Recently in English Premier League 2012 Category

A moving tribute by the Toffees to remember the 96 fallen before the Newcastle game. To the Everton fans who made this day about fans no matter where and what stripe they support. And David Moyes showing that he's not just a manager but a class act through and through:

"I applaud the families who continued to fight for the ones they loved. The outcome was nothing short of disgraceful. We have all been brought up to believe and trust in authority. The authorities who were responsible for ensuring the safety of supporters that afternoon let themselves down, as have the government parties who have been in power since. Praise must go to Andy Burnham and the families for getting disclosure."

Peter Crouch must have committed about five handballs before scoring but the referee failed to spot even a single one. There was nothing dodgy however about Asimir Begovic's goalkeeping. He brought off at least three spectacular saves. However, he could not keep out Javi Garcia, who made his City debut as did Maicon and Scott Sinclair. The last 20 minutes were a Toure de force, as Yaya kept coming at Stoke but luck and Begovic kept their unbeaten streak alive.

Stoke also avoided a stoppage time heart breaker after Edin Dzeko beat an onrushing Begovic to spoon a shot towards goal but Ryan Shawcross sprinting back managed to keep the ball out throwing his left leg out just before it crossed the line.

Michael Owen came on for Crouch but he did not do much. Was he supposed to?

Not exactly Chelsea's best match. There was no Juan Mata but there was plenty of Frank Lampard which does not make for pretty viewing. There were two close penalty calls, the first when John Terry seemed to be gang tackled by Ryan Nelsen and then Eden Hazard was brought down by Shaun Wright- Phillips. The first one looked pretty clear cut but the second one seemed more incidental and Hazard seemed to milk it. Victor Moses had a very good debut and

QPR looked more and more composed as the match went on and they had their best chance when Park Ji Sung with the whole goal at his mercy headed straight to Petr Cech. A bit more angle and that would have been QPR celebrating. By the way, Esteban Granero is quite an acquisition. The Real Madrid player was the midfield cog.

He won in court and now he wants his handshake too? Anton Ferdinand snubbed John Terry and a bit later Ashley Cole, his co-conspirator declining to shake their hands. Lip reading Terry, he appears to say, "My handshake is better than yours, damn right!"

Danny Welbeck is a diver. His acting abilities earned Utd an penalty. So it was justice served when Chicharito Hernandez's soft spot kick was saved. Sir Alex Ferguson started Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who was making his 700th appearance. The most intriguing change was 23 year old Alexander Buttner's appearance in place of Patrice Evra. Apart from that bit of first half Welbeckian drama there was no premonition of the number of goals that were going to erupt in the second half.

It was fitting that Scholes got the ball rolling as the ginger haired assassin was at hand to put back Al Habsi's spill. Scholes scores goals and he amasses passes. Chicharito or Chickarito as the commentator insisted on calling him, deflected in Buttner's shot past Al Habsi as Utd added to their tally.

The Vitesse Arnhem left half easily the most eye catching player on the pitch with his work rate and skill continued his spectacular debut scoring after an unstoppable run a la Emmett Smith. Gathering the ball after falling, he drove past a maze of defenders and then unleashed a shot from the tightest of angles which Al Habsi once again was not able to hold onto. Plenty of luck but plenty of skill. A pensive Evra appeared to contemplate his future in the club. Sir Alex's next debutante Nick Powell also crashed the party with a spanking shot which left Al Habsi a bystander. As it were, Utd did not need RVP or Shinji Kagawa. They were helped too by a disorganized Wigan's defense and Al-Habsi's forgettable day between the sticks.

szólj hozzá: Arsenal vs Southampton 6:1 MOTD

The only imperfection in an otherwise perfect outing for the Gunners was the display of Wojciech Szczesny who could not preserve a clean sheet. A minor detail it would appear but an irritating one nevertheless. The rest was quite stellar.

