Arsenal beats Liverpool 2 – 0 to extend their Lead at the top to five points as Man City thrash Norwich 7 - 0.

It was yet another exciting and busy weekend in the English Premier League with a clash of titans in the late kick off on Saturday involving league leaders Arsenal and third placed Liverpool at the Emirates.

Ramsey scores the second for Arsenal from 25 yards.

Arsenal showed resilience and quality to maintain their fine start to the season and stretch their advantage by beating Liverpool 2 – nil. Santi Cazorla gave Arsenal the lead with a fine first-half strike after his header struck the post and Aaron Ramsey scored his 10th goal of this campaign with a spectacular long-range effort on the hour. It can be argued that the win was down to Cazorla and Ramsey for their goals but captain Mikel Arteta gave a midfield masterclass which overshadowed his Livepool counterparts, setting the platform for a crucial win. The defensive discipline of Arsenal’s back four also contributed significantly to the win because Sturridge and Suarez were kept quite the whole game and had very few chances. Arsenal’s advanced midfielders; Carzola, Ozil and Ramsey roamed the field with such worrying ease that resulted in a comfortable win to push the Gunners five points clear at the top.

In the early kick off Chelsea were away to Newcastle United at St James Pack and what was thought to be a routine three points in the bag and a chance to move to the top of the league’s standings turned horribly wrong. Newcastle who have had a bad start to this campaign turned the heat on Chelsea and beat them by two goals to nil. They grew in confidence from a solid defensive first half and their offensive play in the second half paid off when Gouffran headed home Yohan Cabaye's free-kick. The final nail on Chelsea’s coffin came when Roic Remy curled in a shot from Vurnon Anita's pass. Apparently Mourinho has never won a single game at the Magpies home ground.

Manchester United who were away to Fulham continued their resurgence with a 3 – 1 win over Fulham. They scored three goals in a span of 13 minutes to pile pressure on Martin Jol. Antonio Valencia gave the defending champions the lead with an easy finish while Robin van Persie scored the second by rifling in at the near post before Rooney tapped in after 22 minutes. Fulham responded through Alex Kacanilic’s deflected shot with Darren Bent hitting the bar.

Sunderland suffered their eighth defeat in 10 premier league games after Lee Cattermole and Andre Dossena were sent off in the first half at Hull. An own goal by Carlos Cuellar earned Hull manager Steve Bruce victory over his former club at the KC Stadium. The result means Sunderland remain at second last with only 4 points.

Manchester City highlighted their credentials as title contenders with an emphatic win over jaded Norwich. City’s attacking took centre stage as the thrashed their opponents 7 – 0. Bradley Johnson’s own goal put City ahead before David Silva, Matija Nastasic and Alvaro Negredo struck. Yaya toure scored a free-kick, Sergio Aguero fired in before substitute Edin Dzeko swept home a seventh. This win is City’s biggest in the EPL. Norwish dropped into the bottom three. City are now fifth after Totenham’s goal les draw with Everton on Sunday.

Stoke who were playing Southampton at Britannia Stadium earned a one all draw courtesy of a goal from their goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. It was a bizarre goal which came from a long kick 97.5 yards away from goal. The kick cleared Southampton’s defence before bouncing over visiting goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Southampton restored parity when Jay Rodriguez scored the equalizer.

West Brom who were at home beat Crystal Palace 2 – 0 thanks to goals from Saido Berahino and Gareth McAuley.

West Ham drew 0 - 0 with Aston Villa. This ended a run of three home premier league deafeats. Christian Benteke came closest to scoring for the visitors when he headed Matthew Lowton's deep cross against the crossbar from six yards out.

Everton and Tottenham both passed up the chance to go second in the Premier Laegue after a frustrating standoff. Roberto Soldado missed with a header from Aaron Lennon’s cross. Hosts Everton improved after the interval ans they saw a penalty appeal rejected when Seamus Coleman went down under Jan Vertonghen’s challenge. Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris played on despite suffering a heavy knock to the head from Romelu Lukaku.

