Super sub Mikel Merino saved Arsenal’s blushes at lowly Leicester as the makeshift striker’s brace secured a much-needed win for the Premier League title hopefuls.Mikel Arteta’s men headed to the King Power Stadium reeling from a season-ending injury to top scorer Kai Havertz that looked like it was about to be compounded by the embattled Foxes.Arsenal’s new frontline faile

Grimsby extended their unbeaten League Two run to four matches to remain within touching distance of the play-offs with a narrow 2-1 win at Doncaster.A Justin Obikwu strike and a Joseph Olowu own goal put David Artell’s side in full command, with Rob Street’s late header for Doncaster ensuring a nervy finish.The hosts made the brighter start with Jordan Gibson, Luke Molyneux and Owen B

Burnley made it 11 clean sheets in a row in the Sky Bet Championship but were left frustrated as they drew 0-0 away at local rivals Preston.The promotion-chasing visitors missed a series of good chances with Lyle Foster culpable for wasting two of the clearer openings.The Clarets have now had 11 scoreless draws in the league this season while Preston continue their remarkable run of having lost ju

Matty Stevens scored his 16th goal of the season as AFC Wimbledon moved into second place in the League Two table with a 1-0 win over promotion rivals Salford.Marcus Browne forced Salford’s Jamie Jones into the first save of the match with a blistering attempt from the edge of the box.Josh Neufville was the next Dons player to have a pop from outside the area.His curling effort was well save

Yousef Salech struck a 90th-minute Severnside derby equaliser to earn relegation-threatened Cardiff a 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw against play-off hopefuls Bristol City.Salech slid home fellow substitute Cian Ashford’s cross with his third goal in seven games since joining from Swedish club Sirius last month.Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight had put the Robins in front on the hou

Exeter recorded their first Sky Bet League One win since Boxing Day with a 1-0 success at Cambridge piling further pressure on the bottom club.Striker Josh Magennis, who scored both goals in the Grecians’ FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, headed the decisive goal 17 minutes from time.The visitors had created the earliest openings, with an Ed Francis drive going narrowly over in t

Wrexham continued their push for a third successive promotion with a straightforward 2-0 victory over Northampton in Sky Bet League One.The result was never in doubt from the moment Sam Smith and Ollie Rathbone scored in the space of three first-half minutes on a comfortable afternoon for the Welsh side at Sixfields.After an even and largely uneventful start, Wrexham took control with two quickfir

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca criticised the desire of his players as he reflected on the “worst performance” of his tenure following a thumping 3-0 Premier League defeat by Brighton.Six days on from slipping to an FA Cup fourth-round exit at the Amex Stadium, the Blues suffered a crippling sense of deja vu thanks to Kaoru Mitoma’s eye-catching opener and Yankuba Minteh’s doubl

John Eustace admitted he learnt a lot about his players after his first game in charge of Sky Bet Championship relegation strugglers Derby ended in a thumping 4-0 defeat at QPR.Ilias Chair scored twice, with Koki Saito and Ronnie Edwards also on target on a disastrous first day at the office for the new Rams boss.Eustace raised eyebrows this week by leaving Blackburn, a side challenging for promot

Chelsea suffered a crippling sense of deja vu after Kaoru Mitoma’s eye-catching opener and Yankuba Minteh’s double earned Brighton a thumping 3-0 Premier League win at the Amex Stadium.Six days on from slipping to an FA Cup fourth-round exit in Sussex, Enzo Maresca’s Blues were ripped apart as their pursuit of Champions League qualification was damaged by a repeat result.Mitoma,