Arsenal 1 Bolton 0: ARSENE WENGER argued after Arsenal's latest angst-ridden victory that the days of the end-to-end Premier League thriller were "gone". Some things, however, do not change when these clubs pit their contrasting styles against each other.

If Arsenal view Bolton Wanderers as direct, negative and overly physical, then the perception from the Reebok Stadium is of a bunch of squealing southern softies. The striker Kevin Davies took it further when he accused Arsenal's players of trying to "con" the referee. "I have been accused of cheating by them in the past," he said, with reference to the fixture at the Reebok last September when he was booked for clattering Gael Clichy and heard Kolo Toure label his challenge "a disgrace".

"Yet when you catch one of them," Davies continued, "they scream to try and earn you a booking, which is disappointing."

Davies said he had spoken to Clichy about the previous flashpoint, that led to the full back being rushed to hospital for scans which revealed only bruising, and "he was fine about it". Passions, though, were reignited in the first incident of Saturday's game when Clichy felt that Davies had elbowed him in an aerial tussle.

"Clichy made a meal of one. He made no attempt to play the ball, I didn't make any contact with him and then he was on top of the referee trying to get me booked. But Chris Foy [the referee] handled it quite well. He could have booked me easily with the screams they were making. It was like I was trying to kill someone."

Bolton set up for a 0-0 and, with Dan Shittu and Andy O'Brien excellent in central defence, they kept Arsenal at arm's length for more than an hour. "We could not find a way through and maybe our passing was not incisive enough," said Wenger. The Arsenal manager made attacking substitutions, sending on the strikers Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner to supplement the two he had on the pitch, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie, and his team began to create chances.

"Bolton stayed behind the ball with 10 men and the only way to break them is to score," said van Persie. "They had their reasons but it's not really football."

Bendtner's late winner, crashed home on the half-volley at the far post, brought relief, yet Bolton could still have stolen a point when Davies took the debutant Chris Basham's pass and placed his shot straight at Manuel Almunia. The Bolton manager, Gary Megson, who could name only four substitutes because of injuries and suspensions, said he had no option but to "be solid, get the ball and play from there".

Wenger was in philosophical mood when he reflected on the state of the Premier League. "It has definitely lost something," the Frenchman said. "I can remember when I arrived in 1996 everybody had a go at you and you had space up and down. Sometimes you lost the game but you could see more chances than today. The old exciting Premier League is gone."