Arsene Wenger did not start any frontline striker opting to go for Podolski, Gervinho, and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain. In place of Abou Diaby, Frances Coquelin got his start. And Vito Mannone made way for Szczesny. It was on the front foot for the Gunners right from the start with Santi Cazorla ably backed up by Mikel Arteta as the two Spaniards began to run the show. Lovely touch football in the tightest of spaces as players interchanged positions fluidly and freely.

Dare we say it? In the four matches played so far Cazorla has shown himself to be a notch above Fabregas as a creator. He is so compact with the ball showing an incomparable ability to diagram plays and execute them with nary an extraneous pass. Podolski showed great tenacity and determination to claim the ball back and drive past defenders to feed Kieran Gibbs whose shot was turned into an own goal. His free kick was even better. Lacing the ball with plenty of power and movement to fool Kelvin Davis. Cazorla and Arteta linked up and the latter scooped the ball over to find Gervinho running hard and finishing superbly. The pair connected again a few minutes later as Cazorla put Gervinho through for the Cote D'Ivoirian to find Gibbs steaming from the left to slam his shot which once again deflected into goal.

A merry band of Gunners running riot over the hapless Saints and looking for more. However, the first half ended on a bit of a sour note as Szczesny could not hold onto a routine cross by Jason Puncheon and dropped the ball right in the doorstep of Danny Fox. The Polish goalie looked out of sorts with his goal kicks and throws proving nightmarish ventures. With the side playing solid and mistake free team defense, the last thing one needs is the last line looking shaky and conceding silly goals. You have to love the sight of the Gunners regrouping to run back in numbers and maintain that defensive shape. The Saints counterattack was going nowhere with all the gaps and players covered till Szczesny had that brain freeze.

The second half saw the Saints rustling up a bit more ambition pushing forward and seeing more of the ball. But the Gunners after a lull answered through Aaron Ramsey who had an excellent game. His first touch after receiving the ball from Cazorla was impeccable and set up a sequence of movements with his shot flicked through hitting the upright. Gervinho was at hand to clean up. Oliver Giroud came on and one thought his goal drought would end when Theo Walcott broke through with pace to created a two on one situation. But in a familiar routine, wisdom was jettisoned, and he decided to over elaborate allowing the defense to recover and then twisted and turned into a cul de sac. Walcott did get Arsenal's final goal when Cazorla dinked a rebound into the path of the former Saints player and he crashed the ball into the net. Muted celebrations followed. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, the other Saint in the midst was a constant threat down the right and came close a couple of times to scoring a goal.

One note. Per Mertesacker. The tall, lanky German had a superb game. He often looks slow but makes up for it with great positional sense. Today, we saw an aggressive Mertesacker imposing himself on set pieces. Usually, it is Vermaelen who takes the lead.

With this result, we go to Montpellier to begin the CL campaign with a good head of steam. Then back to the league to face City and a far more severe test. The scoring seems to be coming by committee which is probably the best way to plug RVP's loss. However, we really don't need a goalkeeping controversy because the last time we had one, there were three choices. Worse, much worse, the worst.

It took Thierry Henry eight matches to open his scoring account for Arsenal, a period so fraught with self doubt that the winger turned striker admitted he had to be "re-taught everything about the art of striking." The drought ended on 18 September 1999 against Southampton, as Henry losing his marker, finds a sliver of space and curls his shot without any further elaboration. The rest they say is history. Arsenal's topscorer finished with 228 goals (and possibly counting) breaking Ian Wright's previous record by 43 goals.

Wright did not have to wait that long. His first league appearance was against Southampton on 28 September 1991, and it turned out to be a stunning debut as Arsenal scorched the Saints, 4-0 with Wright scoring a hat trick on his way to winning the Golden Boot. Three years later, Southampton were at the receiving end of another Wright hat trick losing by an identical margin. The former Crystal Palace striker ended his Arsenal career with five hat tricks and lead the club goalscoring six of his seven years.

