Soccer / Football : England : Premier League 2009/2010

First-half goals from Didier Drogba earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and secured a return to the top of the Premier League two points ahead of Manchester United. The result leaves Arsenal nine points adrift of Chelsea and seven behind Manchester United, who beat bottom-place Portsmouth 5-0. Liverpool climbed to fourth place with a 1-0 victory over Everton.

Tottenham Hotspur slipped to fifth in the table after a goalless draw at home with Aston Villa. Tottenham have 43 points from 25 games, leaving them a point behind Liverpool and six adrift of Arsenal. Villa stay seventh with 41 points from 24 games but are now level with Manchester City, who suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at Hull. Manchester City, however, have two games in hand.

Everton's French international striker Louis Saha has signed a contract extension keeping him at Goodison Park until the summer of 2012. The 31-year-old forward has agreed to remain with Everton for two seasons beyond his original deal which expires in June. Saha, brought to Merseyside on a free transfer from Manchester United in August 2008, said: "It was an easy decision. I wanted to stay because I have enjoyed my time here and I want to be part of the future of Everton."

Fulham striker Andy Johnson is out for the rest of the season following knee surgery. Johnson was operated on in Colorado and Fulham says the England international should be fit for "the latter part of preseason training" ahead of next season.

Chelsea have had their transfer ban lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after reaching an agreement with Lens over the signing of Gael Kakuta. FIFA had banned Chelsea from signing any new players until 2011, finding that the English club induced Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens. The Court of Arbitration for Sport lifted the ban after it was agreed upon by Chelsea, Lens and Kakuta that the 18-year-old players' contract with the French club was not valid. Chelsea have decided, however, that they will still give Lens €130,000 euros in compensation towards the costs of developing Kakuta, which the London club had been ordered to pay by FIFA in September.

Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai has become Portsmouth's fourth owner in less than a year and will soon look to sell on to a fifth. Chainrai took control of the troubled club from Ali al-Faraj, who in turn had followed Sacha Gaydamak and Sulaiman al-Fahim. Chainrai's company Portpin has taken Al-Faraj's 90 percent stake after exercising a clause in their agreement over a 17 million pounds loan made to the Saudi.

Portsmouth are bottom of the Premier League and have failed on several occasions this season to pay their players on time. However, Portuguese defender Ricardo Rocha has joined the club on an initial deal running until the end of the season. The 31-year-old centre-back was released by Belgian side Standard Liege and available on a free transfer. Rocha made 14 Premier League appearances for Tottenham between 2007 and 2009.

Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari has completed his loan move to Sunderland after the Premier League cleared the transfer. The 31 year-old Zimbabwean international joins the Black Cats on loan until the end of the season. The Premier League have investigated the technical problems and have been satisfied that Sunderland had tried to register the deal before Monday's transfer deadline. Sunderland have already confirmed the signing of defender Alan Hutton on loan from Tottenham and Sheffield United defender Matt Kilgallon on loan until the end of the season.

West Ham United have signed three strikers on the final day of European football's winter transfer window. The London club, battling to avoid relegation, acquired South African striker Benni McCarthy, Egypt striker Mido and Brazilian striker Ilan in a bid to boost their prospects of staying up. McCarthy, 32, arrives on a permanent deal from Blackburn Rovers, while Mido, 26, has signed a four-month loan deal from Middlesbrough. Brazilian Ilan, 29, joined West Ham on loan until the end of the season from Saint-Etienne.

Manchester City have completed the last-minute transfer of Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. The 22-year-old has signed a contract until June 2014. No fee has been announced but it has been reported Middlesbrough will get around €7m. Johnson, who scored four goals in 19 games for England's Under-21 side, scored 13 goals in 96 appearances for Middlesbrough.