Arsenal wins, Chelsea and Liverpool earn draws in EPL play

Arsenal quickly bounced back from an embarrassing 1-0 loss to Fulham last week to rout Newcastle United 3-0 before a raucous crowd at Emirites Stadium.  Having blitzed Dutch side FC Twente 4-0 in their midweek UEFA Champions League qualifier, the solid play continued as The Gunners brought the pressure from the opening whistle and just missed scoring 3 minutes in when a shot by William Gallas toward an empty net off a corner kick sailed high.  Despite that setback, Arsenal didn’t have to wait long to score as Robin van Persie scored on a penalty kick at the 18 minute mark.

Newcastle was never really in the game after that, finishing with only 4 total shots.  Arsenal, meanwhile, went up 2-0 near halftime as van Persie scored his second of the game.  In the 2nd half, it became an Arsenal clinic as they passed the ball wherever and whenever they wanted. The slick playmaking yielded yet another goal at the 59 minute mark as talented young Brazilian Denilson nailed his first EPL goal.

Having looked like a man condemned to die following last week’s Fulham loss, team manager Arsenal Wenger was all smiles today.  As evidence as to just how quickly things can turn in football, the Gunners’ 7-0 aggregate blitz this week now has much of England talking a potential title challenge for Wegner’s team.  For now, Arsenal finds themselves in a 2nd place logjam tie with Liverpool, ManU and two other clubs with 6 points, 1 point behind Chelsea.

Chelsea, meanwhile, couldn’t extend their lead at the top of the EPL standings having to settle for a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday morning.  The Blue got on the board first when Juliano Belletti scored at the 27 minute mark, but for the rest of the day had problems with their accuracy generating 16 shots—only two of which were on goal.  Tottenham only managed 5 shots total, but made their only decent chance count as Darren Bent evened the game just before halftime.  Tottenham’s offense sputtered with star striker Dimitar Berbatov on the bench.  Hotspur headman Juande Ramos deeded Berbatov “not focused” as speculation continues to build that he’ll be wearing a Manchester United jersey sooner rather than later.  Chelsea mounted some pressure near the end, but the 2nd half consisted mostly of a possession game by the Spurs looking to preserve the draw.

Liverpool, meanwhile, suffered a similar fate earning a point by virtue of a scoreless draw at Villa Park against Aston Villa.  The game was as tedious as the 0-0 final would suggest, with few scoring chances for either team among the 18 total shots.

Manchester United was idle, having earned a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth earlier in the week.  The first big matchup of the young EPL season will take place next Saturday when ManU travels to Anfield Stadium to meet Liverpool.