After all the transfers on deadline day, I've been eagerly anticipating the return of the Premier League. The window is now shut and all the focus can be placed on the pitch, instead of wondering who is coming in and who is going out. For some the season begins now after shaky starts, while others will be hoping to pick up where they left off and continue a run of good form.
Arsenal are one of those clubs who will hope to be starting fresh. Arsene Wenger made a move to bring in some support after the thrashing at Old Trafford. In come Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun to help shore up the midfield, direct replacements for Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Per Mertesacker has also been brought in by Wenger, the German will add much needed experience to a struggling back line.
The bad news for Arsenal, Jack Wilshere is out longer than expected, maybe until the New Year. Thomas Vermaelen is also ruled out for a couple of months after injuring his achilles. Coming into the match against Swansea City the Gunners needed a positive result to boost moral. Things did not start well, Danny Graham fought off his defender to get a piece of a nice cross by Kemy Agustein, but Wojciech Szczesny made a fantastic reaction save to spare Arsenal blushes. Theo Walcott had a decent chance to grab the lead, getting behind his defender and beating Michel Vorm, only for Steven Caulker to make a last ditch clearance at the goal line.
Arsenal controlled possession and started to show small signs of their former self with quick fluid passing, but most chances drifted wide of goal. After all the bad luck, it was not surprising to see the Gunners catch a break. Vorm made a tremendous gaffe on a routine catch and clearance, gifting a wide open net to Andrei Arshavin for his first of the season. Taking nothing away from the tiny Russian's finish, he still had much to do from a tight angle after the giveaway.
Scott Sinclair came close to tying the match off a free kick, just hitting the crossbar. Graham had one last chance to earn a point for the Swans, pouncing on a loose ball but sending it over the bar from inside the six yard box. The Swans are still searching for their first goal in the Premiership.
At Goodison Park, Everton supporters group the Blue Union organized a protest prior to kick-off versus Aston Villa. Angry at the clubs lack of investment in the squad, things were made worse by the sales of Arteta, Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu Ayegbeni at the deadline. David Moyes was able to bring in a couple new faces, Royston Drenthe on loan and Denis Stracqualursi on a permanent deal, but this did nothing to change the mood on Merseyside.
With all the negatives surrounding the Toffees, supporters were given reason to cheer when Leon Osman beat Shay Given inside twenty minutes, Tim Cahill providing the assist. Villa were lucky to escape a penalty in the second half, replays showing Barry Bannan trip up Leighton Baines from behind inside the box, only for the referee to deny the obvious spot kick. Phil Jagielka then had a glorious chance in close, but put his header attempt over the bar. The Villains were able to equalize thanks to Stiliyan Petrov, the Bulgarian hit a fantastic long distance strike that curled past the outstretched arms of Tim Howard.
Later on, Fabian Delph was called for obstruction on Jagielka in the box and a penalty was awarded. Baines coolly slotted the ball past Given to regain the lead for the home side. Close to the end, Gabriel Agbonlahor tied the game, out jumping Sylvain Distin inside the six to head in the cross by Marc Albrighton. Both clubs settled for a point.
The Millionaires of Manchester City took on little Wigan Athletic at the newly branded Etihad Stadium. City have had an incredible start to the season, scoring goals at will. The Latics are also undefeated thus far but proved to be in over their heads. From the opening kick City controlled the ball and pressed forward, David Silva having the first decent strike on goal which was kept out by Ali Al-Habsi. The Oman keeper was called upon to make another save a little later, Vincent Kompany got in the way of Sergio Aguero's bicycle attempt, but his header forced a good save from Al-Habsi.
The opener came from an unlikely source; Carlos Tevez making a nice run to set up Silva inside the box, the Spaniard laid it off to Aguero who took a touch before slotting it into the far corner. City hit full speed and never looked back. Tevez then had a chance to score his first from the spot after Silva was completely taken out in the box. However Tevez remarkably was denied by Al-Habsi. The shot was awful by the Argentine, although the keeper looked to creep about a foot off his line before the ball was kicked.
