Chelsea is a machine. Indestructible. Precise. Physical. Flawless. Arsenal is the total opposite. They’re more fluid, and play a beautiful brand of football that is easy on the eye. When the two opposing forces came together on Sunday afternoon, few would have predicted how Chelsea completely tore the Gunners apart, leaving behind an Arsenal side that looked lifeless on the green, wet pitch at Emirates Stadium.

If this wasn’t proof that Chelsea is going to run away with the Premier League title, I don’t know what is. In fact, I’ll go on record as saying that there’s no other team in Europe right now that can stop them from winning the Champions League trophy. Yes, they’re that good.

The most impressive aspect of Chelsea’s performance today was not up front where they scored three goals, but in defense. Chelsea’s defending was spectacular. But it wasn’t just the marking or the way their players came back to crowd the penalty box that impressed me the most, it was the pure physicality of Chelsea’s defense. And not physical in a negative way. Chelsea were physically bigger and stronger than Arsenal’s players who looked like pipsqueaks and were easily knocked off the ball (Nasri, Fabregas, Vela, Arshavin, Walcott, Denilson, Eduardo, and so on).

To be fair to Arsenal, the goal that the Gunners scored that was disallowed should have been ruled a goal. But as is often the case, annoyingly so, the referee gave an unfair advantage to Petr Cech despite Eduardo’s fair challenge for the ball. Despite that unfortunate decision by the ref, Arsenal will not be looking forward to the potential enquiry from the Football Association after one of their spectators threw a hand-held camera on to the pitch. Plus after Drogba scored Chelsea’s first goal, a rain of objects were thrown on the pitch including plastic bottles.

Calling Chelsea a machine is not meant to take anything away from how skillful Ancelotti’s side is. It’s just how perfect they seem to play their football in an almost machine-like manner where it seems impossible to beat them. Manchester United looks human next to Chelsea, capable of making basic errors and full of weaknesses, while Chelsea cruise forward seemingly with ease.

For Arsenal, it was another oh-so familiar game of football. Despite maintaining a lionshare of possession throughout the game, the side looks wimpy, was guilty of not taking shots when they had opportunities, took too many touches of the ball and appeared too predictable when moving forward. In comparison to Chelsea, the Blues were more direct with their football, more spontaneous and looked far more threatening when they had the ball in the final third.

Even with the addition of Theo Walcott, Arsenal lacked an explosive spark. The young Englishman who played down the right wing was far too reminiscent of a meandering Shaun Wright-Phillips as Walcott cruised down the wing but couldn’t do anything with the ball, often losing it underfoot or failing to get in a decisive cross.

Simply put, Arsenal was outplayed by a brilliant Chelsea side that achieved a massive psychological advantage of destroying the Gunners on their own turf. If Arsenal looked this bad at the Emirates, imagine how good Chelsea will look when they play the return match at Stamford Bridge.

So while Chelsea supporters, players and personnel will not admit it, the Premier League title is definitely in Chelsea’s bag and it’s not even the beginning of December yet. Chelsea is five points ahead of United, but in all reality Chelsea is miles in front of Manchester United in terms of confidence and performances. After all, Chelsea have now beaten Arsenal 3-0, Liverpool 2-0 and Manchester United 1-0. I don’t see anyone stopping them now.

Photo credit: Soccergoalx1.

“Giggs looking to pick out Rooney… who’s got there, is that a penalty kick?! What does Mike Dean say?! He says penalty!”

This whole routine is getting a little old, isn’t it? Screw diamonds, refereeing mistakes are forever. It’s like the referees all convene and decide whose turn it is to make mistake and forbid us from ever forgetting how truly inadequate they are. Just when we’re about to move on from one refereeing saga, the Eduardo dive, Wayne Rooney provides the perfect half-dive(he was already going down, but there was contact) to remind us of the skinny men(excluding Howard Webb) in black. Pretty good timing though, being international week and all. Thanks, Wayne.

