Forward Emmanuel Adebayor believes Arsenal can make a serious challenge for silverware if they show the quality and spirit that swept aside Newcastle United 3-0 on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger’s side made a spluttering start to the campaign, but they followed last Wednesday’s demolition of FC Twente with another impressive display at the Emirates Stadium.
Adebayor, restored to the team after being rested by Wenger in midweek, played a key role as he set up two of the goals and the Togo striker is convinced the Gunners are firing on all cylinders again.
PHOTO: AFP
“I believe in our quality and I think we got our fans back with this performance,” Adebayor said. “When we all play together like that and show our spirit we have a chance to win. It was very important to show that. If we play like this, we have a lot of chances to win something.”
Robin van Persie opened the scoring with an 18th minute penalty after Charles N’Zogbia handled Adebayor’s cross.
Arsenal were in complete control and increased their lead in the 42nd minute with a typically flamboyant goal. Adebayor was the provider with a neat back-heel to Van Persie, who lashed home from close-range. Denilson underlined Arsenal’s superiority when the young Brazilian midfielder flicked home from close range on the hour for his first Premier League goal.
Paul Ince suffered a miserable return to West Ham United as Blackburn Rovers were thrashed 4-1 at Upton Park. Rovers boss Ince, a former West Ham midfielder, must have known it wasn’t going to be his day when Calum Davenport scored with a powerful header from a 12th minute corner. Christopher Samba’s own goal made it two, before Jason Roberts gave Blackburn a lifeline in the 22nd minute with a fine turn and finish.
Carlton Cole handled Steven Reid’s free-kick in the West Ham area early in the second half, but Roberts’ penalty was well saved by Robert Green.
That was the turning point as Craig Bellamy’s late goal killed off Rovers, before Cole’s 90th minute strike added to Ince’s agony.
The victory eased the pressure on Hammers boss Alan Curbishley.
“I’ve been around long enough to know that when the vultures are around it gets difficult,” Curbishley said. “I’ve never had it before, but you just have to deal with it. I’d rather it was directed at me than the players.”
Portsmouth won for the first time this season as Jermain Defoe’s double-strike clinched a 3-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park.
Peter Crouch’s partnership with Defoe finally sparked into life in the 12th minute. Crouch flicked on a long punt and Defoe worked space to drive home a low strike for his first goal in nine games.
Glen Johnson then played a one-two with Defoe and surged into the penalty area, before flicking a sublime finish past Tim Howard. David James preserved Portsmouth’s two-goal lead early in the second half when he saved Ayegbeni Yakubu’s penalty. Defoe put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute.
“Jermain was great,” Pompey coach Harry Redknapp said. “The goals were two excellent bits of skill from a top-class striker. We worked hard on our system all week and getting this result should give the players a lot of belief.”
Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli finally killed off 10-man Stoke City to snatch a late 2-1 victory at the Riverside Stadium.
Gareth Southgate’s side went ahead in the 37th minute after Stoke defender Amdy Faye was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Mohamed Shawky. From the resulting free-kick, Brazilian forward Alves bent a fine strike into the top corner. Stewart Downing missed a second half penalty and Stoke leveled when Justin Hoyte turned a Liam Lawrence cross into his own net. But Tuncay stole the points in the 85th minute.
Hull City’s dream start to life in the Premier League came to an end as the newly-promoted Tigers were thrashed 5-0 by Wigan Athletic.
Phil Brown’s side had taken four points from their first two matches, but Wigan gave them a reality check and collected their first league win this season at the KC Stadium. The Latics got off to the perfect start when Hull defender Sam Ricketts scooped Kevin Kilane’s corner into his own net after five minutes. Antonio Valencia doubled Wigan’s lead in the 13th minute. Egypt striker Amr Zaki struck in the 63rd minute, before Emile Heskey rounded Boaz Myhill for the fourth five minutes later. Zaki smashed in a superb effort to put the seal on a stunning performance.
Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson was frustrated as Kevin Davies had a late goal disallowed in his side’s 0-0 draw against his former club West Bromwich Albion at the Reebok Stadium.
Also See: LFP : Villa scores as Valencia crush Real Mallorca 3-0
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care