The highly anticipated arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, a rising star on a record fee of £7.5 million from Inter was expected to pay immediate dividends. Instead, Bruce Rioch's signing struggled to adapt to the Premier League. On 23 September 1995, Southampton came knocking and Bergkamp, the butt of merciless ridicule by the press, scored a brace in his fifth appearance. He went on to score 11 goals that season helping Arsenal to fifth place in the league. Bergkamp ended his Arsenal career giving the English language, "sublime." .

Robin Van Persie, his career blighted with injury till last season, lived up to his full throated promise when he showed what he was capable of if healthy. Arsenal shot to third place after their worst start in fifty eight years as the Dutchman top scored with 30 league goals. RVP came to Arsenal from Ajax in 2004 and his first brush with the Premier League was marred by competition from Antonio Reyes, immature outbursts, and injuries. He was a sparingly used sub coming in late for either Reyes or Pires and it was his fifth match coming off the bench as Arsenal trailed Southampton, 1-2. With a few minutes left on the clock, RVP drew Arsenal level with a left footed curler for his first Premiership goal on 30th October. The Saints turned out to be a familiar target once again on their Premiership return, as RVP scored a first hat trick for his new club, Man Utd.

Oliver Giroud should take heart. His movement has been good and he's been getting chances in front of goal. He doesn't have to overthink things. Admittedly, all four players who scored against the Saints were not exactly centerforwards but were either wingers turned strikers or were comfortable playing in the hole. Giroud's best bet still remains positioning himself out on the posts for set piece service or second attempts. He has to use his height and physicality to create chances for him and for others in and around the box. Tomorrow might be the day to end his scoring frustrations. If he does, he's in excellent company.

Being: Liverpool is a FSC documentary with the first episode to be aired this Sunday, the 16th. There are enough examples to show Brendan Rodgers channels David Brent in his interviews. He also has a self portrait hanging on a wall in his living room. So without further ado, above a clip of Brent on football management.

" Do you think that Alan Hansen or Mark Lawrenson would have had the careers they had if they'd have had the skills, but without the discipline? Without the concentration? It's not easy passing the ball back to the goalkeeper every single time you get it for ninety minutes. Yeah, they got out the game before they changed the back-pass rule. One step ahead, you know. "

Priceless. Arsenal's goalie, David Seaman gets some comical boosting from Brent.

Arsene Wenger has opted for caution following Abou Diaby's niggling hip injury sustained against Finland last Friday. He most likely will not feature in Arsenal's home game this Saturday against the Saints as a precautionary measure. Which given Diaby's extensive history of being crocked is probably a wise thing to do.

The French midfielder's early performances have received rave reviews but keeping him fit for a whole season will be a monumental undertaking. Guy Roux said Diaby "is mounted on two matches with a spot of glue in the middle." Wenger might rue rushing him out before recovering fully.

Diaby, however hopes to be back for their Champions League opener facing Montpellier this coming Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Bacary Sagna has been given some face time with Wenger after his statements in an interview questioning why Arsenal chose to sell of two of their best players in Robin Van Persie and Alex Song. He also claimed no contact from Arsenal on offering an extension deal with his contract entering its final year after this season. Wenger was quite blunt saying his attitude was anyone who felt dissatisfied was free to leave. But he felt Sagna was not unhappy and only his negative comments were highlighted. The Arsenal manager was quite confident Sagna would be offered an extension but it would not be a five year one with the full back hitting 30 years of age next February.

"I expect him to stay and I want him to stay," Wenger said. "The interview does not really reflect what he thinks about the club and the love he has for the club."

On a more positive note, Sagna might be back in two or three weeks. Jack Wilshere's rehab is going well and the midfielder should be joining training soon. Wojciech Szczesny has recovered from a rib injury and should be available for the Southampton match.

There are many ways one can define success, especially in this football era which clearly divides the haves from the have nots. That is what one gets after reading Ivan Gazidis's Telegraph interview.

