Arrivederci August

And so we have had our first 'grand slam' clash of the season, with Arsenal making the trip to Old Trafford for an odd Saturday evening kick-off time (I haven't looked into the reasons-anyone care to enlighten me?). The result wasn't exactly a surprise to me as I failed to see how Arsenal could have improved so much since last year having lost 2 starters and added only Thomas Vermaelen (who wasn't really tested enough on Saturday for me to have anything other than a pretty neutral view of him to date), but, it has to be said, they can feel slightly unfortunate to have come away with nothing after taking the lead and generally playing the better football. Still, after Rooney's penalty (I agreed with the award, just as I disagreed with the ref's failure to award anything for Fletcher's 'challenge' on Arshavin), I didn't see Arsenal coming back to win. Nicklas Bendtner did not impress me when coming on as a sub, and I still don't rate Clichy and Song. His poorly direct header for the winning own goal aside, Abou Diaby looks like a player. But I cannot help think Arsenal would be a better team if they had kept Mathieu Flamini, or indeed moved Kolo Toure into midfield (as has been suggested to me by my brother), as they still lack 'bite'. Their heads shouldn't drop too much after this defeat, but they cannot afford too many 'moral' victories if they are to challenge for the title. By the way, RVP doesn't strike me as someone who can lead the line, especially away from home on his own. Adebayor has scored 3 in 3 games for Man City, 2 on the road. Just saying.

Liverpool had a decidedly mixed week-losing 3-1 at home to a Villa team that hasn't impressed in a long time, and then coming from behind to snatch a 3-2 victory away at Bolton. A 3rd loss at this early stage would surely have ended any hopes Liverpool have of winning their first Premiership title and indeed ending Man Utd's charge at their league title record. Nonetheless, the signs are not good-a thin squad, with no notable reinforcements arriving since the arrival of the still injured Aquilani; Andriy Voronin as your primary striking option from the bench; and other than the goalscoring exploits of Glen Johnson, not much sign of form from the remainder of the starting XI, with Gerrard and Torres strangely subduded in the initial stages of the season.

All of the above is of course encouraging for Chelsea, who still haven't beaten anyone of substance, but look like they are improving with each game. The news that Joe Cole has returned to training is certainly welcome, but the return to form of Deco is also encouraging. Chelsea play Spurs on September 20th, and although an away trip to Stoke in the interim shouldn't be taken lightly, this will be their first true test under Ancellotti, and a good opportunity to establish their dominance over their London rivals. So far so good then, but a long way to go.

In other news,

• Spurs kept up their unbeaten run with a late, late winner at home to Birmingham. A bitter-sweet victory, given the unfortunate injury suffered by the talented Luka Modric (which has triggered an interesting conspiracy allegation in the Balkans)
  
• Everton got off the mark with a late, late penalty needed to secure a win over Wigan (who have regressed since their opening day win at Villa)
• Portsmouth remain pointless, but a confirmation in the change in ownership has spurred a flurry of signings, which may help Paul Hart in getting things back on track. I watched their game with Man City on Saturday, while they were unfortunate not to get a point, it appeared to me that they have too many players that are not of Premier League standard in the starting XI. The loss of Niko Krancjar on deadline day (more below) doesn't help their case.
• Man City are still unbeaten and have equalled their away win total from all of least season.

'Notable' transfers today:

• Niko Kranjcar to Spurs. In the Man City/Portsmouth game at the weekend, I thought he was the best player on the pitch (granted Robinho was on the bench), and this is an excellent signing for Spurs, especially given the injury to Modric. I have to admit, Harry has built an impressive squad.
• Richard Dunne to Villa. Was just confirmed today, a good move for both parties-City now have strength in depth at that position (Toure, Lescott, Onuoha, Richards) and Villa need a quality replacement for Martin Laursen.
  
• Johnny Heitinga to Everton. Any body with a pulse is an improvement on Tony Hibbert. The blue half of Merseyside doth rejoice!
  
• Carlos Edwards and Grant Leadbitter to Ipswich. I get the impression Roy Keane will not be long in East Anglia.

And finally-
Did Eduardo dive? Probably. Did he deserve a ban? Yes, but only if the same punishment is applied in all such cases. A bit of consistency would be nice to see from UEFA in this regard.