It’s really unfair to demonize the referees without looking first at those who bestowed such an enviable task upon them – the FA, FIFA, and UEFA. Instead of giving referees a requisite arsenal for calling a fair and accurate match, they provide them with an extreme protectionism that only vilifies them more. What I mean by this is similar to what Arsene Wenger meant when he labeled Eduardo’s ban a “disgrace.” Although I believe Wenger worsened his case with some of his comments, particularly trying to defend Eduardo with claims of contact being made or mentions of his injury, he makes one very good point. UEFA retrospectively overruled a decision the referee had dealt with on the pitch, something that has always been forbidden by the FA and UEFA. We are constantly reminded: if the referee did not take action, the governing body cannot take action. The governing bodies do this to protect the referees and credit them with the final word. This was cited as the reason Jose Bosingwa was not banned for clear red-card kick on Benayoun and why Michael Ballack was not punished after the Barcelona match, just to name two examples. UEFA seem so eager to protect the decisions made by the referee that they blindly accept reversible mistakes. With the Eduardo ban, UEFA prove themselves to be hypocrites.

In last year’s Champions League semi-final between Arsenal and Manchester United, Darren Fletcher brilliantly stuck in a toe to legally win the ball from Cesc Fabregas, and he was handed a red-card. The only way to get the unjust red-card overturned, UEFA said, is if the referee mistook Fletcher for another person – in which case a different person would be banned for a legal challenge. As they always do, UEFA came to the rescue of the referee and punished the player – who actually plays the sport – with a Champions League Final suspension. In fact, Eduardo was not banned for simulation, he was banned for “deceiving the referee.” If they charge him for simulation, they accept that the referee made a mistake, but when they charge him for “deceiving the referee,” they make the referee the victim. In his own words Michel Platini removes blame of the referee,

“However, on Wednesday he showed disrespect to the game by his actions in winning a penalty against Celtic.”

The way he phrases this, you’d think Eduardo was the referee and awarded himself the penalty.

This is where I may surprise you. I wanted Eduardo to get banned for cheating, plain and simple. Bans for diving needed to start sometime and now is perfectly suitable.  A friend of mine had a perfect analogy, “Cavemen used to kill each other for sport, does that mean we should never have made a law against murder?” However, in order for UEFA to really make a difference, they’re going to have to change a lot and to be honest, they probably won’t.

First, the next time Ronaldo, Messi or Kaka clearly dives in the Champions League, they should be banned for two matches. If they want to show they’re serious, they can make an example of a superstar and show football what nobody believes, that UEFA is unbiased. Second, the players need to be protected, not the referees. Why punish a player or a team to protect the least profitable and marketable aspect of the game, the referees? All decisions should be available for overruling if they are clearly incorrect. Lastly, give referees the technologies that any supporter of football has from his living room. The problem is that the governing bodies are run by older people whose playing days didn’t know anything of instant replay. The game has changed and technology has changed but sadly, they have not. This leads me to believe that instant replay and goal-line technology are inevitable, seeing as they are supported by the majority, just not the right majority. Adding an extra referee will further the problem, not solve it. If you’re playing with a flat football, do you go and get another flat football? As Slaven Bilic famously said, “Wake up.”

Some managers may be cursing Mark Hughes and Manchester City, with their bucketloads of cash and a needy addiction to trying to sign every troublesome and moody striker in the world. Yet, Arsene Wenger may be quiet relieved after this weekend though as Emanuel Adebayor joined the Eastlands revolution ending his 3 year spell at Arsenal. In public he may say he’s disappointed to lose him, but £25 million sure makes the pain disappear rather quickly.

After the tiresome and rather obvious pleading that Adebayor went through last summer, trying to engineer a move to join A.C. Milan, Wenger should be pleased to receive a staggering £25 million for the Togolese striker. Despite a little wavering on the part of the striker, no doubt still hankering after that phone call to come from the San Siro, Manchester City finally confirmed the deal yesterday.

With Eduardo’s return to fitness, coupled with the return of Tomas Rosicky, both after nightmare periods of injury bound inactivity, Wenger now has money to spend on players more suited to the team ethic he has created at the Emirates. Adebayor, despite his goal return of 16 last season, gave the impression of a man who wanted to be somewhere else. The wages of £80,000 a week he managed to squeeze out of Arsenal due to his continual flirting with Italy and Spain last summer were obviously a burden for him.

Arsenal’s fans however were not impressed with his efforts for the Gunners last season. Using the template that earned Michael Owen so much scorn, they created a similar brochure offering Adebayor’s talents to the highest bidder. I have to say I found it rather amusing, if somewhat bizarre, to then discover that Adebayor wanted a “loyalty” bonus as he hadn’t asked to leave. Bless him.

The general feeling from the supporters seems to be one of good riddance, the whole Milan saga souring any relationship they had with player. They doubted his commitment, effort and willingness to fight for the cause last season, despite his hefty wage increase. Wenger however has been more complementary towards him. ‘We have lost a great player and we wish him well. He’s done extremely well for the club. I don’t believe that last season he got enough support. That was playing a part in my mind and in his mind, certainly, as well.”

