LONDON (AFP) - Ten-man Arsenal battled back from two goals down to beat Bolton 3-2 and keep their Premier League title quest alive on Saturday.
A last-minute own goal by JLloyd Samuel enabled the Gunners to end a five-match winless run in the league on a day when Derby were condemned to relegation from the top flight.
Birmingham's 3-1 win over Manchester City ensured there was no longer any mathematical chance of survival for Derby, who could only draw 2-2 at home with Fulham, who look increasingly likely to join them in the Championship next season.
Arsenal's win moved them back to within three points of leaders Manchester United, who were due to play Aston Villa later on Saturday.
Arsenal's afternoon got off to bad start when Matt Taylor headed Gretar Steinsson's superb cross past Manuel Almunia.
Midfielder Abou Diaby was then shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Steinsson before Taylor claimed his second goal two minutes before half-time with a long-range strike that found the net with the help of a deflection off William Gallas.
The Arsenal captain made amends by firing his side back into the contest with half an hour left and Robin Van Persie equalised from the spot six minutes later after Garry Cahill had pulled down Alexander Hleb.
That set the stage for a dramatic finale and Arsenal's commitment to all-out attack paid off when Samuel deflected the ball into his own net after Cesc Fabregas had sent a Hleb cross goalwards.
It was a hammer blow for Bolton, who now find themselves four points adrift of safety as a result of the win for Birmingham.
Alex McLeish's side took control of their match against Manchester City thanks to a double from Argentinian forward Mauro Zarate.
They were given cause for concern when Franck Queudrue's foul on Benjani Mwaruwari resulted in both a red card for the defender and a penalty that Brazilian midfielder Elano converted, but a Gary McSheffrey penalty 13 minutes from time made the points safe for the home side.
Emanuel Villa had given the Derby fans hope of staving off the inevitable for another week with a tenth-minute opener against Fulham.
Diomansy Kamara equalised shortly afterwards however and the home side fell behind as a result of a Dean Leacock own goal with 12 minutes left.
Villa claimed his second to earn Derby their 11th point of a miserable season but Birmingham's win ensured that was not enough.
Sunderland's chances of beating the drop were given a huge shot in the arm by a 2-1 victory over West Ham at the Stadium of Light.
Andy Reid's injury-time strike settled the contest after Kenwyne Jones had cancelled out Freddie Ljungberg's opener for West Ham and Roy Keane's side now have a seven-point cushion between them and the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Jermain Defoe took his goal tally for Portsmouth to eight in seven games with a double in the 2-0 win over Wigan, while ten-man Reading held out for a goalless draw with Blackburn after having Czech midfielder Marek Matejovsky sent off for a second yellow card with 20 minutes left.