The onslaught continued and Aguero scored his second, calmly placing the ball into the far corner. You sensed the hat trick was just around the corner, his performance was stellar. The third closely followed, Silva showing his skill on the ball, creating something from nothing and gifting Aguero the goal on the breakaway. City kept their perfect record intact and look like real challengers for the title thus far.
Would you ever imagine a time when Stoke City was playing in Europe and Liverpool was not? Sounds like a crazy alternate universe that is the furthest thing from reality. Sadly for the red side of the Mersey this is the unfortunate truth. So is Liverpool's poor record at the Britannia Stadium, something Kenny Dalglish was hoping to change.
The Reds started the match positively, going on the offensive and forcing the Potters to defend deep. But we've seen Liverpool have a habit of wasting early chances despite having all the possession. Peter Crouch got the start by Tony Pulis and partnered Jonathan Walters up front, not that it mattered because both never really threatened. That is until Walters caught a break, getting on the inside of Jamie Carragher and forcing the Liverpool captain to bring him down for the penalty. It was a tough call to make but replays showed it was accurate albeit soft. Walters scored from the spot beating Pepe Reina.
Liverpool continued to control the match, dictating the run of play as Stoke seemed content on defending as a unit. Pulis had his side playing tight and compact, giving the visitors almost zero space to create from. I lost count at how many times the Potters threw their bodies in front of shots. Charlie Adam had his worst game in a Liverpool uniform. His distribution was poor, far below the standard we’ve come to expect from the Scotsman. Martin Skrtel was horrendous on defence, making bad decisions and getting silly fouls. The best chance to equalize for the Reds came from Jordan Henderson. Sent in alone by a fabulous ball by Jose Enrique, but denied on three occasions by a combination of Asmir Begovic and his defenders. It was a weak effort on a clear look on goal.
Luis Suarez was the best man on the pitch for Liverpool; the Uruguayan is proving to be menacing for opposing defenders. Before the end, controversy reared its ugly head. Mark Clattenburg failed to signal for a penalty after a clear hand ball by Matthew Upson in the box. Suarez ran directly to the linesman to let him know what he thought of the decision, receiving a yellow card for his outburst. Seconds remained when Suarez had the final chance to even the score. Miscommunication by Begovic and Crouch gifted Suarez a glorious rebound that was sent wide of the open net. Stoke held on to remain undefeated this season.
The big story at the Stadium of Light was if Fernando Torres would start for Chelsea. The Spaniard has been a huge bust after his big money move, scoring only once in twenty-two matches for the Blues. Andre Villas-Boas has shown patience with his under performing striker thus far, but for how long? Torres has clearly lost all confidence in his abilities and looks a shadow of his former self. Time will tell if he can ever regain even a fraction of his old form.
Daniel Sturridge received the start up front for Chelsea; the striker had a great pre-season and deserved the chance to shine. Petr Cech also made his return into the starting line-up after being out injured for almost a month. Nicklas Bendtner had the first chance to score on his debut for Sunderland, but his header drifted wide past Cech off the set piece. The Blues then hit the post off a nice free kick by Juan Mata that froze keeper Simon Mignolet on his line. Play continued and John Terry managed to get the opener from a tough angle, Sturridge providing the pinpoint cross.
Early in the second half Sturridge was at it again, sent in alone by a beautiful long ball by Raul Meireles. The striker managed to fight off his marker and neatly back heel the ball into the opposite corner. One of the best finishes I’ve witnessed this season. More proof of his quality and the decision of Villas-Boas to sit Torres. Sunderland scored one late, Ji Dong-Won getting his first for the club but the Blues held on for the win.
Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker both made their debuts for Tottenham at Molineux, Harry Redknapp was hoping for an an immediate impact by the pair after a poor start to the season. Wolverhampton was full of confidence after their surprising start to the campaign and looked to add to Spurs misery. Niko Kranjcar was unlucky not to score the opener; Roger Johnson making the critical clearance on the goal line to keep it scoreless. Brad Friedel then made a terrific low save on Karl Henry after a great individual run. The opening half was even with both sides having minor chances to take the lead.
