English Premier League Top 5 Moments: Week 4

English Premier League Top 5 Moments: Week 4Each week, I will be looking back at the English Premier League matches that were played and would identify five moments that stood out. Now, they need not necessarily be match-winning moments; they could be anything: an awesome goal, a terrific save, an appalling refereeing decision, a humiliating instant, a brawl, or even a cute poster in the crowd!

Without further ado, here are the top 5 for the week that was:

5. Ashley Cole vs. Burnley
All throughout the evening, Chelsea were rampant against the new so-called “giant killers” Burnley who were fresh after their stunning wins over Manchester United and Everton. The Blues, however, seem hungrier than ever before to win everything this season; and they showed it through wonderful passing football, uncharacteristic closing down in the midfield, teamwork and some awesome play down the wings from both full-backs; and although Jose Bosingwa did most of the work on the right flank, it was Ashley Cole’s sweet one-two with Frank Lampard and then a thumping strike off a difficult angle to find the net that took the prize, leading Chelsea to a comfortable yet impressive 3-0 win over the (still) league minnows.

4. Aaron Lennon vs. Birmingham
He did it again! For the second week running, the English winger with dazzling pace but not much to show for it – Aaron Lennon – thumped in the winner to maintain Tottenham Hotspur’s undefeated start to the league. It was a terrific match; Spurs piling up wave after wave of creative, dynamic, attacking football and Birmingham actually being pretty impressive in withstanding it. It was only a matter of time though and Peter Crouch scored his first for his new club to put Spurs ahead. Birmingham equalized soon after through Lee Carsley. And just when all seemed done and dusted; when Alex McLeish was getting ready to out-beam Owen Coyle’s recent exploits, Lennon spoiled the party with a trademark run and a sweet finish. Awesome moment!

3. Andriy Arshavin vs. Manchester United
How did he do that? I’ve looked at the replays and am still baffled by the goal that Andriy Arshavin scored against Manchester United to put Arsenal ahead, despite his team losing 2-1 in the end. Some thirty yards out, the Russian midfielder without much back-lift fired a beast of a shot to elude Ben Foster and find the top corner. I thought Arshavin’s own reaction summed up the goal: unbelievable!

2. Arsene Wenger vs. Manchester United
This is the second awesome moment from Arsenal vs. Manchester United. And this one was riveting to watch! Van Persie scored and off-side goal in the very dying moments with Arsenal 2-1 down, Wenger started celebrating at the potential equalizer and soon realized the goal had been ruled off-side. Now, he did not say much but kicked a water bottle to let off some steam. On the surface though he looked quite calm. The fourth official did not like it much; maybe he had been drinking from that bottle; he reported it to the referee who shared his feelings and wola! Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands! The poor Arsenal manager climbed up the stairs with no real place to sit and stood before a host of screaming United Fans, shrugging and shaking his head. I felt for the Frenchman; it wasn’t much of an offense and it all seemed pretty insulting. Later, during the press conference, Wenger saw the funny side of it by stating simply that he did not understand why he had been sent off for kicking the bottle and that “it was a good kick!”!

1. Abou Diaby vs. Manchester United
Now, what was Abou Diaby thinking? With the game sensitively poised at 1-1, the lanky Arsenal midfielder headed a routine corner right into his own net! Watching the replays, it was so ridiculous it LOOKED intentional. Maybe he forgot what end he was playing at; maybe he wanted to show off his heading prowess be it at the wrong end; or maybe he was plain unlucky. The result robbed Arsenal of all the points against Manchester United, but it did earn Diaby the top place on this list! Not too bad in the end, huh?