Premiership Results 19th December

Arsenal 3-0 Hull City
Aaron Ramsey didn’t replace Cesc Fabregas in the starting line-up as expected. He didn’t come on until the 68th minute, by which time Arsenal were 2-0 up. He didn’t score but he was brilliantly creative throughout his time on the pitch and he might have got an assist if Theo Walcott wasn’t so out of practice. I love to see him play but in some ways I’m glad he didn’t start. Once Arsenal are 2-0 up, the pressure on Aaron to be the next Cesc Fabregas lessens.
I do like it when Arsenal score but I did feel a little bit guilty on these three occasions. After all, Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill is Welsh. It did sound as though he made some excellent saves though. If he had a stronger defence in front of him, all the top clubs would be after him (in my daydreams anyway).

Aston Villa 1-0 Stoke City
James Collins has taken so long recovering from injury, the other Villa defenders have got really really good and he can’t get into the team. They were so good on this occasion that James didn’t even get to come on as a substitute.
Danny Collins, ridiculously dropped to the bench last week (was there another naked headbutting session I don’t know about?) was restored to the starting line-up but it was Ryan Shawcross’ turn to go AWOL. He has a groin injury.
But really, much as I love Tony Pulis for obvious reasons (plus he’s a really good manager), if you want to score goals, leaving your goalscorers on the bench is not the way to go. And considering they score so many from set pieces, leaving your free kick and throw-in specialists is probably not ideal either. Still, their defence could have done a lot worse.

Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Gareth Bale was one of the few Tottenham players who didn’t have a sneaky Christmas party in Ireland. This might possibly be because Robbie Keane stupidly got them on the guest list for an under-21 club but I like to tell myself it’s because he’s a dedicated professional. And I think he should have played.
Jason Brown stayed on the bench for Blackburn which might have been part of the problem.

Fulham 3-0 Manchester United
This is normally the kind of result that would make me laugh for days but I can’t. I’ve got a new friend who’s a Manchester United supporter and I want her to be happy and I’m afraid Fulham have got in the way of it rather. They didn’t even have Simon Davies who is busy relapsing but since Bobby Zamora’s unprecedented discovery of where the net is Fulham at home have become an even more scary proposition than they were last season.
Ryan Giggs was still missing, along with many of his team-mates. But take nothing away from Fulham, they were good.

Manchester City 4-3 Sunderland
I told you Craig Bellamy’s suspension was the reason why Manchester City lost last week and for once I might not have been talking complete rubbish. Craig set up the first goal, won the penalty that became the second and scored the third – without collecting any yellow cards whatsoever. I was a bit surprised he was taken off when the goals were still 3-3 but if any player is going to come anywhere close earning the ridiculous wages that Man City are allegedly handing out, Craig had probably done it by then.