In the Welsh Derby, Cardiff City beat Swansea 1 nil to move above them in 12^th place with 12 points while Swansea moved down one position to 13^th with 11 points from ten games. Steven Caulker’s towering header gave Cardiff victory. He rose above visiting defender Chico Flores after 62 minutes to direct Craig Bellamy’s corner past goalkeeper Michel Vorm.

 

Great results for the top teams in the English Premier League

Luis Suarez scores against West Brom at Anfield

Well well well..... the English Premier League season 2013-2014 is well underway and nine games down the line, Arsenal is still at the top of the log with 22 points thanks to the inform Ramsey who has scored five premier league goals this season and their top quality signing from Real Madrid Mezut Ozil not forgetting Mathieu Flamini, followed by Chelsea on 20 points same as Liverpool who have an inferior goal difference. Tottenham have 19 points, Southampton 18, same as Everton while Manchester City have 16 points. Former champions Manchester United have 14 points showing the transition from Alex Fergusson their former manager to their new one David Moyes hasn’t been easy.

Last weekend saw Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace. Arsenal managed to get a win of 2 – 0 with Arteta turning from hero to villain. He scored the first goal from the penalty spot following a foul on Gnabry but got sent off rather harshly for a foul on former gooner Chamakh, 35 yards away from goal. Arsenal got the second goal from the hardworking Giroud with the assist coming from one Ramsey ‘Rambo’.

Chelsea got a huge result against Man City at Stamford Bridge beating them 2 – 1 thanks to Torres capitalising on a Joe Hart mistake on ninety minutes. He continued with his fine form from his Champions League exploits to punish Man City towards. He had missed a great opportunity to put Chelsea ahead but turned provider for the opening goal for his team which was tucked in by Andre Schurrle.

Manchester United put a stop to their terrible start in defence of the title by coming back from behind twice to beat Stoke 3 goals to 2 at Old Trafford.

Liverpool who are a team that appear unstoppable at the moment due to the great partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge upfront comprehensively beat West Brom 4 – 1 at Anfield with the Uruguayan scoring a hat-trick.

Tottenham Hotspur beat a stubborn Hull City from the penalty spot to earn a crucial three points.

The season is quite unpredictable with the number one spot having exchanged between so many teams, I have even lost count. Maybe the top six teams excluding Manchester United who are having  a difficult post Alex Fergusson season. Arsenal have remained at the top for several weeks though and whether that continues remains to be seen bearing in mind they will be meeting with Liverpool next Saturday (Nov 2) at the Emirates Stadium..... for now let’s see how Asene Wenger boys perform in the League One Cup tie against Chelsea tonight.

Photo Courtesy: BBC SPORT 

Whats' next for Arsenal after Thrashing Tottenham 5 - 2?

It was yet a great weekend of football in the English Premier League. Manchester City was at home to Blackburn, Manchester United away at Norwich City, Chelsea at home to Bolton and the biggest clash of all was on Sunday the 26^th February. It was the north London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs. Liverpool was not in action in the premier league but were playing in the Carling Cup final at Wembley where they beat Cardiff City 3 – 2 on post match penalties to lift the cup.

Tomas Rocisky celebrates after scoring Arsenal's third goal

The Gunners were at home – Emirates Stadium and they desperately needed a win after a disastrous week where they lost by four goals to nil in Milan, AC Milan all but knocking them out of The Champions League ahead of their return leg at the Emirates, Sunderland knocked them out of the FA cup where they won by two goals to nil. It was the second visit for the Gunners in seven days after beating the Black Cats 2 – 1 in the premier league.

Spurs - in the ascendancy over Arsenal for so much of the season - looked to be on course for the first back-to-back league wins at the home of their arch-rivals for 86 years as an early goal from Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty put them in a commanding position within 34 minutes.

Arsenal recovered from two goals down to thrash Tottenham 5 – 2, thanks to goals from Sagna, Robin Van Persie and Tomas Rocisky, who was the man of the match as he caused the Spur’s defence a lot of problems. Theo Walcott added a brace to finish the rout in the second half after having a less impressive first half.

