BLACKBURN, United Kingdom, Sept 17, (AFP): Ayegbeni Yakubu scored twice to turn up the heat on Arsene Wenger as Blackburn twice came from behind to defeat Arsenal 4-3 at Ewood Park on Saturday.
Blackburn fans marched before kick-off demanding the removal of manager Steve Kean after a poor run of form.
But they were celebrating by the end as Blackburn leapfrogged Arsenal in the table after a Yakubu-inspired victory, the Nigerian striker unwanted by Everton but eager to prove he can still cut it at this level.
It leaves Arsenal with just four points from their opening five games and means Wenger’s side have now conceded 12 goals in the last two away games in the Premier League.
The defeat also exposed the frailty in Arsenal’s defence, which conceded two own goals during a pulsating contest.
The Gunners had taken the lead on 10 minutes, Alex Song splitting the defence with a weighted pass to find Gervinho who rifled a low angled shot shot beyond Paul Robinson.
But despite dominating play Arsenal were unable to add to their lead and were rocked on 25 minutes when Yakubu conjured a goal out of nothing, picking up David Hoilett’s pass to finish beyond the advancing Wojciech Szczesny.
However Arsenal were back in front within nine minutes, when new signing Mikel Arteta opened his account for the club, sweeping in Aaron Ramsey’s cross with aplomb to put Arsenal 2-1 up.
Yet with the game under control, the defensive brittleness which has become Arsenal’s hallmark in recent seasons reared its head early in the second half.
There appeared to be little danger Ruben Rochina chipped in an innocuous free-kick from near the right-hand side of the penalty box, but Arsenal’s failure to clear cost them dear as Song diverted the ball into his own net.
Sensing Arsenal’s unease, Blackburn ramped up the pressure and on 59 minutes they took the lead after another setpiece.
A Hoilett corner found Steven Nzonzi at the far side of the area, and the Frenchman lashed a shot towards the six-yard box which was turned in by Yakubu for the Nigerian striker’s second of the match.
A wretched afternoon for Arsenal got even worse on 69 minutes when a swift counter-attack down the right saw Martin Olsson burst clear.
The Swedish international accelerated past Johan Djourou before beating Alex Song and cutting back into the six-yard area where Laurent Koscielny steered into his own net for the second own goal of the match.
Substitute Marouane Chamakh raised Arsenal’s hopes of a comeback when he headed in on 85 minutes as the Londoners laid siege to the Blackburn goal.
Robin Van Persie had a close-range effort well saved by Robinson while both Chamakh and Per Mertesacker should have hit the target with headed chances.
Theo Walcott might have had legitimate claims for a penalty when he was bundled over by Robinson, but Rovers were not to be denied their first win of the season.
Norwich 2, Bolton 1
In Bolton, two first-half goals proved enough for Norwich City to record their first win of the Premier League season, a 2-1 success away to 10-man Bolton Wanderers.
Anthony Pilkington and Bradley Johnson struck for the Canaries, before Ivan Klasnic was sent off for the home side as the interval approached.
Martin Petrov reduced the deficit from the penalty spot just after the hour, and the visitors had goalkeeper John Ruddy to thank for a crucial save to deny David Ngog deep in stoppage time.
Paul Lambert’s side move above Bolton in the table and on to five points, but there is no respite for Owen Coyle’s men, who have now lost four league games on the bounce since a comprehensive 4-0 win at QPR on the opening day.
The hosts had been beaten 5-0 at home by Manchester United last weekend, but would have been hopeful of getting back to winning ways against promoted Norwich.
Norwich had not won in Bolton since 1982, when they triumphed at the old Burnden Park, and they had not won an away game in the Premier League since 1994.
However, they started the brighter of the two teams, and Jussi Jaaskelainen was forced into saves from an Elliott Bennett snapshot and a Russell Martin header.
A goal appeared to be a only a matter of time in coming, and it arrived eight minutes before the break when a corner came to Leon Barnett at the back post.
He diverted the ball back towards goal, where Pilkington was on hand to turn it home.
Bolton had barely recovered from that blow when Johnson rose to head a cross from the right-hand side low past Jaaskelainen.
Villa 1, Newcastle 1
In Birmingham Leon Best denied Gabriel Agbonlahor the perfect end to his 200th Aston Villa start as Newcastle earned a 1-1 draw at Villa Park to preserve both teams’ unbeaten records.
Agbonlahor had given Villa the lead with his third goal of the campaign early in the contest as he boosted his hopes of an England recall just days after accusing former manager Gerard Houllier of “killing” his international prospects following a season on the periphery.
France international Yohan Cabaye hit the crossbar early in the second half for the Magpies and a minute later Best fired in to earn them a deserved point.
It left Alan Pardew’s team with nine points from their first five games, two ahead of Alex McLeish’s Villa.
Both sides made one change, with Barry Bannan drafted in for the injured Emile Heskey, while Demba Ba replaced Shola Ameobi up front for the Magpies.
Bannan, who was utilised wide on the right, took just three minutes to demonstrate his passing prowess with a clever lofted pass that sent Agbonlahor streaking through, but Tim Krul was quickly off his line to avert the danger.
