A forum about Latest Development in the Premier league

1. Arsenal buy Diarra of Chelsea [url]http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1104058,00.html[/url]

2. Bouba Diop joins Portsmouth [url]http://www.premierleague.com/page/Headlines/0,,12306~1104069,00.html[/url]

Yakubu scores for Everton on his debut

Week 5 Result

Bolton                   1 - 2   Everton    
Fulham                  3 - 3   Tottenham    
Liverpool                6 - 0   Derby    
Middlesbrough         2 - 0   Birmingham    
Newcastle              1 - 0   Wigan    
Reading                 0 - 3   West Ham
Man. United 1 - 0 Sunderland

Arsenal held out for more than 40 minutes with 10 men to beat Portsmouth.
Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty and Cesc Fabregas's close-range effort put Arsenal in first-half control.

Philippe Senderos saw red for a foul on Kanu when he was the last defender, but Arsenal increased their lead through Tomas Rosicky's powerful strike.

Kanu's bizarre goal gave Portsmouth hope, but Manuel Almunia denied Glen Johnson and John Utaka as the visitors mounted a late rally.

Portsmouth came with a game plan, to defend in numbers and try and hit Arsenal on the break with John Utaka's pace and Kanu's trickery.

Pompey had a penalty shout turned down when Senderos - in for Bakari Sagna - appeared to block Hermann Hreidarsson as Matthew Taylor's corner came in.

But having turned that one down referee Mark Halsey had no hesitation in pointing to the spot at the other end, when Robin van Persie proved too quick for keeper David James.

Adebayor obliged from the spot by sending James the wrong way for his first goal of the season.


Arsenal used the flanks to try and by-pass the massed ranks in the middle.

Alexander Hleb whipped in an inviting cross which any sort of contact from Adebayor would have resulted in a goal and Gael Clichy got down the left flank to fire in a cross which Noe Pamarot almost sliced into his own net.

Portsmouth cleared their heads but their attempts to get back into the game were undone by a tendency to give the ball away cheaply.

It was a tendency which cost Pompey as Arsenal doubled their lead before half-time.

Gilberto Silva's header from Rosicky's corner was actually blocked by Fabregas but the Arsenal midfielder reacted quickly to spin and bury the loose ball from close-range.

Pompey boss Harry Redknapp replaced defenders Lauren and Hreidarsson with midfielders Pedro Mendes and Nico Kranjcar to try and salvage the situation but almost fell further behind when another corner caused panic, with James saving well from Senderos's header.

Referee Halsey handed Portsmouth a route-map back into the game when he sent Senderos off four minutes into the second half.

The referee ruled Senderos pulled Kanu down when the Pompey striker was through on goal, although there looked to be minimal contact.

Almunia could only parry the resulting free-kick taken by Utaka, but Matt Taylor blazed the rebound over the bar from six yards.

Referee Halsey returned the complement by awarding Arsenal a dubious free-kick on the by-line for what appeared to be a shoulder-barge by Distin on Clichy.

Portsmouth switched off as Fabregas tapped the ball to Rosicky who drove his shot through three Pompey players, including Glen Johnson's legs.

Within seconds, Pompey pulled one back through a freak goal as Kanu tried to control Utaka's cross and saw the ball ricochet in off his standing leg.

Substitute Abou Diaby should have restored Arsenal's three-goal cushion when he rounded off a stunning move by heading Clichy's cross wide from six yards.

Glen Johnson almost made them pay with a swerving shot that Almunia could only parry and as Arsenal dozed at a free-kick Utaka warmed Almunia's palms.



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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"If Kanu wasn't offside, then the referee had no choice but to send him off.
"We are where we want to be at this point in the season, and that's a good basis.

"In the first half we showed tremendous quality, and in the second half we were tested mentally and physically."


Pompey boss Harry Redknapp:

"You've got to be at your best to live with Arsenal but you can't gift them goals like we did.
"Their third goal was as bad as anything I've seen, players were switching off, walking away and not looking at the ball.

"You don't walk off and think about something else, that's what we did and we got punished."


BBC Sport

A debut goal from Zat Knight and a late Gabriel Agbonlahor strike saw Aston Villa end Chelsea's 18-match unbeaten streak in the league.

Knight climbed above Didier Drogba to head in a Gareth Barry corner in the second minute of the second half.

Chelsea threw everything at Villa in the final half an hour but came up against a determined Villa backline.

Salomon Kalou dragged a shot wide before Villa broke and Agbonlahor stabbed in Ashley Young's driven cross.

It was a frustrating afternoon for Jose Mourinho at Villa Park, where Chelsea have not won since 1999.

But it was a terrific game for the neutral - not to mention the Villa fans - with a Agbonlahor shot on the turn beaten out by Petr Cech firing an early warning sign that Martin O'Neill's side meant business.

John Terry headed over and Shaun Wright-Phillips saw a shot well turned round the post by Scott Carson as Chelsea began to move up the gears.

It was real end-to-end stuff with the quartet of Young, Agbonlahor, John Carew and Luke Moore providing a new-look Chelsea backline with plenty to think about.

Drogba was not enjoying his most profitable of afternoons as Villa's own reworked defence made him fight for everything.

He showed great strength to hold off Martin Laursen, but having done the physical work he could not add the finishing touch and shot wide from the edge of the area.

A lively Wright-Phillips lashed into the side-netting but there was a let-off for Chelsea just before half-time when a Young cross fell for Barry only for Moore to get in his way attempting an ambitious overhead kick.

Villa have yet to score a league goal in the first half this season, but whatever manager Martin O'Neill says at half-time seems to be working.

Within a minute of the kick off Young had a shot tipped over by Cech and from Barry's corner Knight climbed above Drogba to head powerfully past Cech.

It was his second goal in successive games from £3.5m capture Knight - the other an own goal for Fulham on his last visit that also helped provide Villa with the three points.

Mourinho wasted no time in throwing Claudio Pizarro on, soon to be followed by Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou.

But despite plenty of possession and some nervous moments for the home side, Chelsea struggled to come up with clear-cut chances.

Their best chance of an equaliser looked from a set-piece, with Terry heading over from one of their succession of corners.

Kalou shot wide from a promising position but as Chelsea poured forward they left themselves open to Villa's pace and when Young broke down the left his driven effort was guided in by Agbonlahor.


BBC Sport

And the Blues get a real ass whupping they deserve