Shocker at St. James

Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal

Walcott- 1'
Djourou- 3'
Van Persie- 10'
Van Persie- 26'
Diaby- RED CARD 53'
Barton- 68' (PK)
Best- 75'
Barton- 83' (PK)
Tiote- 87'

What a weekend it was in the Barclay's English Premier League.

An astonishing 41 goals were scored on Saturday, which was good for a single-day record. Meanwhile, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea all slumped to disappointing results, adding yet another twist to the title race.

One would imagine that United's first loss of the season would be the top news. But Arsenal's incredible loss of composure at St. James' Park was the story. The Gunners scored a trio of goals in the first ten minutes en route to a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 halftime lead.

But a loss of composure, coupled with several terrible refereeing mistakes saw Newcastle get back into the game. In the end, the Gunners were left stunned, as they had somehow managed to only take a point after putting on a world class display in the first half.

Theo Walcott's pace helped him get behind the defense just moments into the match from an Andrei Arshavin through pass, and he finished well.

It was a rare set piece goal goal for Arsenal just minutes later. Johan Djourou's well-placed header looped into the upper-corner from Arshavin's cross.

The in-form Robin Van Persie appeared to have put the icing on the cake with the next two goals of the match. Walcott made a nice run up the right side in the 10th, crossing low across the box onto the right foot of Van Persie, who made no mistake from close range.

The fourth goal also came from the right side. A nice cross from Bacary Sagna met the head of a completely unmarked Van Persie for an easy goal.

The Gunners looked sluggish and disinterested to begin the second half. But no one could have predicted what was to come.

Newcastle didn't look especially dangerous until referee Phil Dowd justifiably sent off Abou Diaby in the 53rd, who overreacted to a dangerous challenge from Joey Barton by grabbing him by the back of his neck, and then made matters worse by shoving Kevin Nolan.

Denilson and Alex Song were both out with injuries, meaning there was no other true defensive midfield to play in Diaby's place. That was when the Gunners started to struggle.

With Arsenal suddenly reeling, Newcastle began to show some fight.

Phil Dowd pointed to the spot for their first goal when Laurent Koscielny made contact with Leon Best. Barton finished to make it 4-1.

There was more controversy after Wojciech Szczesny took the ball out of his net and initially refused to give the ball back to Barton. Kevin Nolan responded by throwing the 'keeper to the ground, but his deed went unpunished.

Newcastle began to create opportunities. Szczesny was tested on several occasions before Leon Best made it 4-2. He won the ball from Clichy off a cross and finished from close range.

Dowd was once again at the center of attention in the 83rd. He gave an unbelievably dubious penalty, whistling Koscielny for a foul once again after he and Best had made minimal contact at best as they went up for an aerial ball. Barton converted again.

The fourth goal came off of a piece of brilliance from Cheick Tiote. In the 87th, The Gunners appeared to have dealt with a Newcastle free kick, but the ball fell to the foot of an onrushing Tiote, who finished delightfully with a full volley from over 20-yards.

Both teams could have won it, too. Nolan came close on a low strike, and Van Persie had a goal controversially called back for offsides just moments from the final whistle.

Diabolical Dowd

Look, I know that Arsenal's second half performance left a lot to be desired. But without the performance of Phil Dowd, there is surely no way that Newcastle even puts much of a scare into the Gunners.

While they were certainly guilty of coming out flat in the second half, and panicking at 4-3, Arsenal clearly deserved all three points on the day. After all, it was Dowd who was easily the most influential figure in the fight back rather than Newcastle themselves.

Before you accost me for being an "Arsenal Homer," let's take a closer look at what went down last Saturday, and how it massively effected the flow of the match.

Interestingly, the first blow of the second 45 minutes was not off of a poor call. Arsenal fans are still holding their collective breaths after seeing center back Johan Djourou limp off with a knee injury. He was replaced by the struggling Sebastian Squillaci, who once again looked off the pace on multiple occasions.

