Rampant Arsenal stretch lead

LONDON- Champions Arsenal opened a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a 4-0 thrashing of Charlton Athletic at Highbury on Saturday.

Thierry Henry scored twice as Arsene Wenger’s team kept up their momentum and stretched their record unbeaten league run to 48 games. Arsenal have 22 points after eight matches, with Chelsea on 17, one clear of third-placed Everton who lost 1-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur.Aston Villa drew 2-2 at Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City and Portsmouth also shared four goals at Carrow Road.Earlier struggling Southampton drew 0-0 at home to Manchester City.Arsenal pair Patrick Vieira and Lauren started at Highbury following their midweek scuffle on the team bus after the disappointing 1-1 Champions League draw with Rosenborg Trondheim.Wenger’s team controlled the match from the start and broke through after 33 minutes when Dennis Bergkamp squared the ball for Swede Freddie Ljungberg to tap in.Henry then struck the cheekiest of goals three minutes following the break, back-heeling the ball into the corner of the net.The Frenchman drove in his seventh goal of the season after 69 minutes when he and Spaniard Jose Antonio Reyes toyed with the Charlton defence and Henry set up Reyes for the fourth a minute later.”I am pleased with the spirit we showed,” Wenger told Sky Sports after a week in which Arsenal’s morale was questioned following the Vieira-Lauren incident.”We wanted to show great unity and a great spirit as we always do.There is only one answer and that is on the pitch for us.”Charlton manager Alan Curbishley admitted: “No one in the premiership is anywhere near them.”MISERLY SPURSAt Goodison Park, Spurs’ miserly defence held firm and French defender Noe Pamarot headed his first goal for the club after 53 minutes to seal the three points.The goal was against the run of play and Everton were unlucky, with Tim Cahill and Leon Osman striking the woodwork.Jacques Santini’s team leaped six places to fourth on 13 points with victory.At Ewood Park, Swedish defender Olof Mellberg snatched a point for Villa against Blackburn with an 80th-minute equaliser in their 2-2 draw.Czech midfielder Patrik Berger scored a screamer for Portsmouth at Norwich but the home side, still seeking their first league win of the season, earned a deserved point through Simon Charlton’s rare header.Struggling Southampton looked toothless in their goalless draw with Manchester City and suffered a further blow when striker James Beattie suffered a suspected broken toe that could sideline him for several weeks.In Saturday’s late game West Bromwich Albion became the first of the three promoted clubs to win this season when they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to move out of the relegation zone.Nwankwo Kanu and Zoltan Gera were both on target for West Brom while Stelios Giannakopoulos pulled a goal back for a disappointing Bolton who slipped to fifth.- Nampa-ReutersArsenal have 22 points after eight matches, with Chelsea on 17, one clear of third-placed Everton who lost 1-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur.Aston Villa drew 2-2 at Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City and Portsmouth also shared four goals at Carrow Road.Earlier struggling Southampton drew 0-0 at home to Manchester City.Arsenal pair Patrick Vieira and Lauren started at Highbury following their midweek scuffle on the team bus after the disappointing 1-1 Champions League draw with Rosenborg Trondheim.Wenger’s team controlled the match from the start and broke through after 33 minutes when Dennis Bergkamp squared the ball for Swede Freddie Ljungberg to tap in.Henry then struck the cheekiest of goals three minutes following the break, back-heeling the ball into the corner of the net.The Frenchman drove in his seventh goal of the season after 69 minutes when he and Spaniard Jose Antonio Reyes toyed with the Charlton defence and Henry set up Reyes for the fourth a minute later.”I am pleased with the spirit we showed,” Wenger told Sky Sports after a week in which Arsenal’s morale was questioned following the Vieira-Lauren incident.”We wanted to show great unity and a great spirit as we always do.There is only one answer and that is on the pitch for us.”Charlton manager Alan Curbishley admitted: “No one in the premiership is anywhere near them.”MISERLY SPURSAt Goodison Park, Spurs’ miserly defence held firm and French defender Noe Pamarot headed his first goal for the club after 53 minutes to seal the three points.The goal was against the run of play and Everton were unlucky, with Tim Cahill and Leon Osman striking the woodwork.Jacques Santini’s team leaped six places to fourth on 13 points with victory.At Ewood Park, Swedish defender Olof Mellberg snatched a point for Villa against Blackburn with an 80th-minute equaliser in their 2-2 draw.Czech midfielder Patrik Berger scored a screamer for Portsmouth at Norwich but the home side, still seeking their first league win of the season, earned a deserved point through Simon Charlton’s rare header.Struggling Southampton looked toothless in their goalless draw with Manchester City and suffered a further blow when striker James Beattie suffered a suspected broken toe that could sideline him for several weeks.In Saturday’s late game West Bromwich Albion became the first of the three promoted clubs to win this season when they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to move out of the relegation zone.Nwankwo Kanu and Zoltan Gera were both on target for West Brom while Stelios Giannakopoulos pulled a goal back for a disappointing Bolton who slipped to fifth.- Nampa-Reuters