked, I just do not see the value."

 Paul Hart allayed fears over goalkeeper David James' fitness after the England international was injured in the warm-up prior to the 1-0 defeat at Stoke City. The 39-year-old had a knee operation at the end of last season and has admitted he does suffer with "irritation", but the latest setback is a calf problem. Only a week ago James said he was confident of being fit for this summer's World Cup after England coach Fabio Capello insisted he would not take any players to South Africa who were carrying injuries. Hart said it was too early to assess the seriousness of this latest injury. "He pulled a calf muscle warming up," he said. "The World Cup is in June, a calf muscle is usually about three weeks. I think he will be fit for the World Cup. We are managing the situation (regarding James' knee) at the moment and up until now he has been out on the pitch. He has to do some gym work to help him through it but he has been there and it has not been a real problem."

 Preston North End have signed Stoke midfielder Michael Tonge on loan. The 26-year-old joined the Potters for £2m from Sheffield United on the last day of the transfer window in September 2008. But he has not featured in the Barclays Premier League this season, with his three appearances all coming in the Carling Cup. Tonge will stay with North End until after the match at his former club Sheffield United on 28th December.

 Steve Bruce backed Darren Bent's claims on a place in England's World Cup squad after seeing him fire Arsenal to their first defeat in 14 matches. Bent's 71st-minute strike, his ninth goal of the season, put paid to the Gunners' hopes on Wearside as the Black Cats prevented them from scoring for the first time this season. It was the perfect response after his disappointing showing in England's friendly defeat by Brazil in Doha last weekend, and left his manager championing his cause to national coach Fabio Capello once again. Asked if he would take Bent to South Africa if he were England manager, Bruce replied: "Absolutely, 100 per cent. But it's not just his goalscoring, his appetite and his work-rate are absolutely unbelievable. He played on his own and ran a million miles for the team. For me, he would have to be [in the squad] because he scores a goal - he has scored against all the big clubs. I don't think he is going to be judged on a 55-minute friendly [appearance] in Qatar. I don't think Mr Capello will take any notice of that. I would have thought he will pick a team that's in form, and when you have got an outstanding goalscorer, as Darren is... That shows what type of person he is."

 Shrewsbury Town have signed Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper David Button on loan until January 2010 as cover for Chris Neal, who is out with a broken finger. The 20-year-old has already made 17 League appearances, after loan spells with Bournemouth, Dagenham and Redbridge and Crewe Alexandra. He said: "Training with top keepers at Spurs can only be good for me in the long run. But playing in games puts you in the limelight, so I'm sure Tottenham will be watching and I hope I can do well." Button earned his first cap for England at Under-20 level in a friendly with Italy in February this year, having previously represented the Under-19s. He has also tasted first-team action with Spurs, coming on as a late sub for Carlo Cudicini in the Carling Cup second round tie at Doncaster Rovers in August.

 Gianfranco Zola reflected on a "crazy game" after his side claimed a 3-3 draw at 10-man Hull. The Hammers were forced to come from behind to take a point off their fellow Barclays Premier League strugglers after surrendering a 2-0 lead. Manuel da Costa hit the equaliser for the London club after Bernard Mendy was sent off for denying Scott Parker a clear goalscoring opportunity. "I think it was a crazy game," said Zola. "When we were 2-0 up I couldn't see them coming back because we looked in control. Their first goal was a deflection, maybe the second goal we should have done better and the third goal was a penalty that wasn't a penalty at all. After that it was tough to come back but the reaction from the team was excellent and I am delighted for them. At the end of the day we have got a point and it could have been more because we had a couple of chances to get another goal."

 Roberto Martinez is tracking 150 players as he looks to strengthen his squad in the next two transfer windows. One area of his search is concentrated on South America with general manager John Benson spending this week watching Honduras - from where the Latics already signed Hendry Thomas and Maynor Figueroa - play Peru. Martinez is interested in players from both countries but would not confirm one target is Johnny Palacios, the 22-year-old younger brother of former Wigan midfielder Wilson who made a big-money January move to Sunday's opponents Tottenham. "We really follow many players and we have to do it because we cannot have any errors in our signings," said the Spaniard. "In every window we have to improve the squad and help the players we have here to become a stronger team. It is too early to talk about names but we are working hard and have been since the summer. We need to get the right characters and personalities and they have to bring something different to the squad."

 Mick McCarthy has told his players they may as well get used to being in a relegation dogfight following their 4-0 defeat at Chelsea. Florent Malouda put the league leaders in front early on and Michael Essien added a brace before Joe Cole rounded off the scoring. "We were happy to get nil at the end," said McCarthy. "I thought we had some good chances, including the best chance at the start of the game. But we made mistakes. But I saw enough about the players, the endeavour, work-rate and spirit, and this won't knock the spirit out of us. We were not expected to get anything here. I really hoped we would get something out of the game but the reality was that we were expected to be in the bottom three still. We are in a relegation fight now, I've said that to the lads. We might as well understand that now. No bones about it. We won't be judged on this game. I don't doubt our team spirit and fight they have in them. I reckon we had five good chances in the first half, but they had eight chances and were 3-0 up."