Of course, the onus will now be on bringing in some more firepower to improve the Arsenal front line but is it required? Arsenal currently have 6 players who can fill the roles up front for Wenger. As I mentioned, Eduardo has returned and will be looking forward to getting a good preseason under his belt. Walcott will be hoping to get more time on the pitch and finally cement a regular place in the starting line up. After a disappointing Under 21 tournament this summer, he’ll be keen to kick on this season.

Robin van Persie will be desperate to finally put his injury ravaged run behind him and finally prove his worth to the fans and his manager.There is no doubting Van Persie’s talents, but he does still appear fragile to the demands and rigours of top level football. Bendtner often flatters to deceive and needs to show more consistency. Knocking stupidly coloured boots on the head and simply scoring goals would be a good start.

Of the current crop, the one who will be interesting to see how he develops is Andrey Arshavin. Arshavin will be keen to build on the flashes of genius he showed last season and got 6 goals in 12 league games, including 4 at Anfield. He could be Wenger’s ace in the pack next year and he’ll certainly light up the pitch with his range of skills. Finally, is this the season Carlos Vela breaks through to cement a permanant place in the match day squad? Precocious and technically gifted, Vela has the chance to show people just why he is so hotly tipped in games other than Carling Cup games.

If Wenger seeks to bring in another striker, the only type they don’t posses is a battering ram centre forward. Someone who can get amongst central defenders like Terry, Vidic, Woodgate and Carragher and cause them problems. Whilst Bendtner is tall enough, he lacks the physical presence that Adebayor offered. Whatever comes of the funds City have sent Arsene’s way,you can be certain of one thing; the money won’t be wasted.

Sorry Drogba, but I have to call BS on this one.

After spending this season doing more sulking than any professional football player should be allowed to do by law, and in a week where Marseille’s president has said he wants Drogba back, Didier Drogba has attempted to shut people up by saying he wants to stay at Chelsea. He even wants to get a contract extension.

Look Drogba, get out. After showing your lack of professionalism by not bothering to fight for your spot up front when Scolari was around, you think that it’s okay to all of a sudden have a change of heart because of the new manager? You think it’s okay to do more flopping around than Cristiano Ronaldo and Steven Gerrard combined? Even worse to me, you think it’s okay to take your jolly sweet time to come back from injury? Yes I will admit that by that time, Scolari had had enough of your dog and pony act and your attitude deserved nothing but the bench. However when you are benched, you fight for a spot on the team, not fight to get the manager removed.

It’s going to an awfully long time for me as a Chelsea fan to warm back up to your performances. If you only had the balls to play like you did against Liverpool in last season’s Champions League semi-final second leg, you might actually be respected as a footballer. Instead, your words ring hollow, no one cares about your prepared statement.

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So Jimmy Bullard is going to be out another lengthy spell of time. This time, Hull City could be without their record signing for up to nine months. While Fulham is sitting back counting their money, Hull City have to be wondering if Bullard will be able to get anywhere near the form he had coming back for Fulham. At 30, that’s going to be a difficult task. Yes Paul Duffen, this was a gamble that didn’t pay off.

What’s 2 weeks to Eduardo? The time it will take to come back from the hammy he suffered in his return to Arsenal first team action.

You have to give David Moyes credit. He is going to do everything in his power to make sure Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling gradually work their way into regular first team action. The last thing Everton need is for these two to have something happen where they have to be built back up from scratch. I think these two will be just fine.

Ian Herbert is asking if this Manchester United squad is the greatest Premier League team ever?

Joe Kinnear looks set to leave the hospital this weekend. I hope part of his orders is to not watch Newcastle/Everton on Sunday.

Here’s Christopher Samba coming out and saying that Blackburn are ‘too good to go down’. Umm..sure.

And finally, Giofranco Zola goes off on the bencher. You know, the big shot at the small club who takes the big contract to ride the bench at a bigger club.

Now that Eduardo is back, I was expecting this one. Last year when the injury happened, we got headlines galore about no apology being made. Tonight, that same headline is back.

Of course there is two sides to every story, and Martin Taylor certainly has his. He claims to have done everything to apologize after Eduardo came out of surgery, but even Taylor admits that Eduardo probably doesn’t remember it due to the drugs. Taylor then admits to doing everything possible to keep up on Eduardo’s progress. Yet, no apology…at least one Eduardo remembers.

