Weekend Premier League Round Up - Man Utd & Edin Dzeko Go Goal Crazy!

(Apologies for the delay in this week's Premier League round-up. The bank holiday Monday put us at least a day behind) Picture the scene, you're in a heated exchange with a loved one due to something you or they have said or done. You're fired up and you're willing to stand and fight for what you believe in, like a knight facing a horde of marauding barbarians. Maybe that's just me, too many full costumed Lord of the Rings marathons or something. I digress. Snarling, perspiring, with gritted teeth and perhaps even drooling slightly you bat back forth the cries of €œwhat did you mean by that?€, €œbut then you said€, €œno I don't always do that€ and so on. Then comes that moment, the moment we all know and hate, the sinking feeling in the pit of your gut when you suddenly realise 'fudge, I'm wrong'. I remember watching the steady rise of free spending Manchester City last season and the scrutiny rained downed upon every multi-million pound signing they made. One such candidate in for his fair share of flak was Bosnian goal getter, Edin Dzeko. Arriving in England with a huge reputation, scoring goals for fun in the Bundesliga, Dzeko looked out of his depth in the Premiership. Despite scoring for City in the Community shield, myself and a friend scoffed at Dzeko's overall performance commenting that it looked like it was going to be another miserable season for the big forward man. Now is the time to admit that I was wrong, for what was witnessed on Sunday afternoon was nothing short of brilliance. Dzeko scored four of five goals at White Hart Lane as Manchester City demolished Tottenham Hotspur. Coming into this season, City and Tottenham had been inseparable, shoulder to shoulder as they fiercely contested the fourth spot of the English Premiership. On Sunday afternoon they looked leagues apart. Buoyed by new signing Samir Nasri, and with a spearhead attack of Aguero, Silva and Dzeko, they tore through Tottenham time and time again. The early stages were closely contested, end to end football with Spurs creating and squandering several chances, but it didn't take long for City to assert their dominance. Brad Friedel made a valiant attempt at guarding the Tottenham goal, pulling off several decent saves until the floodgates opened. It's hard to criticize Tottenham, much speculation has followed several first ream player in pre-season, but whether or not this had an effect on the outcome remains open for discussion. They appeared disjointed and unmotivated at times, which could suggest that behind the scenes all is not right. Rumours still surround the fate of Luka Modric, Peter Crouch and even manager Harry Redknapp's relationship with Chairman Daniel Levy. Take nothing away from City though, they were magnificent and sent out a real signal to the rest of the Premier League that they really do mean business. White Hart Lane isn't the easiest place to come and gain all three points as Spurs have shown over the past few seasons, but as was displayed on Sunday past form is just a number on a page. It was not all doom and gloom for Tottenham fans, and in equal measure it was equally not all joy and cheer for Manchester City as the second of the day's Manchester versus North London fixtures panned out. With the pressure mounting upon Arsene Wenger, playing away at Manchester United isn't the ideal fixture with which to rally the troops. Arsenal have tasted their fair share of success at Old Trafford in recent times, but this wasn't to be one of those successful afternoons. In what will go down as a Premiership classic, Arsenal were ruthlessly put to the sword by a rampant Manchester United losing 8 €“ 2. It's not often the words 'humiliation' are used to describe a performance from one of the so called Premiership 'big boys', but the Gunners were made to look like the team of misfits pitted against the sporty kids by a nasty P.E. Teacher. The Gunners were severely depleted, but even that isn't enough to excuse this result. Manchester United's new generation seem to have arrived like a slap to the face, with Danny Wellbeck opening the scoring after some sunday league defending from the visitors. Any fears United may have had about losing Ryan Giggs as he winds down are surely allayed with every performance from Ashley Young, who scored two sensational goals, the first a beautifully looping shot from outside the box which flew past a hapless Scezny and into the top corner. He looks every part the United player already and considering he is still settling into the team, it's a terrifying prospect to think of what is yet to come. When focussed on the game and not on Ethel's bloomers, there are few better in world football than Wayne Rooney, and after an up down season last year the Merseysider looks to be getting back to his best, netting a superb hat-trick. Further goals, both brilliant in their own right, were added by Nani and Park Ji-Sung as United ensured that journalists up and down the land would be nervously checking over their thesauruses for further superlatives to throw at the Red Devils. Arsenal's misery was to be compounded by yet another red card, three in their three opening games a Premiership record, as Carl Jenkinson was sent off for two silly yellow cards. It's a baptism of fire for the youngster, the way in which he has been thrown into the team, and if his spat with team mate Theo Walcott is anything to go by then the pressure is telling. City may have thought that they had announced themselves as the new top dog on Sunday evening, but it was their rivals United who sent out the timely reminder that they still very much remain the team to beat. Another team looking to remind the world that they're still there are Chelsea, who hosted Norwich City at Stamford Bridge. For the second week running, the Blues faltered against opposition they once may have swept aside with ease, leaving it late to grab all three points. Although ending 3-1 to the home side, the scoreline doesn't tell the full story of the match, with Chelsea never really kicking into top gear. Such statements are a double edged blade however, as it can be argued that it's more credit to the Pensioners that they won by such a margin despite an average performance. Jose Boswinga cannoned the ball into the net in the early minutes of the