Then came this sending off of Abou Diaby. The red card was surely justified. You simply can't do that type of thing. But let's keep in mind that his reaction stemmed from this reckless challenge from Joey Barton. Diaby, who broke his leg from a similar challenge several years ago, was understandably upset. Still you've got to keep your calm there, as it leaves the referee with no choice.

But despite the sending off, Arsenal's lead would have been safe. Dowd gave the home team a glimmer of hope in the 68th, calling an EXTREMELY soft penalty on Koscielny. Take a look, Koscielny is indeed clumsy with the challenge, but there is very little actual contact, clearly not enough to send Best to the ground.

If that was the whole story, I wouldn't be complaining. But it gets much, much worse, as the buildup of poor decisions becomes too much to ignore.

Let's start with the immediate aftermath from the first penalty kick goal (there's also a replay of the soft penalty decision). The problem starts when Szczesny refuses to give the ball back to Nolan, who throws him to the ground. How is that not a red card on any football pitch? Little less in a match where you've already sent off an Arsenal player for a virtually identical offense? It's simply inexplicable refereeing from Dowd and his assistant, who both witnessed the entire thing. To make things even more laughable, it was Szczesny who received a yellow for time wasting.

At 4-2, Arsenal dropped back to defend their lead. The Magpies were pouring on the pressure, but it was still hard to imagine they'd make it all the way back.

But then Dowd went to work again. His decision to award a penalty in the 83rd was simply absurd. It's a nothing challenge at best and I have no idea what he was looking at. This is a routine cross into the box and even the Newcastle players look somewhat shocked that the referee has given it. He's simply gotten gotten up in the moment, and made an inexplicably poor decision.

The equalizer was brilliant. But once again, Dowd's role was essential after a bizarre foul call on Tomas Rosicky lead to the free kick.

I'm not here to whine. And I'm the first to admit that my love for Arsenal may swing my opinions at times. But I try my best to be objective. And I simply don't see any way that the Gunners even gets a real test in the second half if not for the clueless decisions from Dowd.

I can't stand fans who constantly complain about refs. But there are rare times where you can legitimately say that referees have cost you points. This is one of those times.

A part of me thinks that Dowd had to be giving Arsenal a piece of his mind after Cesc Fabregas was accused of verbally assaulting officials at halftime during Wednesday's match against Everton. At least that's what it looked like. The calls weren't only bad, but they were consistently going against Arsenal.

It's a frustrating loss for the Gunners. And they have to be wondering what could have been after Manchester United lost. But despite the shocker over the weekend, they're still right in the race after picking up a point on the leaders.

While the result didn't kill Arsenal's long-term chances, the injury to Djourou has to have Wenger worried. The 24-year old has been a great surprise this season after returning from a knee injury. He and Koscielny have formed a decent partnership with Thomas Vermaelen still out. In fact, the Arsenal defense hadn't given up a goal in 2011 before Saturday's debacle.

The Swiss international limped off with an apparent knee injury moments into the second half. That's not good news, as he missed all of last season with ligament damage to his knee.

Wenger's team is deeper this season than they have been in the past, and it has helped them cope with several losses over the year. But the one position where they have little cover is at center-half. The team was linked with a plethora of defenders during the January transfer window, but Wenger decided to go ahead with Djourou/Koscielny/Squillaci while Thomas Vermaelen continued to rehab an Achilles injury.

Squillaci is now thrust into competition after looking dreadful this season. He has simply been off the pace, and this lack of speed has seen attackers get behind him on multiple occasions.

The loss of Djourou compounds Arsenal's problems up the middle of the pitch. Defensive midfielders Alex Song and Denilson are both hurt right now and there hasn't been news on how long they will be out. Now Diaby is suspended for three matches, leaving Wenger with very few options. If all three miss this weekend's match, I'm not sure who the man might be in that spot.

All of that has to be tough to swallow for a team that was on fire before the trip to Newcastle. But with plenty more points up for grabs this season, they are still very much in the race for the trophy.

Weekend in Review: Match Reports

Manchester City 4-3 Wolves

12'- Milijas
40'- Toure
49'- Tevez
66'- Tevez
68'- Doyle (PK)
86'- Zubar

Man City responded from an early deficit, and then held off a late Wolves comeback to momentarily move to the top of the table.