I know it’s difficult to apologize for anything, accidents in particular. And it’s even stranger that some people want them more than others. But for Eduardo almost a year to again say that he has yet to receive a formal apology directly from Martin Taylor just doesn’t make sense to me. Does Eduardo think that he’s going to get one now?

Martin Taylor in the Daily Mail had every opportunity to say I’m sorry. Instead, Taylor just wanted to reflect on how happy he was that Eduardo was back, the death threats he received, and what would happen if the two played against each other. That tells me we probably never will read about Eduardo getting one directly from Taylor. It’s a pity, if there is anything to say ‘I’m sorry’ about, an accidental tackle that left a player out of the game he loves for a year would be it.

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Harry Redknapp is placing their UEFA Cup tie against Shakhtar Donetsk at the bottom of the priority list. Getting out of the fight for relegation and staying in the Premier League is just a little more important than the extra two games the round of 32 brings.

I would like to thank Stiliyan Petrov for letting the whole world know he can’t make a decision on his own. Instead of deciding for himself without any outside influences helping to make up his mind about staying at Aston Villa, he’s going to wait and see what Gareth Barry does before deciding if he stays or goes. Talk about the ultimate cop-out.

Thank you Arsene Wenger for finally admitting Arsenal have no shot at the title this year. At least he’s also right in saying that Manchester United right now are untouchable.

The famous Colorado doctor Richard Steadman has a new patient, Jimmy Bullard. No wonder why Fulham was so quick to sell him for only five million pounds after he was starting to get a sniff around the England National Team. I guess the bigger question now for Hull is if Bullard will play again this season?

Two more footballers have been charged in the same assault case that Steven Gerrard was charged in. These players though play for Accrington Stanley.

In a suck up to fans move, Mike Ashley will cut the price of a season ticket in order to keep fans coming to St. James Park.

FC Copenhagen boss Stale Solbakken feels that all the money Manchester City have will end up destroying football. Gotta love bulletin board material.

Mark Hughes though has finally had it with City’s players with regards to their away form. Mark, don’t you think it’s a little too late for that statement?

Marseille president is saying he’ll do everything he can to resign Didier Drogba. Works for me.

I have to admit when I first read this I simply went ‘that’s it’. But that was my first reaction to when I read that Arsenal are set to offer Theo Walcott a 50,000 a week deal to keep him at the club.

And finally in a move that I can only put into the category of ‘boy Chelsea are desperate to show their fans they are moving forward’, around 5,000 people showed up for a Chelsea training session on Tuesday.

I have to admit this is one return I am glad to see.

After getting match fit in the reserves, and helping Croatia to a friendly victory, Eduardo Da Silva returned to the Arsenal starting eleven in glorious fashion Monday night as his two goals blasted Arsenal into the fifth round of the FA Cup in a 4-0 defeat of Cardiff City.

Last year when we saw Eduardo’s horrific injury, I seriously doubted Eduardo would be back in eighteen months, much less 24. To be back in less than twelve is a credit to modern medicine.

For Eduardo every game now has to be a dream. The roar from the Emirates crowd when he headed on Vela’s ball spine tingling. While granted this was Cardiff City, Eduardo looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.

His return to the first team should be a much needed boost for Arsenal’s chances of finishing inside the top four. The only hope for me is that Eduardo bounces back from that first hard tackle that will probably be intentionally coming once he starts again in the Premier League.

It was indeed the perfect dream return for Eduardo. Here’s to many more happy returns.

There was other big Arsenal news tonight. Red and White Holdings Limited, the Alisher Usmanov group, has announced they have increased their stake in Arsenal. Now at 25 percent, they are inching their way closer to the magical thirty percent number. That is the percentage that would require formal takeover talks to begin.

Furthermore, at twenty-five percent, Usmanov can now block attempts by the Arsenal board at changing the financial structure of the club or the transfer of equity to other board members.

While it doesn’t look likely a formal takeover bid could happen in the short term, one does have to wonder what Usmanov’s intentions are with the club? Having twenty-five percent of the club, he’s been an awfully silent partner with the club. Though with share prices about twenty-five percent lower since Usmanov’s initial purchase, could we see a takeover bid? All it would take is a percentage of Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s shares.

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Everton have shone up the services of Jack Rodwell for the next five years. With his performances of late, he deserves it. I know it’s early, and he’s no Wayne Rooney, but will Rodwell be one of these people who will want to move on in a few years time?