Gazidis is the CEO of Arsenal, and a marketing and PR man by profession who was hired to develop the commercial interests of the club. It is this part, unsurprisingly that comes off strongest in terms of defining success because looming in the horizon, a 2014 deadline which will see existing sponsorships expire and newer, far more lucrative ones negotiated which will increase the financial clout of a self sustaining model.

The present contracts were not the best value for money because Arsenal were desperately preoccupied with funding the move to the Emirates.

"In terms of the financial impact, it will be as significant a step forward as the stadium was in 2005," Gazidis said. "It does kick us into the top five clubs in the world with separation from the rest. The overall journey that the club embarked on was to make it one of the leading clubs in the world and to do it in a way that would be sustainable."

The sense one gets from these statements and others is Arsenal better positioned in the long haul to negotiate the bewildering twists and turns of an economic maze as compared to many of its rivals. This dovetails into the overwhelming referencing of DNA which pertains to Wenger and the club's thinking being inextricably linked and which will pass onto his successor when that time comes. If you look at it very narrowly, Gazidis is once again re-defining success.

"As a club, we have to make sure that all of the things that Arsène has brought to the club are enshrined in our DNA to make sure that, when Arsène decides it's time, we are in a position to take his ideas and work forward."

The other metric of success, silverware, which most fans care about, is given a boiler plate response. Gazidis, in a defensive crouch:

"We're very optimistic about this season. We're absolutely trying to win silverware and we're trying desperately hard to do it this year."

Although Gazidis strenuously emphasizes that the board's ambitions are much higher than fourth position, the arrival of Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, and Oliver Giroud can only be looked through the prism of the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Robin Van Persie, and Alex Song. This looks more like a holding pattern. A cup half empty but also half full.

One cannot expect Arsenal to score more than they did last season but they can bring down the number of goals conceded. Where they are already showing signs of success. Steve Bould is already having an impact with zonal marking bolstered by the repositioning of Mikel Arteta in the backfield. There is reason for optimism but one really can't say whether this will be enough to bring back a trophy. But what Gazidis is preparing for us as does Wenger on many an occasion is a season should be examined in many different ways.

"When you look at what Arsene has done, within the overall constraints, he has outperformed our spending every single year he has been manager. It is extraordinary."

Which does not answer that million dollar question. These "overall constraints" are now written into Arsenal's DNA. But are they real or self imposed? Arseblog is of the view that there is money sitting around but Arsenal fail to use it to improve the squad or to give better wages to their top players.

• The panel finds that a total of 41 people out of 96 "had the potential to be saved" beyond the 1515 time determined by the original inquest.

There is a now a move on for a new inquest and possible prosecutions for those involved in the cover up. A total of 116 police statements out of 164 were altered by the South Yorkshire Constabulary reflecting a deep and well orchestrated effort to shift the blame onto the fans. A group of four officers, a police spokesperson, and a local MP, fed untrue claims to a news agency of disruptive, drunken, and violent fans causing the tragedy. That narrative was picked up by The Sun who then ran that infamous article, ironically titled "The Truth."

There seems to be for the first time a serious debate on introducing salary cap restrictions a la NFL into the Premiership. This comes on the heels of a strengthened TV deal that would generate £3bn to be shared by all 20 clubs towards player transfers and wages.

The bottom line is that increasing and out of control wage demands have eaten into that pie leaving clubs with less to spend. In 2011-12, the Premiership made about £2.5bn in income but it spent 70% of that on wages, up from the 62% paid out in 2001-02. It obviously comes as no surprise clubs like Arsenal and Man Utd are for putting brakes on as they see City and Chelsea's owners underwrite the existence of their clubs with wads of cash thrown their way.