However, Newcastle were unfortunate not to go ahead in the seventh minute when Republic of Ireland international Best released Cabaye 25 yards from goal and his low drive swerved inches past the left post. Shay Given, up against his former team, had to be alert to prevent Gabriel Obertan’s intended cross from creeping under the Villa crossbar.
But it was Villa who took the lead against the run of play after 13 minutes.
Fabio Coloccini did well to block Agbonlahor’s volley from Bannan’s cross but the ball fell kindly for the striker and he squeezed a low shot underneath Krul.
Villa were comfortably in the ascendancy at this stage and they should have doubled their advantage in the 26th minute following a slick passing move.
QPR 3, Wolvers 0
In Wolverhampton, Queens Park Rangers moved into the top half of the table as Neil Warnock’s new-look team recorded an impressive 3-0 win over Wolves at Molineux.
Wolves never recovered after a two-goal blitz by the Hoops in the opening 10 minutes, captain Joey Barton opening his account for the club in the eighth minute before Alejandro Faurlin added a second.
A comprehensive win for the Londoners was completed on 87 minutes, substitute DJ Campbell scoring his first goal for the club after converting Armand Traore’s pass.
It was QPR’s second away win of the season following their 1-0 victory at Everton last month, and lifted Warnock’s side to ninth.
A mood of optimism has swept over QPR since they were taken over by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes last month, a buyout which led to the arrival of several proven Premier League performers as the transfer window closed.
QPR new boys Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips both caused problems for Wolves, with the former Manchester City team-mates linking to great effect in midfield for the visitors.
Their partnership reaped swift reward when Wright-Phillips cut back to Barton, who slotted past Wayne Hennessey to make it 1-0.
Two minutes later QPR doubled their lead, Faurlin chesting down a failed clearance on the edge of the box and blasting home.
Everton 3, Wigan 1
In Liverpool, Everton had Apostolos Vellios and Royston Drenthe to thank for scoring late goals that handed them a 3-1 win over Wigan at Goodison Park.
David Moyes’ side fell behind to Franco Di Santo’s first half effort and although Phil Jagielka equalised soon after it looked as though the hosts would have to settle for a disappointing draw.
There were only six minutes left when young Greek striker Vellios fired Everton into the lead before Dutch winger Drenthe, signed on loan from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day, bagged the decisive third goal in stoppage time.
Those late goals allowed Moyes to breathe a sigh of relief after he opted to leave out France striker Louis Saha despite his lack of attacking options.
Saha, who has made only two appearances this season, reacted to being left out of the squad by venting his frustration on micro-blogging website Twitter, but Everton were eventually able to thrive in his absence. Seamus Coleman’s stooping header was turned around the post by Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi in the early stages.
Wigan took the lead in the 31st minute and Moyes will have been furious with the way Di Santo was allowed to collect Ben Watson’s near-post corner and turn inside Leon Osman before firing in a shot which deflected off Tony Hibbert and past Tim Howard for his third goal of the season.
Having previously struggled for goals the Argentinian has now scored more this season than in his previous three-and-a-half years in England.
Swansea 3, West Brom 0
In Swansea, a day of firsts saw Swansea City score their first ever Premier League goal and secure their first victory since promotion last season in a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
The honour of scoring the Swans’ first goal of the campaign fell to Scott Sinclair, star of May’s Championship play-off final victory over Reading, with further goals from Leroy Lita and Nathan Dyer completing the success.
Having started the match bottom of the table, Swansea finished the day in 13th place, with West Brom slipping four places into the relegation zone.
A sombre start to proceedings at the Liberty Stadium saw both sides respect a minute’s silence in memory of the four miners who died at the nearby Gleision Colliery this week and the late father of Swansea coach Brendan Rodgers.
Swansea were dealt a blow shortly before kick-off when record signing Danny Graham was ruled out due to a back injury, with Lita taking his place up front. Sinclair fluffed an early chance when the ball landed at his feet at the back post, but he made amends with a 14th-minute penalty after Paul Scharner had been penalised for going through Joe Allen from behind.
It was the first ever Premier League goal scored outside England and made Sinclair the first top-flight goalscorer for Swansea since Bob Latchford found the target in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester United in May 1983.
Neil Taylor almost gifted the visitors an equaliser in the 22nd minute when his errant back-pass inadvertently set Shane Long free on the edge of the Swansea box, but the Irishman blazed his shot over the crossbar.
Long’s profligacy assumed new significance barely two minutes later, as Lita doubled the Swans’ advantage with a close-range header from Sinclair’s flick-on before tearing off his shirt in jubilant celebration.
A brilliant finger-tip save from Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm prevented Long pulling a goal back just after the half hour.
Dyer put the game to bed three minutes into the second half, cantering onto Lita’s flick-on and drilling the ball between the legs of Ben Foster.
Vorm continued to thwart the Baggies, athletically denying Graham Dorrans, Peter Odemwingie and Long to preserve Swansea’s defensive inviolability at home this season.
The only negative for Swansea was a troubling collision between Odemwingie and Taylor that saw the former booked and the latter stretchered off after being given oxygen on the pitch, prompting nine minutes of injury time.