Guus Hiddink is worried about his players fitness. I guess age and not being at AC Milan will do that.

Rafa Benitez is claiming that he wants his Liverpool future sorted soon…and denying he wants total control of transfers. Usually when the quote reads ‘I would like to clear one thing up – I have never asked for complete control’, that usually means you have.

Robinho is doubtful for Manchester City as FC Copenhagen approaches midweek in the UEFA Cup.

Here’s the latest player to complain about English food. That person, Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Roman Abramovich has seen his wealth drop to 13.9 billion dollars. At the rate he fires managers, it won’t take long for that wealth to be zero.

And Newcastle United could be getting Mark Viduka, Obafemi Martins and Alan Smith back for their clash against Everton. However for Mark Viduka, he won’t be back next season.

358 days have passed since one of the worst injuries I’ve ever seen in a live game was sustained by Eduardo Da Silva against Birmingham City on February 23rd 2008. It make me cringe, I was shocked and stunned and urged the medical staff on to help him as quickly as they could. The players looked badly shaken and a hush descended on the crowd. Forget some of the nonsense comments that followed that game, Martin Taylor was simply late in going for the tackle and caught the Croatian badly, of that there is no doubt, but it was accidental, Taylor is no thug. It could have been the end of Eduardo’s career, no question. Tonight saw that injury consigned to history as Eduardo inspired Arsenal to an emphatic 4-0 victory over Cardiff City in the F.A.Cup 4th round replay at the Emirates Stadium.  People were keen to see the return but did anyone expect him to perform so well, so quickly. His movement, his pace and his eye for goal weren’t diminished in the slightest at all tonight, only his match fitness began to suffer as the match went on but Arsene Wenger is not one to forget the power of emotion. He removed Eduardo from the action enabling him to receive a standing ovation after 67 minutes from the Arsenal faithful. It was a delightful moment in football and a fitting gesture from Wenger.

It was an emotional and positive end to a year of hell for the young striker and everyone connected with Arsenal will be delighted to see his contribution have such a positive effect on the team and the fans. Cardiff may have given a great account of themselves in the first game at Ninian Park 3 weeks ago, but today they were blown away by Arsenal and have their on loan goalkeeper Tom Heaton to thank for keeping the score at 4-0. Arsenal were rampant.

The nicest moment tonight was the hug Eduardo shared with the Arsenal medical staff after slotting the penalty home, a real touching gesture and one that was completely genuine. It was a heartwarming sight to see such joy on everyone’s faces and says so much about the player and his relationship with Gary Lewin and the rest of the medical team. There’s no doubt in my mind that Lewin’s prompt action at St Andrews last season saved Eduardo’s career along with the unsung assistance of Gilberto Silva’s role as translator as Eduardo, in his pain, could only speak in his native Portuguese. Silva kept Eduardo from passing out, talking to him, cajoling him, urging him to stay conscious. That hug summed up the immense respect that both men have for each other and it’s rare to see such mutual admiration and thanks these days in football.

The impact this return could have on the final weeks of the season cannot be underestimated for Arsenal now. There are 13 league games to go, Eduardo is back, Arshavin is primed to join the fray and with Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky pushing for returns before the end of the season, the confidence that seeing Eduardo back on a pitch can give Arsenal now is a massive and timely boost. Players will want to be back and share the feel good factor that seeing the Croat play competitively again has given whole camp and Arsene Wenger will know that you cannot buy the confidence such moments as tonight bring you. It is priceless and for Arsenals season, it cannot come soon enough. Do not rule out Arsenal of finishing in the top 4 just yet, the Eduardo factor has just begun and who knows where it could take Arsenal come May 24th.

The news that Arsenal’s Croatian striker Eduardo Da Silva will be back playing within the next three weeks was one of the highlights that emerged from the clubs Annual General Meeting yesterday.

The Brazilian-born forward was a vital part of the Arsenal team that had charged to the top of the Premier League last season until a horror tackle from Birmingham City’s Martin Taylor ended his season and ruled him out of the summer’s European Championships.

That game at St Andrews was a particularly bad one for the Gunners as, along with Eduardo’s injury, Arsenal gave away a last minute penalty that saw them draw 2-2 and captain William Gallas throw an almighty strop. This was a pivotal moment in their title challenge and it was one from which they never recovered.
Huge credit must go to the doctors, physios and Eduardo himself for getting back to fitness so soon. The horrific images from the incident left many to think whether he would play again.

