O'Neill gets a flying start, van Persie stakes Arsenal claim

SOME OF the chasing pack did what they needed to do this weekend and kept up the pressure on Manchester City ahead of their massive showdown with Chelsea tonight. There were wins for Manchester United, who are now just two points behind their local rivals, and Arsenal, but Spurs and surprise package Newcastle both slipped up.

At the bottom Sunderland moved away from the danger zone on Martin O'Neill's debut as they beat Blackburn. Bolton are rock bottom after another defeat meant they were leapfrogged by Wigan, who beat West Brom.

And after another hard-fought weekend of action, here's what the fans will be talking about this morning:

O'Neill gets off to a flyer
Hovering a few feet above the Stadium of Light turf, Martin O'Neill looked pleased to be back in the hurly burly of the Premier League after after Sebastian Larsson's stoppage‑time free‑kick handed Sunderland a late winner against Blackburn. It looked as though the energetic Northern Irishman's return to management with the Black Cats was going to end in defeat against fellow-strugglers Rovers until David Vaughan equalised with rasping 25-yard strike after 84 minutes. Then in injury time came Larsson's free kick, which went in off a post to spark wild celebrations at the Stadium of Light and the trademark O'Neill leap. "It's been a great day. If the fans feel half as good as I do, it will be great for them," he said.

RVP makes case for legendary status
Perhaps it is the prospect of being immortalised in bronze outside the Emirates stadium that is spurring Robin van Persie on to ever greater efforts this season. With the Gunners' 125th birthday party in danger of falling flat the Dutch striker came up with a contender for goal of the season to earn Arsenal all three points and take his tally for the season to 19. After labouring for much of Legends' Day at the Emirates, Van Persie suddenly sprang to life when he latched onto Alex Song's chip over the Everton defence and slammed a first-time left-foot volley past Tim Howard to make it 1-0. All in all it was a fitting way to mark the occasion. RVP established his legendary credentials, the crowd were able to enjoy a chorus of "One-nil to the Arsenal" and Thierry Henry was given the chance to reacquaint himself with the club amid rumours that he could be returning to London for a last-hurrah.

United fans make light of their woes
It is safe to assume Alex Ferguson had demanded a response from his players after Manchester United's untimely exit from the Champions League, and he got it as his side hit Wolves for four, and Wayne Rooney bagged a brace to became one of United's top ten league scorers. The Stretford End of Old Trafford even had the brass to make light of the club's woes, singing: "Thursday night, Channel Five."

Stoke upset the Spurs applecart
There were some raised eyebrows when Matthew Etherington quit West Ham for Stoke in 2009, but the winger has prospered at the Britannia and got one over on another of his former clubs, Spurs, scoring twice for the Potters as they ended the Londoners' 11-game unbeaten run on Sunday. Another ex-Spurs man was also crucial to the Stoke win. Peter Crouch appeared to handle the ball in the run up to the opening goal, and that wasn't the only refereeing decision that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp took issue with. He claimed that Chris Foy was wrong to rule out what looked like a legitimate equaliser from Emmanuel Adebayor, and should not have sent off defender Younes Kaboul. He also argued that Foy missed at least two other handballs.

Suarez makes headlines for the right reasons
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was the centre of attention again this weekend, but just for once it was for the right reasons as the Uruguayan scored the winner for the Reds against plucky QPR at Anfield to help his side to their first home win since September. The striker is facing an FA charge over allegations of racism by Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and is the subject of an investigation after he was pictured giving Fulham fans the finger last week. But on Saturday he returned to doing what he was signed for, and scored the only goal of the game with a header early in the second half.

Has the Magpies bubble burst?
Is the Newcastle dream over? After fighting their hearts out for a return of one point from nine against Manchester City, United and Chelsea, the Toon must have been looking forward to the trip to Carrow Road to take on Norwich, even without injured Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini. However, the Canaries overcame the Magpies 4-2 with two goals from cult hero Grant Holt. United are now starting to slide down the table despite Alan Pardew's assertion that the bubble has not burst. On the plus side Demba Ba scored two fine goals at the weekend, but the former West Ham man could soon start attracting interest from other clubs.

Jeepers keepers
No-one could argue that the Premier League is a dour low-scoring competition. This weekend there were another 27 goals, not a huge return but a decent average of three a game. And of the 150-odd matches so far this season only 11 have ended 0-0. So spare a thought for the goalkeepers of the division, particularly those of the smaller teams, who week after week are pulling out ever more impressive performances. This week QPR stopper Radek Cerny, and Blackburn's Paul Robinson both caught the eye despite seeing their sides lose. Swansea's Michael Vorm and Ali Al-Habsi had better luck as their teams both won. ·