Proved Wrong As Usual
01/10/02 | by Mike Shaw

4-7 ... reality check ... yes, 4-7. Eight games into the season and already (according to Ladbrokes) Arsenal are odds-on for the title - incredible. Still, watching them on Saturday lunchtime against Leeds it’s pretty easy to see why. Without Pires, without Ljungberg, without Keown, three players who would walk into almost any team in the world, they beat Leeds 4-1 and were almost at a canter from the moment that Toure headed home the second goal on 28 minutes. Henry added a 3rd and Kanu the 4th from an artful pass from Jermaine Pennant, Kewell getting the only Leeds goal. 4-1 doesn’t begin to show the sheer dominance that Arsenal displayed, it was simply men against boys. 4-7 anyone? Looks a pretty safe bet to me.

Word is that Leeds want to sign Michael Dawson and on Saturday's evidence you could see why. Without Jonathan Woodgate and the inexplicably dropped Ian Harte, their defence seemed almost non-existent. Matteo, to defend him, probably wasn’t fit, Radebe hasn’t been the same player since his cruciate ligament injury almost two years back, Kelly was way off colour and Mills looked lost at left-back. Every time Henry or Kanu got the ball, the back four looked like deer in headlights. Be it Dawson or not, Leeds need to seal it up and fast or they will not be European contenders this season and El Tel will be a worried, possibly unemployed, man.

Liverpool sit second, in my book the team most likely to push Arsenal this season, Michael Owen rattling home a superb hat-trick as he proved me horribly wrong and buried Man City 3-0. His third goal, smashed in off a post beyond Peter Schmeichel after he left Sun Jihai for dead, was vintage Owen. He couldn’t have timed his return to the goals any better: England have a game week after next!

Man United move to fourth. For all that’s been said about how they have struggled this season and so on, they are still up the sharp end of things. They beat Charlton 3-1 at the Valley with Ruud Van Nistelrooy amongst the scorers. Giggs and Scholes got the others after Claus Jensen had given Charlton the lead at half time.

United sit just behind Middlesbrough. Reality check number two … yes … Middlesbrough. Boro have been quite the surprise package, but to be fair to them they have been improving over the last few seasons and a European berth looks to be their target this term. Defensively they have been the best team in the Premiership, conceding just 5 goals in 8 games. They beat Spurs 3-0 at White Hart Lane, incredibly their first win in London in almost a year and a half. Under the guidance of Steve McClaren they have begun to build themselves a useful side. Schwarzer in goal and Ehiogu and Southgate at the back form a solid nucleus. Geremi in midfield looks an excellent signing, as does Massimo Maccarone, the one time AC Milan trainee has scored four times already this season and partnering Alan Boksic has made Boro look useful up front, something they have lacked previously. Poor old Spurs though, although they deserve all the back luck in the world (still bitter about ’91, sorry), 12 players out through injury before the game, 13 when Ziege hobbled off just 14 minutes in, and with Jamie Redknapp in the squad it won’t stay 13 for long!

Newcastle over-powered Birmingham on Saturday evening with Solano and Ameobi on the score sheet, while Everton overturned Fulham by the same scoreline with Thomes Gravesen and Kev Campbell supplying the goals.

Bolton sit fourth-from-bottom and Southampton third-from-bottom after a 1-1 draw at the Reebok. Wayne Bridge scoring a collector’s item goal, his second in 125 games, only to see Youri Djorkaeff equalise late, late on from a Jay-Jay Okocha long throw of all things.

Finally Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s predicted hat-trick failed to arrive as Chelsea lost 3-2 to West Ham, but the Hammers are still bottom, behind Charlton. He did get one, thankfully, and Zola the other, but goals from Defoe and Di Canio twice, including the winner six minutes from time. Chelsea sit fifth as the usual suspects begin to emerge towards the top

So last week's predictions: Arsenal are still of the top the pile (one prediction wrong). Hasselbaink gets one, but it's Owen who screams back to form, with a devastating hat-trick against Man City (half marks … ok, ok, a quarter). Not only does everyone stay on the field between Arsenal and Leeds, but not one player is sent off in any one of Saturday’s nine games! (two predictions wrong, that one should probably count double!). Rounding things off nicely, Sunderland edge out Villa in the battle of the unsteady manager, so Peter Reid keeps his post for another week (three wrong!) and ‘Turnip’ Taylor is left to glance nervously behind him as the knives begin at least to be reached for, if not out already.

This week Liverpool v Chelsea looks the game of the week. My predictions are this…

- Newcastle to thump WBA at St James’.
- Peter Reid to go as Arsenal hammer Sunderland (nothing personal to him, it's just business)
- West Ham to move off the bottom with a win over Birmingham.
- Van Nistelrooy to smash in a few as Man U over-run Everton.

Hopefully I’ll get more than one quarter out of 4 this week!