Cesc Fabregas the Arsenal captain came off to inspire the Gunners to a 3-0 win against Aston Villa which drag them back into the title race of the Barclays Premier League.  The Spaniard, who has not played for a while due to a hamstring problem, scored a superb free-kick on 65 minutes then converted another score to breakaway before he was substituted as a precaution.  Abou Diaby scored another in stop time at Emirates Stadium, curling in a from the edge of the area after a run.

Gunners captain Fabregas, a substitute on the second-half for Denilson, made a home side in front with a great 65th minute free-kick from the edge of the box that curved past the right hand of diving Brad Friedel the keeper.  And with only nine minutes on the game, the Spain international midfielder hold on to the ball from Theo Walcott before making a hit home to make it 2-0.  But, it he may have triggered an existing hamstring injury with his move and, after just 28 minutes, Fabregas was substituted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

He managed to put United ahead on the stroke of half-time at the KC Stadium with a near finish after Giggs touched on Fletcher’s cross. But second to the cellar dweller Hull made it equal on the hour via a Craig Fagan penalty. Rooney’s back pass was cut off by Fagan and following his cross, Jozy Altidore was jammed at the far post by defender Rafael of United. Referee Alan Wiley which Sir Ferguson accused in October of not being good enough for Premier League football after siding 2-2 draw with Sunderland who signaled a penalty that Fagan sent Kuszczak far from the spot.

With out being prejudice to Aston Villa, they are a good team who have high ranking in the league table and they so deserve it too. They arrived into the Emirates with great confidence which is correct. After all, they have won against Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool in this crusade and have a great feel that they can finish the Grand Slam by winning against us.

Sixteen games before the season ends and it is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested championships in modern history.  What is exciting for the fans is that it seems as if there will not be a runaway leader or even a possible two horse race for the title.  Manchester United is always in strife until the end but without Ronaldo’s magic they lack the killer edge that made them so strong last term. Sir Alex Ferguson will not give up on the trophy that he has won for three consecutive years and a total of eleven times and they would love to make it four in a row. 

Chelsea is also in second after a shaky start.  They are no doubt that they are United’s biggest threat.  Arsenal will also mount a serious assault on United’s title and has steadied the ship and the coming game could prove crucial in their quest to reclaim the crown they won in 2003.  Finally, completing the line-up is Liverpool, who was eyed to win the league before the season kicked off after running neck to neck with Manchester United last season.

As Manchester United and Chelsea undergo a Premier League title issue a different battle emerges when Arsenal visit a Liverpool side aiming to protect their status of being part of the big four.  Pre-season specialists predict a five horse title race between Chelsea and United, Liverpool, Arsenal and big-spending Manchester City.  While City is still working out with its squad, has already drawn half of their league matches.  

Liverpool has exerted efforts to win games and Arsenal, eight points off leaders Chelsea with a game in hand, are still troubled by irregularity.  Under pressure Rafa Benitez the Liverpool manager is winning a testing campaign.  His side has lost three league games more than last season and will play in the Europa League after failing to progress beyond the Champions League group stages.  The visit of Arsenal could be the trigger the Spaniard needs.   Arsenal is hunting for its first league win at Anfield since 2003, which would keep them in striking distance with Chelsea and above Tottenham Hotspur their rival from north London.

Arsenal got an easy victory against the Wolverhampton in the English Premier League last Saturday.  And Manchester City is still on a drawing streak of five at 3-3 tie versus Burnley.  Wolverhampton tried to demolish the formidable rival with attack but in doing so, exposed more terrain for the Gunners counter attack.  And they suffered two own goals one after the other.  After 28 minutes, Zubar turned Fabregas’s corner into his own as the defender is paying too much attention to Eduardo Arsenal’s striker next to him. Eduardo made a comfortable shot in a rapid counterattack after eight minutes, watching the ball curl right top of the net after hitting the head of Jody Craddock. 

The Wolves had no sign of a rally as Fabregas scored again for Arsenal before the break. Russian striker Andrey Arshavin added another by hitting from the edge of the box in the66th minutes. Manchester United and Arsenal both have 25 points now and the Red Devils are challenging top-positioned Chelsea with 27 points on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

Great accomplishment of English soccer teams of the Champions League for the past six years have been greatly rewarded.  But neither Liverpool the 2005 winner nor Manchester United the 2008 winner top the financial earnings of the continent.  A study released by StageUp, the Italian sports business consultancy, Chelsea top the list.  On that period, it earned more than any European club from competition.  It earned about €184 million of the €3 billion that UEFA gave out to 70 clubs. 

Second on the list is Manchester United as Alex Ferguson its coach, hit the trading floor.  Third is Arsenal that earned from competitions but was hit hard by property decline.  Fourth is Lyon, it is boost up due to its being the only consistent French performer club in the league.  Fifth is Liverpool who got €131 million.  StageUp president Giovanni Palazzi said that the study revealed that good policies for domestic revenue sharing on championships like the Premier League sufficient to stop the teams from becoming the only winners. 

Arsenal had a very tough loss in Old Trafford taking into consideration the value of the six point swing they gave to the champions.  Instead of making a clear three point lead they were behind three points and with the defeat at Manchester City in two weeks time it will perhaps find the team a full nine points behind the top.  They will probably be like Liverpool, watching their aspiring title go down the drain before long.  Bolton, Blackburn and Portsmouth, they are the teams that avoid downgrades. 

They have an ace in their sleeves, around one or two players who can deliver the most important goals when needed to turn a loss into equality and from equality to win.  They have good center forwards goal scorers; they are rare possessions and should be valued.  With these three bottom dwelling teams they finished ten games and scored four goals.  None of their lineup has proved goal scorers.  They all have sold their goal scorers.  The price they got was great but money did not replace the players abilities to score.  Now they will fight with a degraded team.