This of course, will weed out the players who want to excel in the top echelons of competition from the money obsessed ones who are sure to be spirited away to the likes of PSG, Anzhi Makhachkala, CSKA Moscow, and the Chinese League. Critics of this proposal will trot out the age old argument that Wall St also uses to retain talent by giving out their employees outlandish sums as bonuses.

Do you want your best and brightest to go to Singapore or to Australia? Will it make the Premiership less competitive? In a rebuke that really hurt, Lucas Moura left for PSG because Man Utd could not compete with the escalation in transfer fees and wage demands. That warning aside, however, the contention also assumes that there are no inherent strengths in the most watched league in the world.

With the rest of its peers excluding the Bundesliga, in economic decline, the Premiership benefits from players leaving those leagues desiring like minded competition with an assured paycheck in the pocket. Tradition, playing style, developing homegrown talent, managerial philosophy become more important drivers and each club will have a better chance to showcase their selling points with wage inflation held equal.

There are other upsides. If there are clearcut guidelines to wage expectations then clubs need only to wrangle on transfer fees. As well as shortening time and effort spent on counterproductive negotiations over contract extensions.

A brake on runaway wages is a long overdue correction from the days since George Eastham's mutiny against Arsenal for refusing him a pay raise following the abolishment of the maximum wage in 1961. Greater transparency rather than limitless amounts might be more desirable as Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka are finding out in Shenhua Shanghai where the club is embroiled in a feud with the principal investor threatening to back out if his shareholding is not increased.

What the Premiership needs to decide if they are serious about salary caps (14 of the 20 clubs have to approve for it to take hold), is how much to cap the salary increases at, say a blanket 10% or whether it is a more case by case determination on expected performances, inflation, or profitability by that club.

Arsenal for example would come off best on an individualized basis not just because of its self sustaining model but because it also has a number of squad players in its ranks with fairly lucrative mid tier salaries who get raises despite making few appearances because of loss of form or injuries. Nicklas Bendtner makes a shocking £55,000 per week despite the fact that he has not played for Arsenal for over a year. This is the reason why Arsenal despite its glass ceiling on top wages continues to be saddled with the fourth highest wage bill in the league.

More proof that Alex Song's departure was not because he was a disruptive locker room presence but governed by an economic imperative. And it comes from Bacary Sagna, probably one of the calmest presences in the Arsenal locker room and not given to hyperbole. In an interview with L'Equipe:

" Everyone was expecting Robin van Persie to leave, but Alex Song, that was a surprise. I don't understand that at all. It is a big loss for the club."

Sagna is a veteran in the team coming over in 2007 from Auxerre. He has seen many of his team mates depart probably with a good idea of their reasons for doing so. There was not one word to suggest Song wanted to move out of Arsenal or his behaviour was leading to friction within the club. Whatever the reasons, it has him anxious for his future. He will be in his final year of his contract at the end of this season. The fact that he's spent many months out with his injury and observed 20 year old Carl Jenkinson taking over his position as a potential replacement may mean he might be on the selling block.

He will soon be 30 years of age and he's another one in the generation of Arsenal player who has not tasted success.

"In May, I watched City's parade on TV. I saw Samir and Gaël lift the trophy. I want that [feeling]."

There has been no movement from Arsenal to extend his contract. One can understand why the future looks a bit uncertain for him and he's sending out feelers.

He doesn't have hair, he's fat, he doesn't score

" Then I remember - I drank a few bevvies while I was away. I'm stocky. I'm not like Ryan Giggs, all bone and lean muscle."

So writes Wayne Rooney in his new book, My Decade in the Premier League. He now has problems walking for at least a half hour the morning after a game. He's past his physical prime and it appears to take him longer to get back into shape.

What this bodes for the future is still unknown but there are a number of Utd fans who must be thanking the stars they got Robin Van Persie who is 29 years old and injury prone himself.

More extracts from his book available in the Mirror >>

When is a deal between two clubs not a straight deal? When it involves a third party.

