English Premier League: Arsenal upset, other leaders hold form

The 2nd week of English Premier League play is in the books with three of the four teams touted to challenge for the league championship posting wins.  The lone exception was Arsenal, who was shocked by Fulham 1-0. The other three top teams—Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool--each posted victories by a single goal.

That perennial top tier club Arsenal shouldn’t have lost to Fulham is a serious understatement.  Fulham had to move heaven and earth near the end of last season just to avoid relegation.  The Cottagers didn’t get the 2008-2009 season off to a good start either, losing to newly promoted Hull by a 2-1 score.  Arsenal, meanwhile, sleepwalked to a 1-0 win over another newly promoted side, West Brom.  While it was hardly an auspicious start to the season for The Gunners, it didn’t really evoke any serious concern from their management or supporters. This loss is a different matter entirely.

In their defense, Arsenal has been hit by an injury epidemic early on which has gutted their offensive productivity.  While the team’s MO is typically “good defense, lackluster offense” it was apparent that this would be more of the case in the early going.  Injuries or not, however, a team with championship aspirations shouldn’t go into the stadium of a team that barely avoided relegation and not escape with at least a draw.  While it may be premature, Arsenal is now in something of a panic mode—the team lost only three games all of last year with two coming to Man U and Chelsea.  The concern is now that the usually competitive Gunners might only be capable of a middle of the chart finish this season.

Manchester United, meanwhile, was very pleased with their 1-0 victory over a tough Portsmouth side.  After a disappointing opening week draw against Newcastle, players and the media alike were very satisfied with the team’s play in the victory.  Just getting the win was vital for ManU with trips to Liverpool and Chelsea on deck.

Both of Man U’s forthcoming opponents also posted victories.  Chelsea scored in the third minute and held on for a 1-0 win over a determined Wiggan side.  Newly acquired Portuguese superstar Deco scored his 2nd goal in as many games off of a free kick to provide the margin of victory.  While Chelsea looked ragged at times on the defensive end, Wiggan was unable to capitalize allowing the visitors to escape with 3 points.

Liverpool defeated Middlesbrough in dramatic fashion, with captain Steven Gerrard scoring the decisive point in stoppage time to break a 1-1 tie.  The loss was a heartbreaker for Middlesbrough, who hadn’t won at Liverpool since 1976.  That 32 year span of futility appeared to be at an end as Middlesboro substitute Mido scored with 20 minutes left to put his team up 1-0.  What followed was a shocking turn of events which began with a routine Liverpool crossing shot deflecting off of Boro’s Emanuel Pogatetz and into their own goal.  They had resigned themselves to a hard fought draw when Gerrard ripped his 20 yard winner with only seconds left in stoppage time after a poor defensive clearance by Middlesboro.

Liverpool will hope that their form improves quickly, as they’re slated for the first “marquee matchup” of the young EPL season on September 13th as they host Manchester United.