The visitors took a surprise lead just 12 minutes in through Milijas. A fortuitous deflection from a corner set him up with the goal at his mercy, and he made no mistake from 5-yards away.

City equalized with a similar goal five minutes before halftime. Vincent Kompany's flick fell to the feet of Toure, whose driven shot was too powerful for David Jones, and the ball came off of him and into the net.

Then they took the lead just moments after the opening of the second half. A moment of sheer brilliance from Carlos Tevez saw him skip past the challenge of three defenders before slotting home the finish.

The home side were firing on all cylinders. And they notched a third in the 54th. A fine run from debutant Edin Dzeko turned a defender, and his subsequent through ball to Toure left him in behind the defense, and his left-footed strike beat Hennessey.

Zubar nearly brought Wolves back into it with yet another set piece chance. But his powerful header from a Jarvis corner dipped onto the crossbar.

The result appeared to be done and dusted when a beautiful cross from Zabaleta somehow found the head of the diminutive Tevez, who finished well into the top corner.

Needing three goals in 25 minutes, Mick McCarthy's side appeared beaten. But they made sure not to go down without a fight.

In the 68th, a clumsy and unnecessary challenge from Lescott on Kevin Doyle resulted in a penalty kick for Wanderers. The Irish International took the spot kick and finished well.

In the 83rd, a poor giveaway from Christophe Berra resulted in another one-on-one chance for Toure. But Hennessey did well to cut off the angle and save.

Soon after, Zubar made for a grandstand finish when he won another header from a corner, and the ball crossed the line and was ruled a goal by the linesman before De Jong could clear.

Wolves pressed furiously over the final minutes. But the biggest chance fell to Milner, whom Hart played behind the defense with a brilliant punt. But Hennessey did well once again.

Tottenham 0-0 Manchester United

73'- Rafael (RED CARD)

Ten-man Manchester United survived a late onslaught from Tottenham to escape White Hart Lane with a scoreless draw.

In an extremely entertaining match, the two teams traded punches but were unable to find the net over the first 70 minutes. But then referee Mike Dean turned the match on his head. He incorrectly showed a second yellow card to Rafael for what appeared to be incidental contact. Sir Alex Ferguson had his team get back and defend from there on out, and his side defended valiantly to hold on for a point.

The visitors started strong with two chances for Rooney within the first 20 minutes. First he missed wide left just two minutes in. Heurelho Gomes saved his long range effort later with Man U on the counter.

Spurs struck back in the ninth minute when a fine low cross from Hutton was met by a volley from Crouch, who missed wide from a great position.

Rooney had a third chance in the 23rd after a cheeky lay-off from Berbatov allowed him to one-touch a shot from distance, but Gomes somehow got a hand to the dipping strike to deflect it wide for a corner.

Van der Vart would have the final chance of the half, but his glancing header hit side-netting.

The second half would be played at a blistering pace. But actual goal-scoring opportunities were few and far between. The big moment came in the 73rd after Dean's mistake resulted in Rafael being sent off.

The Red Devils dropped back and defended the rest of the way. They did so brilliantly, with Vidic and Ferdinand handling the aerial threat in Crouch, and stifling the pace of substitute Jermaine Defoe up front.

Van der Vaart had Spurs' best chance. Darren Fletcher didn't deal well with an Aaron Lennon corner kick, and the ball rolled to the onrushing Dutchman, but his curling strike sailed just over the top corner.

Arsenal 3-0 West Ham

14' Van Persie
40'- Walcott
77'- Var Persie (PK)

Arsenal kept the pressure up at the head of the table in a convincing 3-0 win at Upton Park.

The game took place amidst a media storm regarding Avram Grant's job security. And the Hammers did little to cure his anxiety, getting off to a slow start.

Arsenal started off on the front foot, and got on the board 13 minutes in when Theo Walcott broke down the right side, he crossed low into the box and a clever dummy from Nasri froze the defense as the ball fell to Robin Van Persie, whose right footed strike beat Robert Green.

