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Unbeaten Arsenal moved up among the pace-setters in the English Premier League on Sunday when, despite being reduced to 10 men in the second half, they beat Portsmouth 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Two goals ahead at the interval thanks to an eighth-minute penalty from Togo striker Emanuel Adebayor and a 35th-minute close-range finish by Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal lost Swiss stopper Philippe Senderos after 52 minutes when he was sent off for a clumsy tackle on Nigerian forward Kanu.
They refused to buckle under duress and Tomas Rosicky, their fluent Czech Republic midfielder, added a third from close range after 59 minutes, following a quickly taken free-kick by Fabregas.
Portsmouth replied when Kanu managed luckily to flick the ball into the net as he tried to control it just 18 seconds later, but they failed to take control and exert any further pressure.
The result took Arsenal to 10 points from four games and extended their unbeaten run to 11 league games. Their second goal was their 6,000th in English top-flight football and made them the fourth club to reach this total after Everton, Aston Villa and Liverpool.