This result just gave them not only three points that they really needed but reasserted their superiority in London and restored their pride. The Gunners face Liverpool at Arnfield at 12:45 GMT. This will be an interesting game because both teams are buoyed from their wins the previous weekend and I know many fans can’t wait to watch. Both teams are fighting for the fourth spot together with Chelsea who saw off Bolton Wanderers 3 – 0 at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United needed a late strike from veteran Ryan Giggs who was playing his 900^th game for United to secure all the three points. He converted an Ashley Young's cross at the far post in the 90^th minute and this moved them two points behind league leaders Manchester City. Manchester United will face Tottenham at white hart lane on Sunday.

EPL RESULTS FOR 25^TH/26^TH FEBRUARY 2012

Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham	Sun 26 Feb
Norwich 1-2 Man Utd	Sun 26 Feb
Stoke 2-0 Swansea	Sun 26 Feb
Chelsea 3-0 Bolton	Sat 25 Feb
Newcastle 2-2 Wolves	Sat 25 Feb
QPR 0-1 Fulham	Sat 25 Feb
West Brom 4-0 Sunderland	Sat 25 Feb
Wigan 0-0 Aston Villa	Sat 25 Feb
Man City 3-0 Blackburn	Sat 25 Feb

EPL FIXTURES 3TH MARCH 2012

Liverpool  v  Arsenal	12:45
Blackburn  v  Aston Villa	15:00
Man City v  Bolton	15:00
QPR  v  Everton	15:00
Stoke  v  Norwich	15:00
West Brom v  Chelsea	15:00
Wigan  v  Swansea	15:00

EPL FIXTURES 4TH MARCH 2012

Newcastle  v  Sunderland	12:00
Fulham v  Wolves	14:05
Tottenham v  Man Utd	16:10

What’s your predictions for today’s games?

View Mark Lawrenson's Premier League predictions by clicking here.

Enjoy watching!

Arsenal hits seven past Blackburn as Chelsea is held by Man U at the Bridge!

Arsenal reasserted themselves as serious top four contenders with a thumping victory against a miserable Blackburn Rovers on Saturday the 4^th of Feb, 2012 as Wolves climbed out of the relegation zone with a well deserved win against Queens Park Rangers in an exciting weekend in the Barclays Premier League.

The Gunners hit seven past Blackburn at the emirates with the Arsenal Captain, Robin Van Persie scoring a hartrick. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a brace, Mikel Arteta and Thiery Henry scored one each to make a total of seven goals. The win which was Arsenal’s biggest at the Emirates moved them from seven to fifth position. Their previous record was also againt Blackburn, when they beat them 6 – 2. It was a game of contrast as compared with Arsenal’s previous home games. The Walcot didn’t score on this day but he was impressive almost perfect I must say as he provided three assists. He provided the first two assist to RVP which enableb Van Persie to score a brace -  the first two goals and he also gave an assist to the Ox for his second goal and the fifth of the game.

Blackburn had responded to arsenal’s early lead (82 seconds) in the31st minute through a neatly hit freekick from 18 yards by Morten Gamst Pedersen. From there, it was all downhill for the home side. Rocisky got a rare start while Ramsey warmed the bench and it turned out to be the best decision that Arsene Wenger has made in a very long time because the team kept possession and attacked with pace which has been missing since Ramsey has always looked tired and lacking ideas going forward. I know that Arsenal fans hope that Rocisky starts most games which will be crucial them to reclaim top four spot.

Wolves battled QPR to win 2 – 1 which moved them one point above relegation. Substitute Kevin Doyle scored the winner and provided an assist as Wolves came from behind to beat 10-man QPR and record their first win in 12 games. QPR had taken the lead when debutant Bobby Zamora drove in before Djibril Cisse saw red after he raised a hand to the neck of defender Roger Johnson.

Newcastle beat Aston Villa 2 – 1 on Sunday thanks to the lethal boys from Senegal; Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse. Cisse marked his Newcastle debut with a stunning strike that helped Newcatle beat Villa to move back up to fifth place in the table and leapfrog Arsenal.

