London, England

Per Mertesacker scored on a close-range header just before the break as Arsenal moved back to third place in the Premier League standings with a 1-0 victory over Fulham Saturday at Craven Cottage in a game where both sides were reduced to 10 men.

Fulham played with just 10 men after 12 minutes of action when midfielder Steve Sidwell caught Mikel Arteta on the ankle with the slide, resulting in a in a straight red card.

Sidwell, who was earlier suspended for three games for a similar late challenge on Queens Park Rangers Armand Traore, is expected to be shelved anew for a longer period of time.

Despite the advantage, Arsenal struggled to capitalize for more than 30 minutes before Mertesacker put one on the board in the 43rd minute with a header.

In the 90th minute, referee Andre Marriner then brandished the red card again when he sent off Olivier Giroud for jumping into a challenge on Stanislav Manolev.

It did not matter, though, as Arsenal cruised through stoppage time, to clinch the win that put them three points clear of fourth-running Chelsea, which will take on Liverpool on Sunday.

Arsenal also took a five-point lead over Tottenham, which will face Manchester City at White Hart Lane Sunday.

"You are a bit under pressure when you play 11 against 10 because you think that with every foul you risk a second yellow card so they do not go in the challenges," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

"The crowd is behind their team, it becomes a different problem. In the end, we have a fantastic spirit and that got us through," added Wenger, who decided to rest England midfielder Jack Wilshere and Nacho Monreal.

Meanwhile, Everton's hopes of reaching the top four suffered a serious setback with a 1-0 loss to Sunderland.

Stephane Sessegnon scored the lone goal just before halftime as Sunderland clinched its second straight win, putting the Black Cats to 14th place in the standings.

Norwich City and Stoke City both eased their relegation concerns with victories against Reading and Queens Park Rangers, respectively.

Ryan and Elliott Bennett scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart to put Norwich City ahead by 2-0 before Garath McCleary set the final score with a 72nd-minute strike.

In other games, Matt Jarvis and Kevin Nolan in each half as West Ham United tallied a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic, Newcastle United was held to a 1-1 draw by West Bromwich Albion while Swansea City and Southampton played to a scoreless tie.