Many thanks to Mark @ Coventry for writing these!

cheers

Simon
Arsenal

Week 4 round-up

Manchester United 3 4 Arsenal

Arsenal sent shock waves through the Premiership this week by battling their way to an incredibly impressive victory in Manchester. Arsenal took the game to their opponents and Manchester United were visibly rattled. The Gunners stormed into a three goal lead after just eighteen minutes, and even with Manchester United finding their feet and fighting back a 69^th minute winner for Gareth Bale proved a stretch too far for the Red Devils as Arsenal announced their arrival on the title challenging stage.

Liverpool 3 2 Portsmouth

Portsmouth gave an impressive display for their Real Madrid bound manager as they battled Liverpool all the way at Anfield. Agger and Saviola gave the Reds a two goal advantage before Lauren pulled one back from a flowing Pompy move. Gerrard restored Liverpools two goal advantage however, and although Pompy pulled a goal back later it proved nothing more than consolation as Liverpool hung over to the three points.

Chelsea 6 1 Wigan

Chelsea continued their dominating form at the expense of outclassed Wigan Athletic who confirmed their status as relegation battlers. The recent win sends out a warning to the rest of the division and with Manchester United losing at home to Arsenal few would bet against Chelsea continuing their rule over the English Premiership.

Blackburn 2 1 West Brom

The two most fancied teams in The Championship clashed at Ewood Park, and Blackburn took the spoils in a competitive match. The win leaves Blackburn looking odds on to win promotion to the Premiership, while West Brom will have to respond next week to ensure that they remain favourites to gain automatic promotion.

Bolton Wanderers 1 2 Watford

Watford continued their impressive return to the Championship with a good away win at fancied Bolton. Even an early Bolton goal could not prevent Watford from overhauling the trotters and Jamie Walker will be delighted that his troops are proving more than a match for their Championship rivals. Time will only tell how long Bolton can hold off naming a new boss however, as they looked in dire need for a sense of direction.

Coventry City 3 1 Norwich City

The Sky Blues dispelled many of the doubters this weekend with an impressive and incisive display against supposed relegation rivals Norwich City. Much criticism had been thrown at the Coventry boss following a self proclaimed sub standard performance against West Brom last week. However, Coventry now sit comfortably in the play off positions in the Championship and although not expected to stay there, have proved they can be competitive in this league.

Crystal Palace 1 1 Sunderland

Palace held a good Sunderland side to a respectable draw at Selhurst Park as the Eagles showed their play-off credentials. Many fancy Sunderland to secure automatic promotion this year but the Mackams will have to show a greater cutting edge in front of goal if they are to challenge Derby and co.

Juventus 1 3 AC Milan

Juventus will be disappointed they were not able to be more competitive against a skilful Milan outfit at Delle Alpi this weekend. Shevchenko once again reaffirmed his credentials, setting up one and scoring two in a efficient and impressive display which will give the Milanese outfit confidence of pushing Champions Roma all the way in the league this year.

Brescia 1 5 Roma

The Italian capital will be celebrating again this weekend after Roma simply blew away Brescia. The Champions showed breathtaking style to dominate the Italian minnows, Francesco Totti in particular showing brilliant skill to create two and score two in a rout which will send warning signals out to their closest rivals.

Inter Milan 3 0 Lazio

Romas win at Brescia was matched by a supreme Internazionale display which proved too good for Lazio. David Beckham ran the show from midfield, creating all three of Inters goals. The win looks set to confirm a three horse race for the serie A title and on current form Inter will run Roma all the way.

Real Betis 1 2 Recrativo Huelva

Real Betis poor start to their league campaign suffered another hammer blow at home to relegation rivals Recrativo. Dale Price will have to use all his nous  to pull his troops together and prevent his first season abroad ending in disappointment.

Real Madrid 3 0 Real Valladolid

Real Madrid welcome a new manager this week but their team continued to prove that they were a superior force in La Liga, manager or no manager. A young plucky Valladolid outfit showed promise but in the end had no answer for Reals class and incisiveness.

Gimnastic 1 2 Almeria

Almeria got their season up and running with a good win away at Gimnastic. Playing with a compact five man midfield Almeria stifled Gimnastic of the ball while Uche and Garcia worked as willing runners beyond the Gimnastic attack. Gimnastic are still searching for their first win under new boss Andrew Fletcher and will be hoping to pick up points sooner rather than later.