It has been an extended weekend of sport with many highs and lows and we will take a look at the stand-out performances and see what can be learnt from the Bank Holiday weekend.
1. It is going to be a Manchester one-two this season
Manchester United always looked like being the team to beat this season and their early-season form has done little to suggest otherwise (United 11/10 – Premier League Outright).
But Sunday’s 8-2 demolition of Arsenal fired a shot across the bows of the rest of the Premier League as they looked in scintillating form when dismantling Arsene Wenger’s under-strength side.
Wayne Rooney had the weight of the world on his shoulders in the first half of last season and did not contribute much, but he has started like a house on fire and, with the summer signings already playing their part, the Red Devils are the side to beat.
Their ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City have also made a perfect start to the campaign and their 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham at White Hart Lane was, possibly, even more impressive given the location of the encounter.
It was always going to take a few years for a team of expensive signings to gel and, with Edin Dzeko finally showing his true colours with four goals, they look the likeliest challengers to Sir Alex Ferguson’s charges.
Chelsea will be there or thereabouts but, even at this fledgling part of the season, it is shaping up to be a two-horse race for top-flight honours.
2. Arsenal are in deep trouble
The general consensus is that Arsenal Wenger has ‘bought himself some time’ with the success he has had at Arsenal over the past 15 years.
But it also has to be remembered that the Gunners have not won a trophy for six years, something Ferguson said he would “never let happen” at Old Trafford (Arsenal 7/4 – Top-Four Finish).
A reluctance to spend is now coming back to haunt the Frenchman and he appears to be scrabbling around for players with just a few days to go before the transfer window shuts.
That is not usually how the north Londoners do their business and there is definitely a sense of panic at the Emirates.
He is an intelligent man with an excellent football brain and it will take all his skills as a manager to turn the season around, otherwise the Arsenal board might have to act to prevent the current campaign snowballing into a disastrous season.
3. Twenty20 cricket is here to stay
It may have its critics and the summer’s Test series with India showed that the five-day game still has a massive place in the sport, but the excitement of the Friends Life t20 finals day proved that the shortest version of the game will not go away.
Persistent showers threatened to ruin the Edgbaston showpiece but, with Duckworth-Lewis calculations changing targets all the time, both semi-finals finished in a tie and required the ’super over’ to sort out the finalists.
Leicestershire went on to win and it was a fitting way for Paul Nixon to bow out of the game after 22 years as a professional.
4. Heather Watson is the real deal
Britain has been crying out for a female tennis player to match the exploits of Andy Murray in the men’s game and, in Heather Watson, we may finally have one.
It is true that she lost to Maria Sharapova in the first round of the US Open, but the way the Guernsey-born star challenged the world number four and played her off court for the first set proved that she has the mettle to compete with the top players (Sharapova 5/1 – Tournament Outright).
The encouraging thing from a British point of view was her post-match interview, in which she said that she always felt she could win the match, and the manner in which she fought back in the second set after it looked as if the Russian would run away with it showed her class.
Laura Robson is still in the tournament and, if they both progress as they should, there is no reason why there will not be a couple of Brits in the world’s top 20 in the next few years.
5. Much work to do for London
With the London Olympics less than 12 months away the British athletes will be plotting their training regimes and competitions to make sure they peak for the greatest show on earth.
Two gold medal hopes, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis, failed to win gold at the World Athletics Championships, and they will have to bounce back and make sure they perform to their ability in London.
There have already been noises made that British athletes might not do as well as had been hoped on their own patch next summer, despite the advantage that performing at home brings.
There is no doubt that the Games will be spectacular but, if the GB team fail to deliver, then it could become a bit of a damp squib – an expensive one at that.
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