Spurs found out Joao Moutinho's economic interests were not just owned by Porto but a third party investor who wanted to be paid his share of the transfer fee. It's all quite complex and the Guardian has the goods. The English league bans third party ownership. Which meant for this deal to go through Porto had to pay off the third party at their end before Moutinho could move. As a result they went back on the price they had agreed to previously and raised it further just an hour before deadline which Spurs did not agree to.

Interestingly, one of Andres Villas Boas big coups while Porto manager was landing Moutinho from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2010 which included a third party payoff and buyback. Moutinho became an instrumental part of that unbeatable Porto team that swept aside the league.

AVB probably had working knowledge of these financial transactions. Which makes you wonder did he did not press harder knowing these were the potential stumbling blocks? The Spurs manager called Moutinho's arrival impossible stating the club could not afford him.

This was a muted Cristiano Ronaldo. No extravagant fist pumping, sliding on the pitch, he did not even look at the monitor to check out his goals as his wont. He scored his 150th and 151st goal for the club before being taken off after picking up an injury. Gonzalo Higuain scored the third and final goal.

Real Madrid got their first win of the season with Luka Modric in his first full debut impressing with his playmaking capabilites. The Croatian was involved in both of Ronaldo's goals before being subbed by Mesut Oezil, who will see his arrival as competition for playing minutes. Granada played a man down when Borja Garcia was sent off for his second violation, a seemingly innocuous hip check which Ronaldo milked for all its worth.

No one would be caught dead with Irina Shayk. Putting up with her is just sad.

The Spanish media is all atwitter about Cristiano Ronaldo not celebrating his goals against Granada. Reports say he is "sad" at Real Madrid. There is talk he feels unloved in the locker room.

Have you ever noticed how Ronaldo can't tear his eyes away from the monitor when he scores goals as he barely acknowledges team mates jumping on his back, hugging him, pinching his cheeks in celebration? Strikers are a supremely narcissistic lot but Ronaldo takes it to another level altogether.

There are two theories and they both involve Leo Messi.

Maybe he overheard Jose Mourinho whispering to Pepe, "Cara, as long as Messi is around, Cristiano is going to suck ass."

It may not be his locker room he's complaining about. He's complaining about every other locker room that puts Leo Messi in front of him.

Damn Yankees: Gillett and Hicks followed by Henry and Werner

It's not been two months since Brendan Rodgers came on board and already fans are slating him for Liverpool's worst start since 1968. Is he responsible for Martin Skrtel's bone headed giveaway to City? Or Steven Gerrard's ill advised pass? Or Pepe Reina failing to save a rather routine shot? You can't legislate for stupidity. At some point the onus should be on the players which in a sport like football accounts for a majority of the results.

Liverpool has become a revolving door of managers with Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson, and Kenny Dalglish, following each other in a space of two years. It's a hodge podge of styles; rotational style, English style, no style. In the case of Dalglish, the fall from grace has been nothing short of spectacular. Fans associating a history of success clamoured for his return but he's now tied to the hip with the biggest bungle up in transfer history since Hong Kong went to China. The repercussions are being directly felt this season and led to some bizarre decisions most succinctly seen in the convolutions on transfer deadline.

Michael Laudrup's Swansea are enjoying a successful start to their second year in the Premiership building on a template left by Rodgers. It took them a year to climb from the Championship to a position in the top league and the way they are playing it would appear relegation is the furthest removed from their mind. Does Rodgers have the personnel to implement that quick, short passing style and rapid interchanges that he favours? Joe Allen fits right in because of his time with the Swans. But the rest of the squad needs a primer. Steven Gerrard is an example of how old habits die hard forcing the issue with long passes.

Do Liverpool fans really think Michael Owen would be an improvement on Clint Dempsey? Wouldn't he have been the ideal replacement for Andy Carroll, who by the way will have to find a new home if FSG is serious about recouping part of that £120m spent under Dalglish and Damien Comolli. Their hands are also tied from the debt which still remains from the previous ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Carroll will not come back if Rodgers is serious about implementing his system but second guessing by fans this early does put him under tremendous pressure. For those who talk of a plan B, there needs to be a plan A, fully formed and visible to the eye, otherwise what you get is tactical sectarianism and pitch apocalypse. Patience, my friends.