Tottenham took control of the second half; just past the hour mark Redknapp’s new signings connected to give Spurs the lead. Adebayor got behind the defence, dribbling around Friedel to tap in his first of the season. Give credit to Parker for the nice assist on the play. The scoring continued, with Jermaine Defoe getting into the action, linking up with Kranjcar on the give and go to double the lead. Wayne Hennessey should have done better on the shot. Tottenham was able to secure their first win of the season.
The late kick-off on Saturday was at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton hosted Manchester United in what turned out to be another display of dominance from the defending champions. Wayne Rooney stole the show, scoring three goals to earn him back to back hat tricks, becoming only the fourth player to do so, an unbelievable achievement. Especially when you put into account he has found the back of the net more times than any other club outside Manchester.
It looked like a training session at times. Bolton struggled to mount a serious challenge. Javier Hernandez scored within four minutes in his first start of the season and ended up with two on the night. One player that stuck out for me that failed to get on the score sheet was Phil Jones. Playing right back for the first time I was amazed to see how well he adapted to the new position. Jones assisted on two of Rooney’s goals, the first was a cross after a nice heads up play to regain possession. The second was off a remarkable solo run through the Bolton defence, only to be denied by Jussi Jaaskelainen on the shot. But the rebound fell to Rooney who notched his second of three.
United’s engine is revving up full throttle; it is amazing to see how quickly the players have gelled. The game ended 5-0, but came at a price. Tom Cleverley had a suspected broken foot courtesy of a nasty challenge by Kevin Davies, luckily the midfielder escaped with only ligament damage and will be out a month.
On Sunday, Carrow Road was the venue as Roy Hodgson's West Bromwich met up with Norwich City. The Baggies have always struggled away from home but were fortunate to take the early lead. Peter Odemwingie scoring his first of the season after a horrible back pass by Ritchie De Laet. The Canaries have looked extremely vulnerable at the back, being their own worst enemy with terrible defensive errors. After a rough start to the campaign, Hodgson was happy to catch a break.
Norwich pressed to try and get back into the match, controlling possession in the second half but failed to create a genuine scoring chance. When the Baggies did push up the field they were rewarded with a lucky break. Steven Reid went down easily on a silly challenge by Steve Morison and the referee pointed to the spot. The decision was brutal considering Reid's positioning on the play. Odemwingie stepped up to add his second but was miraculously denied by Declan Rudd, the back-up keeper and academy graduate coming up huge to keep his side involved. Despite the robbery by Rudd, the Canaries failed to score and the visitors hung on for the victory.
The final match of the weekend came from Craven Cottage, involving two clubs at the bottom of the EPL table. Both Fulham and Blackburn were slow out the gate and struggled to carve out chances. For the viewing audience, a better term to describe the match was boring. I was close to changing the channel had it not been for Ruben Rochina restoring my optimism. The Spaniard scored his first in the Premiership from a thunderous strike that went in off the crossbar. Five minutes later Bobby Zamora tied it with a quality finish from a tight angle, easily going past Gael Givet before bending the ball past Mark Schwarzer.
The Cottagers took complete control in the second, keeping Rovers pinned in their own end for the entire half. Play in the final third was missing, with most of Fulham’s free kicks hitting the wall or crosses missing their targets. Danny Murphy had a great opportunity to score, creating his own chance with a nice piece of skill but was robbed by Paul Robinson with a terrific diving save. The Rovers keeper was tested again late in the match, Clint Dempsey striking a wonderful shot that was deflected wide by Robinson. In injury time David Hoilett was on the wrong end of a nasty collision with Schwarzer, the striker was tended to by medical staff for several minutes and taken off on a stretcher. The club did acknowledge he suffered a concussion after the match. His absence will be a major blow for Steve Kean after his side earned their first point of the season.
Game of the Week: Bolton vs. Manchester United
Goal of the Week: Daniel Sturridge vs. Sunderland
Goalkeeper of the Week: Asmir Begovic vs. Liverpool
Lowlight of the Week: Ritchie De Laet blunder vs. West Bromwich
Please share your thoughts and opinions on the best of the week.
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