Norwich secured their fifth home league win of the season with a 2 nil victory over Bolton, despite losing both centre-halves to first-half injuries.

Manchester city maintained their grip at the top and opened a three pint lead when they beat Fulham by three goals to nil. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Adam Johnson had been tripped by Chris Baird. 

City's lead was then doubled when Baird turned Johnson's cross-shot beyond his own goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Dzeko fired in the third gaol to put the game beyond Fulham. This ensured City maintained their 100% home record in the premier league.

City rivals Manchester United were in action against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. They staged a stirring fightback from three goals down to earn a point against Chelsea. 

Jonny Evans's own goal gave Chelsea an interval lead against the run of play before a stunning volley from Juan Mata 24 seconds after the restart and David Luiz's deflected header appeared to give Chelsea an unassailable advantage. United's hopes were then revived by two penalties awarded by referee Howard Webb - both converted by Wayne Rooney - before substitute Javier Hernandez's header six minutes from time gave them a point.

Livepool played to a goaless draw with Tottenham on Monday night. This mearnt each team gained just one point and thus Liverpool remained in position seven. Luis Suarez's return did little to inspire Liverpool. The Uruguayan returned as a second-half substitute to a rapturous reception after serving an eight-game suspension imposed by the Football Association for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

Below are all the results of a busy weekend in the EPL

Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham     Mon 6 Feb

Newcastle 2-1 Aston Villa  Sun 5 Feb

Chelsea 3-3 Man Utd         Sun 5 Feb

Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn        Sat 4 Feb

Norwich 2-0 Bolton           Sat 4 Feb

QPR 1-2 Wolves               Sat 4 Feb

Stoke 0-1 Sunderland        Sat 4 Feb

West Brom 1-2 Swansea   Sat 4 Feb

Wigan 1-1 Everton            Sat 4 Feb

Man City 3-0 Fulham        Sat 4 Feb

Aston Villa 2-2 QPR         Wed 1 Feb

Blackburn 0-2 Newcastle  Wed 1 Feb

Bolton 0-0 Arsenal            Wed 1 Feb

Fulham 1-1 West Brom     Wed 1 Feb

Sunderland 3-0 Norwich   Wed 1 Feb

Senegal Knocked out of Africa Cup of Nations by co-hosts Equatorial Guinea

As if being beaten in their opening match by Zambia’s Chipolopolo was not enough, the much fancied Teranga Lions were convincingly beaten by the co-hosts Equaorial Guinea by two goals to one, making their last match in group A, against Libya just a formality.

Cisse scored 35 goals in 95 league games for Metz before joining Freiburg

Despite having a unrivalled striking power in the likes of Newcastle United and English premier league second top scorer Demba Ba and Demba Cisse, whom they bought from Bundesliga club Freiburg on 17^th of this month and who is to join the club in a five-and-a-half-year deal, they could not beat the crafty Zambians in the opening match.

They could not master the killer finish in their match against Guinea who had several motivators for winning the match. The Equatorial Guinea team was awarded $1 million for winning their match against Libya and the striker who scored the goal $ 20,000. There was a promise of a similar amount for every match that they won and $ 20,000 to every player who scored a goal from the son of the President.

But it would be harsh to say that their only motivation is money. They are playing at home as the co-hosts and therefore have great support from the home fans and having qualified for the first time, are determined to make history.

Newcastle fans will be smiling all the way to the stadium including Manager Alan Pardew because the two strikers could be back in time for their game against Blackburn.

There is no telling what the combined force of the two will do for their team. Demba Ba has scored 15 league goals so far and Cisse has a great goal scoring record having netted 9 goals in 15 games this season. He will wear the number nine shirt, formerly won by legendary Newcastle and top scorer, Alan Shearer.

Too sad Senegal didn’t live to the expectations of many who thought that they would go ahead and win the African Nations Cup but it’s quite an opposite feeling if you are a Newcastle United fan.