Is it possible to be a legend in two clubs within two consecutive seasons? Robin Van Persie may just be on his way to being that. This like the other two previous matches was not Utd at its best. They are leaking goals, getting bossed in the midfield, and coincidentally like Arsenal last season, over reliant on Van Persie for their scoring. Against the Saints, they had no answer to Ricky Lambert who rose unmolested into the air to head the ball from a cross by Jason Puncheon past Anders Lindegaard. The opportunity arose when Morgan Schneiderlin reading Tom Cleverley's pass stole the ball from Shinji Kagawa and then fed Puncheon.

Utd came back as Van Persie taking advantage of Nathaniel Clyne losing his footing chested a cross and thumped it past Kelvin Davies. It was another slip this time by Patrice Evra allowing Schneiderlin to give the Saints the lead in the second half. Could this be a miracle at St Mary's? Sir Alex immediately made a double switch bringing in Paul Scholes in place of the lackluster Cleverley and Nani for the invisible Kagawa. And things improved considerably as Scholes connected with Van Persie almost immediately. The former Arsenal striker could not convert and in the next few minutes also made a hash of a spot kick after Jos Hooiveld brought him down with a tackle from behind. It's hard to characterize but RVP might have tried a panenka but instead it mutated into a ugly wobble which Davies was able to swat away while prone on the ground. The miracle at St Mary's was still alive.

Then came the game changer. Don't you love that word? It's so American. Nigel Adkins takes off Puncheon, Lambert, and Adam Lallana and brings in Guly, Emmanuel Mayuka, and Jay Rodriguez. The attacking zest is gone and the Saints now just close shop which if you've followed enough Utd matches means you're essentially going to self immolate. And that is what happened as an impatient Sir Alex warned his players tapping on his watch. With time running out, Utd forced corner after corner and from one of them Rio Ferdinand thumped a header that came off the upright and Van Persie was at hand to pounce on it. It was the 87th minute. Immediate rationalization being this would still count as a moral victory for the Saints even if they came away with a draw. But Van Persie had one more trick up his sleeve, swiveling his head perfectly to guide Nani's cross past Davies in extra time. The miracle was over.

Whoo! Hat tip to a wonderful collective effort by Arsenal on their trip to Anfield. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski delivered the attacking goods while Abou Diaby was simply outstanding in centre midfield pushing up. The defense orchestrated by Thomas Vermaelen fell back in numbers keeping their shape as Liverpool recycled the ball repeatedly to try and crack them open. They got close on occasion but Vermaelen and Mertesacker closed down the angles.

The question on everyone's mind before the match was where were the goals going to come from? Luckily, for us, Cazorla and Podolski seemed to harbour no such misgivings. Steve Gerrard's errant pass picked up by the German and relayed upfield to Cazorla saw him sprinting down the left channel all the way to receive the return from the Spaniard and then sweep the ball past Reina to wipe all those fears. Monkey off our backs. Who says Spain can't bailout Germany? Take that Angela Merkel.

The second half saw that same left flank light up again as Podolski fed the pint sized Cazorla this time as the Spaniard showing his winger qualities (Arsene plays him centrally but Cazorla earned his reputation for his bombing runs down the flanks at Villarreal) brought the ball onto his right foot and cracked a low, hard drive straight to Reina. The Liverpool goalie who has a history of mistakes against Arsenal made a complete mess off it deflecting the ball into goal with his hand.

