Goals from French duo Thierry Henry and Robert Pires denied Arsenal's title rivals a glimmer of hope as the Gunners overcame bogey team Blackburn 2-0 to stay nine points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table.

Henry curled a 25-yard free-kick into the net 12 minutes after the break and Pires netted a last-minute rebound to secure a 2-0 win that dashed Chelsea and Manchester United's hopes of a slip-up from the unbeaten leaders.

Chelsea kept up the chase with a smash-and-grab 2-0 win at Bolton but with only ten matches left to play, the gap at the top increasingly looks too big to close.

United can move back to within nine points of the leaders if they beat Manchester City on Sunday.

Leicester City meanwhile won for the first time in 14 league matches in the most unlikely circumstances.

Les Ferdinand's 53rd-minute strike was a desperately-needed tonic for a club engulfed by allegations that three of their players were involved in a serious sexual assault during a mid-season break in Spain.

Manager Micky Adams said the win had been a welcome diversion from the scandal engulfing the club.

"All I ever wanted to do was get back in that technical area and get a team winning games of football and we've won one today," Adams said.

But Adams claimed he had not been surprised by the response his players gave under extreme pressure.

"Everybody had written us off. The cynics, the doubters had a field day with us. We were on the front pages as well as the back pages. So we had to give everybody our answer and show people that we care passionately about our football club."

Arsenal had to work hard for their three points and, as so often this season, it was the brilliance of Henry that made the difference.

Fouled by Craig Short outside the box, the Frenchman got up to score his 21st league goal of the season in spectacular fashion 12 minutes after the break before Pires made absolutely sure in the dying seconds.

"Blackburn gave everything and we had to be patient, not frustrated and find an opening and Thierry found it," said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Second half goals from John Terry and Damien Duff saw Chelsea claim all the points at Bolton, who had dominated most of the early proceedings and been denied only by the woodwork and a superb save by stand-in goalkeeper Marco Ambrosio in the first half.

Blues skipper Terry insisted afterwards that the title race was still alive.

"Sooner or later they have to slip up. If we can keep grinding out results like that we are going to put pressure on them," he said.

Arsenal's performance suggested otherwise however and Terry and the Chelsea fans should not hold their breath waiting for a collapse by their London rivals.

As Leicester were celebrating their escape from the drop zone, Portsmouth suffered the misery of falling back into the bottom three.

Wayne Rooney did the damage, firing Everton to a 1-0 win at Goodison Park that eased the Merseysiders own fears of being drawn into the relegation quagmire.

"It is a very big result," Everton boss David Moyes said, admitting the game had offered little in the way of spectacle.

"We both had to win and it showed really. We are just delighted to have taken all three points."

After recent draws with Liverpool and Manchester United, the gloom descended on Leeds United once again as a 2-0 defeat at Fulham left them firmly anchored to the bottom of the table.

Goals from Sean Davis and Luis Boa Morte ensured the Cottagers were able to welcome Chris Coleman back to the touchline in style.

The Fulham boss had been absent for two weeks with a viral infection that left him hospitalised and on a drip.

"The first goal was always going to decide it and we conceded it," Leeds caretaker boss Eddie Gray said.

"But there are still a lot of games to play and I still think we have got the players in that dressing room that can win matches."

Charlton edged the day's other match, a 25th-minute strike from Matt Holland enough to move them back up to fourth after a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.