Walcott should have made it 2-0 in the 19th minute. A fine long ball from Fabregas played him behind the defense, and he tried to take the bouncing ball out of the air on his left foot from close range, but his attempt was sub-standard and rolled harmlessly to Green.

Some sloppy defending allowed West Ham two cracks at goal later on. Johan Djourou's back pass to keeper Szczesny was intercepted by Carlton Cole, but the onrushing Pole saved the one-on-one opportunity. Still the Hammers got the ball back quickly, and Zavon Hines' powerful strike from close-range sailed just over the cross bar.

Van Persie and Walcott combined for the second goal of the match just before half. Van Persie was played through down the left wing and he did well to control and send a pass back across the grain, resulting in Wayne Bridge overrunning the ball, while Walcott was well placed behind him to fire a strike into the upper-netting.

Cole squandered another nice opportunity just before the half, heading a well-placed cross from Freddy Sears off of Djourou's shoulder and out for a corner.

Arsenal cruised for much of the second half and didn't break much of a a sweat.

Bridge was at fault again in the second half, barging into Walcott inside the area for a penalty. Van Persie placed the spot kick low to the right corner for a 3-0 lead.

Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn

57'- Ivanovic
76'- Anelka

Things were far different for Chelsea when these sides last met. On Oct. 30, the Blues won at Ewood Park to go five points atop the table. Yesterday's victory over Blackburn drew them within five points of table-topping Man U.

The hosts had their chances in the first 45 minutes. But things were looking dire once again for Ancelotti's bunch as they went to dressing room scoreless.

Ramires hit the bar from a corner just three minutes in, beating Hoilett to the ball and launching a one-time strike from the far post.

It was Anelka's turn to hit the bar moments from halftime. He met a teasing low cross from Drogba with a powerful strike and CFC were once again unlucky.

Chelsea turned it back around in the second half with a pair of goals from set pieces.

A scramble in front of the net saw the ball come to Ivanovic at the far post. And he controlled nicely and finished for his fifth goal of the season.

Ivanovic won the ball out of the air on another corner with 15 minutes left. His powerful header slammed downwards onto the foot of Anelka inside the 6, who finished with composure.

It wasn't a pretty match at Stamford Bridge. But it's something to build on for Chelsea, who had 11 attempts on target to just 2 for Rovers. The defending was better than in past weeks, and the gap could have been wider if they had a little more luck in the first half.

Recaps

Recaps: Ipswich Shocks Arsenal, Liverpool Nightmare Continues

Carling Cup Semifinal First Leg: Ipswich 1-0 Arsenal

Ipswich Town pulled off one of the shocks of the season, as the club in crisis defeated the EPL big boys just days after receiving a 7-0 drubbing from Chelsea and firing their manager.

A well-taken goal on the break from Tamas Priskin won it for the hosts in the 78th minute, sending a capacity crowd at Portman Road into delirium. The result was well deserved for the underdogs, who outplayed a close to full strength Arsenal Squad and looked the more likely of the two sides to score throughout much of the match.

The Carling Cup was once a competition where Arsene Wenger has chosen to feature his young players. That has not been the case this year, as he and AFC are hungrier than ever to win their first trophy since '05. That showed with the starting lineup, which featured the top center back pairing of Djourou and Koscielny, Fabregas and Wilshere in the midfield, while Arshavin and Walcott got the starts on the wings and Bendtner remained in the lineup up front after starting on the weekend. Denilson slid into defensive midfield to replace Alex Song, while Kieran Gibbs subbed in for Gael Clichy at left back and Eboue started on the right to replace the suspended Bacary Sagna.

With a fine lineup at his disposal, the Gunners got off to a flying start before faltering progressively over the first 45 minutes. Some fine passing allowed them to penetrate the Ipswich box several times over the first few minutes, but they were unable to get on the end of anything.

Then the Blues fought back, keeping the visitors out of their final third and looking more and more dangerous on the attack. But they struggled to find the quality to create a real chance, and were forced to hold their collective breaths when Theo Walcott had two opportunities in the 33rd and 34th minutes. He opted to pass across the box to Fabgreas on the first chance, but the pass was just in front of the captain. Then he took one nicely out of the air before his left footed shot was easily stopped by Fulop.