A special note for Diaby. What quick feet for a long legged man. He was a pillar and a fulcrum at the same time. And he played all 90 minutes. If we can keep him healthy, Song's loss will easier to take. Mikel Arteta behind him did great work mopping up with his solid, no nonsense presence. He maybe slow but the man has experience protecting the ball.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain got his start but it wasn't his best day. For most part he was overshadowed by the nippy Raheem Sterling, who was the best Liverpool player on display. Theo Walcott stayed on the bench and the message was clear. His last year on contract means no free matches. He has to earn every minute. Carl Jenkinson is a bloody good full back and his tackling was impeccable and at the other flank Kieran Gibbs did a solid job going forward with Podolski covering for his more suspect defensive qualities.

A few notes. Arsenal can be better in its crossing ability. If you're going to utilize Oliver Giroud more effectively that area needs to be improved. Which brings us to the Frenchman. It is evident he's having a hard time coping with the faster pace and more physical style of the Premiership. There is no way a 6' 4'' , 194 lbs frame should get bumped off that easily by Jose Enrique. He has to be more assertive, get his feet set more quickly, and use his aerial ability to make an impact.

Vito Mannone made a couple of great saves off Sterling and then Shelvey. He looks good as a shot stopper but there were some nervy moments on the set pieces and long balls. Luckily for him, Liverpool were unable to capitalize on them and when they were in a position to do so, the defense dealt with them decisively. A great away win at a tough, tough place to play and before we pile onto Liverpool too much, they showed they are not a bad side as City escaped with a draw after being outplayed last weekend. This win should do Arsenal's confidence a world of good. We're on our way.

The Guardian has an article detailing how a cash strapped Liverpool could only offer a feeble £5m for the American. Now, to be fair, the article's emphasis is on the club's criminal waste of money on transfers made under Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli. But herein lies the rub.

FSG offered up £20m as a transfer budget plus whatever player sales they could generate which went in acquiring Joe Allen, Fabio Borini, Oussama Assaidi, Samed Yesil, and Nuri Sahin (£3m in loan fees) which added up to £30m. The total raised for players sold including Charlie Adam on deadline and on season long loans was about £8m.

The owners made it clear that any future purchase would be contingent on cost cutting. Brendan Rodgers cleared £8m in wages by selling those players. Which means that the Liverpool coach had about £6m to work with. That was what Spurs paid for Dempsey and it should have been enough for Fulham to release the striker whose preference was to come to Anfield in the first place. It was the topic du jour signing all summer long.

But Liverpool agreed to pay a lions share of Nuri Sahin's wages which swelled his wage bill to over £4m annually. Sahin earns about £120,000 a week at Real Madrid. A more equitable 60-40 arrangement could have saved them possibly £1,5m or thereabouts. And so the pot of money they potentially had for Dempsey shrank further to where they were forced to offer £5m tops or preferably even less. LFC's storied history was not enough to make up for that shortfall. Ergo, Sahin's wages sank Dempsey's chance of an arrival at Anfield.

Andy Carroll was the elephant in the room. The Liverpool striker on loan in the first big moment of the match knocked the ball down straight into the path of Ricardo Vaz Te who found Kevin Nolan steaming down the left to fire a snap shot past Mark Schwarzer.

The match was just a minute old. It should have been two goals minutes later as Carroll knocked the ball down for Diame to have a blast but his shot hit the crossbar and ballooned over. It set the tone for further panic every time Carroll was involved with even the hard core Brede Hangeland committing naive errors.

Steven Reid connected from a corner to put the Hammers up by two. The Cottagers were done for when Hangeland and Diarra crowding Carroll knocked each other off trying to get to a free kick. The ball ricocheted off the falling Norwegian's head straight to Matthew Taylor. Three down and not even the silky smooth skills of Dimitar Berbatov could bring this back for Martin Jol, looking dyspeptic by now at how badly the match had gone for his side.

Carroll had to depart clutching his hamstring after falling in a heap colliding with said Hangeland. He will miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.

Big Sam and Big Andy conspiring to put West Ham in sixth place? Who would have thunk it?