The wheels fall off at Arsenal as Rooney hits 100

Another week of high-octane Premier League action saw Arsenal embarrassed at the Emirates by their title rivals for the second time this season and John Terry make the headlines on the front and back pages...

OOH, NOT TO BE A GUNNER

Who would be an Arsenal fan? Once again their season is imploding, just when it seemed they were set for success. Two weeks ago the Gunners went top of the league table and looked a good bet for the FA Cup. Then Arsene Wenger fielded an under strength team against Stoke in the Cup, and saw his side crash out of the competition. Then they limped to a draw against Villa in midweek and now they have been humiliated at home for the second time this season by one of their title rivals. After Chelsea's demolition job in November Arsenal regrouped, but after United's emphatic victory what on earth can they salvage from their season now? They have zero points from the three games against the two teams above them in the league, and next up it's Chelsea away.

ROONEY JOINS THE 100 CLUB

Wayne Rooney notched up his 100th Premier League goal in United's demolition of Arsenal. It was a fitting place for him to reach the milestone as he opened his account against the same club. Rooney was just 16 and playing for Everton in October 2002 when he beat David Seaman with an incredible 25-yard piledriver to end Arsenal's 30-game unbeaten run. It seems he has been improving ever since, and he still loves scoring against the Gunners. Given the way he is playing at the moment his nickname of 'the White Pele' no longer seems quite so ridiculous. The question on the lips of England fans is can he maintain this scintillating form until the World Cup?

LIVERPOOL go back to basics

Liverpool have managed to avoid any high profile slip ups in the last few days and now they are out of the headlines Rafa Benitez is concentrating on getting them up the table. After Saturday's win against Bolton the Reds moved into fifth place, level on points with Spurs in fourth. They are now unbeaten in six games and have conceded just once during that run and with the manager ruling out a move to Juventus and Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun set to return to the side, Liverpool could yet qualify for the Champions League.

Terry scores away from home

Whatever you think of John Terry's behaviour off the field he is a natural leader on it, and it seemed inevitable that he would make headlines against Burnley. The fact that he, ahem, 'scored away from home' only made it more delicious for the headline writers. But while he proved that he is a quality player, the reception he got from the Burnley fans will concern Fabio Capello though. It's not very seemly to have the captain of England booed to the rafters in every ground in the country months before the World Cup.

solidarity at city

Players at Manchester City are in no doubt about where their sympathies lie when it comes to the John Terry scandal. Three of them wore t-shirts with the words 'Team Bridge' emblazoned on them during City's 2-0 win over Portsmouth to show support for their team-mate Wayne Bridge, whose girlfriend had an affair with the Chelsea captain. "The players are very close to Wayne," said City boss Roberto Mancini. "It was a nice gesture." None of the three, Carlos Tevez, Stephen Ireland and Nigel de Jong, are English, but Fabio Capello will be concerned that the scandal could create problems in the England camp. Bridge himself has already said he does not want to play in the same team as Terry.

hodgson or the hairdryer

Sir Alex Ferguson was at Craven Cottage to watch Fulham take on Aston Villa on Saturday and check on new signing, defender Chris Smalling, who will join United in the summer. The United boss would have been quietly pleased that he had chosen the correct centre back to sign as Brede Hangeland, who has also been linked with several big clubs, had something of a nightmare. That was until Stiliyan Petrov crossed the ball after a mistake from Hangeland and little Gabriel Agbonlahor completely monstered Smalling to head home Villa's opening goal. Ferguson would not have been impressed, while Smalling would have been grateful it was Roy Hodgson and not the United boss giving him a dressing down at half time. ·