game, after which you would have been forgiven for thinking that goals galore were to follow but it actually took until the 63rd minute for the net to ripple again. Grant Holt, the Norwich captain, looked lively all afternoon and caused Chelsea problems. His leveller to silence the Bridge was well taken and much deserved for the plucky visitors. But it wasn't to last as Fat Frank Lampard put the home side ahead from the spot, Norwich keeper Ruddy being sent off in the process for bringing down Ramires. Then to seal the win, débutante Juan Mata burst into the box and slotted home from a tight angle, introducing himself to the English game perfectly. Norwich can take heart from this defeat however, and go into what is likely to be a tough season with added confidence. It was also a good weekend for the much derided Liverpool. Following two seasons of uncertainty, Liverpool are steadily clambering back respect from fans and pundits alike as they launch an assault to regain top four status. Their strong start continued here against Bolton, winning 3-1. The opening goal coming from Jordan Henderson as he hammered home a rebounded shot. Any hopes the Trotters may have had of a second half revival were quickly snubbed out as two goals in two minutes for Liverpool all but killed the game as a contest. Martin Skrtel struck first on the 52nd minute, with a monstrous header direct from a corner, followed by last season's bright spark Charlie Adam who struck from outside the area just a minute later. Ivan Klasnic ruined Pepe Reina's clean sheet bonus, but with Liverpool in such fantastic form I'm sure it was quickly forgotten. In an uneventful midlands derby, Aston Villa and Wolvehampton Wanderers managed to maintain their unbeaten starts to the season. Both sides looked eager to work hard and make life difficult for one another and with great success, the tie ending 0-0. Gabriel Agbonlahor continues to look the part for Villa this season, despite not scoring, with a spirited display. Hot shot Swansea City just can't stop start scoring as they drew 0-0 at home to Sunderland. To be fair to the hosts, they looked the better of the two sides on the day as both managers looked to recover from midweek Carling Cup exits. Scott Sinclair rattled the bar with a rocket shot, whilst Sunderland's John O'Shea also shaved the woodwork at the other end. Swansea keeper Michael Vorm was on hand to guard his goal whenever required to ensure that the honours remained even. One might speculate that more excitement could be found in a highlights reel of John Major's years in office than that of the Swan's Premiership life thus far. There was drama at Ewood Park as Blackburn took on Everton, with the hosts missing two penalties before Everton snatched all three points with a penalty of their own. Both of Blackburn's penalties were drawn from fouls upon substitute Mauro Formica. The first after youngster Ross Berkley hauled him down, only to see Junior Hoilett miss from the spot. Phil Jagielka then gave Blackburn a second chance with a mistimed challenge. This time it was Formica himself who failed to convert. Rovers having also hit the woodwork twice, were their own worst enemies with Christopher Samba bringing down Marouand Fellaini in injury time for Mikel Arteta to calmly send Paul Robinson the wrong way. Steve Kean's Radiohead marathon continues. Former Chelsea startlet Franco Di Santo netted a brace as Wigan Athletic put Q.P.R. to the sword at the DW stadium. The win was Wigan's first of the season and interestingly enough their third of three games against the newly promoted sides. Q.P.R. new boy Joey Barton wasn't available for selection after his switch from Newcastle wasn't completed in time to see him eligible for the match. It'll certainly be interesting to see how the firey midfielder takes to having the oft divisive Adel Taarabt as captain. Barton's steel will be a welcome addition for Neil Warnock's men as they were overwhelmed in the centre of the park by Wigan. Di Santo's first goal was an absolute screamer, his second wasn't bad either. Both of these sides will look to avoid the drop this year and at the moment, Wigan look most equipped to do so. Barton's former club Newcastle were in action in one of Sunday's other fixtures as they took on Fulham at St. James' Park. Martin Jol, who was once linked to the Newcastle job during his time at Spurs, had no joy this afternoon in the North East seeing his side lose by two goals to one. The first half was scrappy with little action, barring Tiote being floored in comical fashion by a stray fist from Steven Taylor, but the tie exploded into life in the second half with Newcastle striker Leon Best scoring twice. New signing Demba Ba looked in good shape, setting up Best's second goal but ideally Newcastle could use another top quality striker to add to their playing staff. The relationship between chairman Mike Ashley and the Newcastle faithful has been a troublesome one at times, and his reluctance to dip into his pocket this summer isn't helping matters. The real hero for Newcastle was once again Tim Krul, who pulled of a string of magnificent saves to keep the home side ahead. His one handed save from a Danny Murphy header was the pick of the bunch. He was beaten in the closing stages by Clint Dempsey as the visitors notched one back, but take nothing away from the keeper, it was a man of the match performance. Fulham who are without a league win this season should have the quality and depth to avoid relegation, but just ask any West Ham fan how little that can sometimes mean. West Brom, who always try so hard yet never seem to win, continued that as they lost at home to Stoke. Once again the Baggies looked the better side for most of the contest, but a defensive mix up between Gabriel Tamas and Ben Foster allowed Ryan Shotton to score for the visiting side. Tony Pulis side have made an impressive start to the season and are thus far unbeaten. Jonathan Woodgate is looking a shrewd acquisition for the Potters, as he continues to dominate at the centre of their defence. Woodgate did however overcome an injury scare at half time, it is reported that a tissue, caught in a gentle breeze clipped the former Real Madric centre back as he made his way down the tunnel. Luckily the physio was on hand to see that no serious damage was done. Follow me on Twitter @tehTrunk