LONDON, January 2 (AP): Arsenal extended its lead of the English Premier League to two points by overcoming Newcastle 1-0 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Laurent Koscielny converted powerfully from close range midway through the second half after Olivier Giroud won a header from a corner.
Until then, Newcastle had played with a confidence belying its 18th position in the standings.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech denied Georginio Wijnaldum from opening the scoring with a glancing header in the first half.
Wijnaldum was denied again by Cech five minutes into the second half after being played in by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Mitrovic headed over in the final minutes, but Newcastle could not equalize.
Respite for Van Gaal as United win
Wayne Rooney scored the winner with a deft flick as Manchester United beat Swansea 2-1 to end its eight-game winless run and earn manager Louis van Gaal some respite.
Anthony Martial, who had put United ahead in the 47th minute, crossed low and Rooney glanced in a finish with his heel to become the club's outright second-highest scorer with 238 goals. The 77th-minute strike was Rooney's first United goal in two months.
Van Gaal hadn't seen United win since Nov. 21, during which time the team slipped out of the Champions League and the Premier League's top four to leave the Dutchman's position under threat.
This result should ease the pressure, although there had been more doubts after Gylfi Sigurdsson equalized in the 70th minute for manager-less and relegation-threatened Swansea.
In the game's last act, Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski rose to plant a header just wide of the post for what would have been another blow to Van Gaal and United after their poor run of results.
Rooney's goal also put him alone in second in the all-time list of Premier League top scorers on 188, behind Alan Shearer's 260.
Leicester held by 10-man Bournemouth
Leicester was held to a 0-0 draw at home by 10-man Bournemouth, after Riyad Mahrez failed to score from the penalty spot for Claudio Ranieri's side.
Defender Steven Francis was sent off for Bournemouth after 57 minutes when he was adjudged to have denied a goalscoring opportunity by bringing down Jamie Vardy in the penalty area. Mahrez took the resulting spot kick but Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc leapt to his left and got two hands to the ball to keep it out. Six minutes earlier, Boruc made an excellent one-handed save to deny Vardy.
