Arsenal 4 – 1 Portsmouth – 22nd August – The Gunners find an unlikely hero

On paper this one looked like a no-brainer and in reality it was certainly no different. One club is riding high after an impressive start to the Premier League campaign and a crucial victory in the Champions League; the other is struggling after selling a contingent of their best players and in the midst of a takeover bid.

Abou Diaby was the unlikely hero at The Emirates yesterday as he contributed two goals to help seal an Arsenal victory; indeed this caused such a stir that Arsene Wenger compared him to Patrick Vieira after the match. A brilliant first time finish and a tap in made Diaby the hero, although the whole Arsenal team looked like gods compared to the lost and unorganized Portsmouth. For all their misgivings Pompy did contribute to the affair and were seemingly offered a glimmer of hope on an otherwise dark afternoon for the south-east club when Younes Kaboul headed home to bring the score back to a more respectable 2-1.

It was however not to be and a freak goal by William Gallas (his second in as many matches) summed up the luck that Paul Hart’s side is experiencing these days. Aaron Ramsey slotted home Arsenal’s fourth to complete the rout.

While The Gunners go marching on and find themselves at the zenith of the Premier League, Portsmouth will be left wondering how it all went wrong for a club that boasted such bright talents as Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Glen Johnson. The team that won the 2008 FA Cup now find themselves at the bottom of the league with no wins from 3 games; their worst start to a Premiership campaign.