To put the speed of Eduardo’s recovery into perspective would be to look at the plight of his team-mate Tomas Rosicky. The Czech captain limped off in Arsenal’s home victory against Newcastle on January 29th with a hamstring problem. Complications with the injury and an additional knee problem mean that he is not expected to be back playing until after Christmas.

Eduardo’s return will be a huge boost to Wenger as he is a popular member of the squad and his injury had a huge effect on the team morale. He will also give them another striking option as his neat link-up play and predatory instincts have been missed. While Carlos Vela is a very similar player to the Croat, at 19 he is not yet ready to lead the line.

Wenger also used the AGM to have a little dig at the media and the Emirates crowd after booing could be heard on the half-time whistle against Everton last weekend, with his young team trailing 1-0. He said: “I am personally very proud. But I believe this team needs a strong guide to go through difficult periods, because at the moment I do not feel that, either from the media or our supporters, that this team gets the support that it deserves.”

The Arsenal Supporters Trust back what the manager had to say. A statement from the AST said: “”The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust shares Arsene Wenger’s view that the matchday atmosphere at the Emirates sometimes needs galvanising.
“Sometimes Arsenal’s fans forget just how young our players are given their quality and that they need encouragement on the pitch.”

Wenger highlighted how well the club is set for the future both on the pitch and off. He said: “First of all I feel the Club is well-managed financially and I am very proud that we live within the resources we create from our own business and we do not need external income. I feel that is very important for the future of the Club.
“Another big reason to be optimistic is that we have been very consistent. Through the years we have always been at the top level and we always want to win trophies but the most difficult thing to achieve is consistency.”

Chairman Peter Hill-Wood also moved to reassure fans that the club would not sell out to foreign owners. Saying: “Arsenal runs through my veins and we do not want control handed over to somebody who has not got Arsenal in their blood. Rest assured, we are not going to sell out to the first man who comes along”

Wenger went on to talk up the success that their academy is having in producing young English players and believes that soon they will see the benefit. “I would like to say as well is the structure of our team is fantastic, but very young. That means that tomorrow will be better than yesterday.
“It means as well that nothing dramatic will happen to this Club. For years we have had a foreign influx but we have worked hard with young English talent. They will be ready within one or two years to produce results.”

There was also some exciting news away from the AGM as Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp hinted to BBC reporters that he would like to return to the club one day. Bergkamp, who is working with Ajax while he acquires his coaching badges, was in North London yesterday alongside another Dutch legend, Johan Cruyff, at the opening of a new football facility. He said: “”People ask me the question if I could come back to England one day to coach and I say yes.
“I always enjoyed it here and it’s a fantastic country to be involved in football. Maybe in the future I will be back in some way.”

Arsenal 2- Birmingham 2 Eduardo’s injury – a horrific broken leg – stole the headlines.   But, it did not decisively affect the outcome.  Luck controlled much of it.  Birmingham capitalized upon one free kick – a questionable call – and one penalty – a blatantly wrong call.  Fabregas had two goal-worthy efforts, one stopped by Taylor and the other by the post.

Adebayor’s performance was as shocking as  his short hair.  He fluffed an open breakaway.  He also failed to square a ball to testy teammate Nicklas Bendtner.  Both would likely have clinched victory for Arsenal.

Walcott’s effort encourages, however.  His talent is elite without question, but his confidence and decision-making ability has been sub-par.  However, he put in a fine effort for a brace, his first two goals in the Premier League.  He adeptly slotted in the first goal, and his second, a few minutes later, was magnificent.

The draw drops Arsenal to three points above Manchester United.  The Gunners will hope their bad weak was a blip, not a sign of weakness.

Newcastle 1 – Manchester United 5  In case anyone was unaware, Rooney and Ronaldo are pretty good.  It was an exhaustingly easy effort from the Red Devils.  Newcastle played in a cloud, with neither coherence nor discipline in tactics.  The back four could not fall apart, because it never came together initially.  Even the one Titus Bramble’s part-time competence would have been preferred.

Newcastle’s question is not how long before Keegan gets canned, but how long before he suffers a nervous breakdown and quits.  They reside only six points clear of relegation, with eleven matches remaining.

Liverpool 3 – Middlesbrough 2 Individual brilliance once again saved Liverpool, as Torres took control with a marvelous hat-trick.  Carragher’s cards cost the team at the back, but exonerates none for the poor performance.  Southgate’s side showed themselves excellently.  With some luck and a consistent striker, that club could be challenging for a European place.