Some quick thoughts on Saturday

Because I was up rewatching season 2 of Mad Men on demand, I slept until 1225, conveniently waking up just in time for the Everton-Arsenal match. So, the only game I actually watched was that, other than flipping back to Koln-Wolfsburg.

-First, some fantasy griping. I have Matt Upson, who got me a massive 14 points, and then I had Tim Howard, who lost me 3. Ugh.

-The Everton-Arsenal match was a demolition. Everton didn't play particularly awfully, Arsenal was just that much better. The first goal was unstoppable and then the wheel started to come off. 2 of the goals were free (as in, NO ONE) headers, 3 were just very quality strikes and 1 was a Scorpion (BS Chaos in the box type). So, what does this game mean? Well, it means less for Arsenal. They proved what we all knew. They have some amazing players, especially in the technical department, on that team and they passed Everton to death. For Everton? Bad, bad, bad. They were horrendous at marking set pieces, and just lacked any sort of touch in the final 3rd. I missed their goal at the death to grab a little pride, but for the other 90 minutes, they didn't seem to even really sniff near goal. Every shot, FK or corner was RIGHT AT ALMUNIA. They always seem to start slow, but this was beyond that. They got massacred.

-On individual players, I was surprised by how ineffective, or should I say invisible?, Arshavin was. He was a revelation last season, and I still think he will rip it up this season, but he was not involved. In fact, outside of the original shot in the 6th goal, he didn't play a part in a single goal. Which, as a fantasy owner, bothers me. But his corners were pretty poor all match, and he didn't seem locked in. Obviously, this didn't matter much, but what was that all about?

-Bendtner was....well....awesome. Look, I was one of his harshest critics last year. He had horror finish after horror finish, and he was still cocky as ever. Then he starts this year refunding those with his shirt with the wrong number, and then today, was first-rate. His delightful skill set up the first goal, and he had a big part to play for most of Arsenal's attacking moves. He terrorized Baines, and really showed that he is ready to make the leap this season.

-I'm not trying to be an apologist here, but you really can't blame Timbo Slice for a single goal. Which is awful. Because that means your defense gave the other team 6 true goal-scoring opportunities where the goalie had no chance. That's pretty terrifying, considering Moyes would have assumed he would have given up 6 goals through maybe his first 5 or 6 matches.

-On the other games, Colin said that Villa looked awful in their loss to Wigan, but I'll let him cover that. No real surprises elswhere, other than Chelsea only winning 2-1 at the Bridge to Hull. Maybe they have life again? It was pleasant that there wasn't a single draw today, and considering Man U-Birmingham will most likely not be either, you're looking at the possibility of a (maximum) one-draw weekend. Pretty cool.

-Also, homefield meant nothing today. Only Chelsea and Stoke won at home. Portsmouth, Wolves, Rovers, Bolton, Villa and Everton all lost at home, and all but Bolton by multiple goals. Interesting stuff.