Ipswich looked the more likely to score in the final ten minutes of the half, and the Gunners looked rattled. Connor Wickham's cross sailed just over the head of David Norris late on in the first half, and any contact from the skipper probably would have done the job.

Arsenal tried to restore their grip on the game to begin the second half. Fabregas opened up the second 45 minutes strongly after a dreadful first half. His ball over the top found Arshavin behind the defense. However, the Russian's shot from a few steps inside the box was at a tough angle, and his left-footed strike sailed well over.

But the night was to belong to Ipswich. And they quickly reasserted themselves. The Blues had two crosses cleared away in the 52nd minute, and Djourou managed to block a shot from Connor Wickham soon after.

Wickham nearly scored a surprising opener for the hosts, creating space for hhimself from 25 yards before curling his shot just wide of the far post.

Fabregas' nightmare evening continued, as an awful giveaway gave Mark Kennedy the ball at midfield, and his subsequent chip would have beaten Szczesny but it lacked enough power, as the 20-year old was able to backtrack and make a comfortable save.

The Spaniard was at fault once again in the 59th when a lovely chip from Bendtner found him alone inside the box, but he tried to volley the ball across the goal with defenders bearing down on him when he perhaps could have settled and shot.

Priskin had a golden opportunity in the 62nd. Jaime Peters' long ball out of the back split the Arsenal center backs. But Priskin failed to control the bouncing ball, and Djourou was able to recover and clear for a corner from just outside the 6-yard box.

A poor clearance left Wickham open from distance moments later, but he scuffed his shot wide.

Fulop would make two crucial saves on Walcott over the final 20 minutes. First a nice one-two between the winger and Fabregas put him in behind the defense on the right, but Fulop quickly cut off the angle and then saved after Walcott attempted to chip him.

Fabregas missed the Gunners' biggest chance of the match in the 77th. Substitute Alex Song played Gibbs down the left side, and the youngster's cross just missed the head of an onrushing Chamakh before falling right to Fabregas inside the 6-yard box with the goal at his mercy. But he reacted slowly, and the ball bounced off his knee and over the goal.

Ipswich would make Walcott and Fabregas pay for their miscues soon after, taking a shock 1-0 lead in the 78th.

An awkward turnover from Denilson fell to Colin Healy, who quickly found Priskin behind the defense. This time the Hungarian took his chance brilliantly, taking several touches and holding off Djourou before sliding the ball low past Szczesny and into the far corner.

Arsenal looked dangerous in the final ten minutes. However, they failed to break through against a heroic Ipswich Defense.

But there were chances.

First a fine touch inside the 18 from Chamakh set up a shot on his left foot and Fulop spilled the strike momentarily before pouncing just in time.

Walcott was played through and had a similar one-on-one to his earlier attempt from the right side of the box, but Fulop once again saved his try to chip.

Ipswich had the final chance of the match when a fantastic punt from Fulop landed on the feet of Carlos Edwards down the right wing. He advanced into the box but saw his shot saved from an acute angle.

EPL: Blackpool 2-1 Liverpool

Conditions continued to worsen for Liverpool, as they suffered their tenth loss of the season, and fourth time in five games.

It all started so promisingly in Kenny Dalglish's first Premiership match in charge. Fernando Torres opened up the scoring in just the third minute, blasting a shot top shelf at a difficult angle from the right side of the box.

But the home side equalized nine minutes later when Gary Taylor-Fletcher got behind the Liverpool defense down the middle, and slotted past Pepe Reina.

Blackpool won it in the 69th. After Liverpool cleared their lines from a corner, a long ball into the box found the ball of Ian Evatt, who headed across goal to a wide open D.J. Campbell, who finished well from close-range.

The win saw the Tangerines surpass Liverpool in the table, upping their point total to 28, which is good for ninth place. Meanwhile, the Reds' nightmare season continues, they now sit in 13th place, just four points above the relegation zone.