Arsenal's miserable end to the season continued with a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers Monday, leaving it still short of securing third place in the Premier League. A point for the Gunners would have guaranteed third and an automatic place in next season's Champions League group stage but after Robin van Persie put it ahead it was overhauled by a fired-up Rovers. Arsenal has 72 points with just Fulham to play at home Sunday while fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur has 67 with Wednesday's crucial trip to direct rivals Manchester City and a final day visit to relegated Burnley to come. At the other end of the table Hull City's relegation was rubber-stamped when Wigan Athletic equalized in stoppage time to deny the visitors their first away league win of the season. The 2-2 draw, courtesy of an equalizer by Steve Gohouri, means Hull is five points behind 17th-placed West Ham United with one game to play, though even a win would have been futile as its vastly inferior goal difference would have counted against it even if it had matched the London club on points. Hull will go down to the Championship (second division) next season along with Burnley and Portsmouth, having lasted two years in the top flight. “It's a gut-wrenching way to lose. I thought we deserved three points,” said temporary Hull manager Iain Dowie, who was put in charge until the end of the season after the club fired Phil Brown in mid-March. “It's heartbreaking but I'm very proud of this display. It's a horrible feeling to lose that because we deserved the three points. But these things happen when you're down there. We come away from home and get two goals and not managed to take all three points.” Since beating West Ham on March 20, Arsenal has managed just a stoppage time victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in its subsequent eight matches as its Premier League and Champions League hopes evaporated. Finishing outside the top three would have been unthinkable a few weeks ago when Arsenal still harbored genuine hopes of ending its five-year wait for a trophy but it could face a jittery final day at home to Europa League finalist Fulham. Van Persie gave Arsenal an early lead, heading in a corner. Rovers leveled through David Dunn's tap-in shortly before halftime and Chris Samba beat Lukasz Fabianski with another header midway through the second half to seal victory for mid-table Rovers. Cup success for Dowie Everton beat Arsenal 3-2 after extra time Monday to win the FA Women's Cup for the first time, thanks to two goals from the niece of Hull City boss Iain Dowie. Hull was relegated from the English Premier League Monday after a 2-2 draw at Wigan. But there was some joy for the Tigers manager's family as Natasha Dowie scored twice at the City Ground, the home of Nottingham Forest, hitting the winner. ‘Blanc offered France job' Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc has been offered the chance to replace France coach Raymond Domenech after the World Cup, French football federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes has revealed. Escalettes, quoted by the French daily Sud Ouest ahead of Bordeaux's 1-0 win over Toulouse Sunday, said the ball was now in the court of the former World Cup and European championship winner. “Laurent Blanc is under contract until 2011. There are four Ligue 1 games left, he has to be allowed to work in peace. Then he will decide. No one can decide for him,” he said.
