Samir Nasri Brace Lifts Arsenal Past Fulham, Into First Place

Welcome to the mercurial nature of Blackburn football. At Manchester United (and before that, at Tottenham) they’re hopeless, looking a team that doesn’t have a place in the Premier League. They can’t defend. They have nobody to score goals. What else is there?

There’s their performance against the league’s bottom dwellers. The latest exhibit, today versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. Blackburn posted a 3-0 win over a team that beat Sunderland last week, with all three goals coming in typical Blackburn fashion. David Dunn’s mid-first half opener came from a corner kick. Brett Emerton’s goal came after Jason Roberts manhandled Wolves’ defense. Ryan Nelson tapped in Blackburn’s third off a Morten Gamst Pedersen set piece.

Though they were undefeated through November, Bolton greets December with a loss, run thin by Manchester City, though the scoreline says otherwise. Carlos Tévez scored in the fourth minute, and although the Citizens looked good for many more, Manchester City settled for a 1-0 win.

It was an uncharacteristically skillful display from City, with the attacking trio of Tévez, Mario Balotelli and David Silva giving a frightening glimpse of their potential. Between Silva’s slow start to his English career and Balotelli’s injuries and suspension, the trio had rarely played together this season. Today, the combination not only controlled the play, the looked constantly creative, ambitious when in possession.

From around the 65th minute forward, Birmingham City were the better side in their match against a Tottenham Hotspur side that looked complacent with their 1-0 lead and let off the gas considerably. The equalizer looked like it was coming from Birmingham for an extended period of time, and eventually, they got it.

It happened in the 81st minute, thanks to Nikola Zigic and Craig Gardner. Spurs’ marking was average at best, but nothing should be taken away from Gardner, who took his chance brilliantly. An unmarked Zigic received a cross at the far post and headed the ball back across the face of goal, into what looked like a cluster of white shirts. Gardner was making a delayed run into the box, though, and cut through three of those white shirts, getting his head to the ball and directing a powerful low header into the back of the net.

Toffees’ fans will be thanking their lucky stars not just for the goal, which was quite skillful, but for the fact that referee Lee Probert allowed Cahill to stay on the pitch after he collided with Cech, his studs going into the keeper’s cheekbone. Players have been sent off for much less.

Everton has looked more lively in this half, with quite a bit more pressure from the visitors. The equalizer was certainly deserved, and now the hosts look simply desperate to reclaim victory.

The rising star of Samir Nasri has been documented since the attacker’s move from Marseille to London, but today starts the Frenchman’s move toward the upper tier of world talents. At least, that’s the take-away from what we just saw at the Emirates, where Nasri’s second goal - both beautiful displays of skill - has given Arsenal a 2-1, 76th minute lead in a match that seemed destined for a draw.

That was the feeling when watching the affairs at the Emirates, where Arsenal had failed to regain their early match swagger after Diomansy Kamara’s 30th minutes goal. The Gunners had seen chances but none as good as Kamara’s late first half chance, snuffed out by Fabianski.

The only match we haven’t been keeping you updated on is Blackburn-Wolverhampton. There, Blackburn is playing their part of Premier League litmus test. If you can beat Blackburn, you’re probably a decent side. If not, get ready for a relegation battle. Not that was needed to know that about Wolves.

Mick McCarthy side has given up goals to David Dunn and Brett Emerton. Both Blackburn goals have displayed their main virtue: physical strength. The first came on a corner conversion, with Ryan Nelson heading down to Dunn for the 29th minute goal. Then two minutes before half, Jason Roberts outmuscled Wolves defenders to create a chance for Emerton, who sent Blackburn to half up 2-0.

Whichever side of the line you fall on, it certainly doesn’t change the result. Didier Drogba stepped up to the spot and sent a hard drive into the top left corner of the goal, leaving Tim Howard with nothing to do but stretch his fingers toward the ball.

After 40 minutes at the DW, we have a cracker - a surprising one. The last time we updated, Robert Huth had opened the scoring just short of the 20 minute mark. Since, Wigan and Stoke have combined for three goals, leaving the teams drawn at two as they approach halftime.

Wigan started the three goal stretch when Tom Cleverly whipped a direct kick from the left of the box toward Asmir Begovic’s near post. Antolin Alcaraz got a toe on it to deflect it past the Stoke `keeper, though the score was recorded as an own goal credited to Danny Collins, who was standing between Alcaraz and goal.

And just like that, they’re even at the Emirates. A long ball knocked down. A defender briefly stunned. Some fancy work on the ball and an easy finish. Fulham has equalized, leaving their match with Arsenal drawn 1-1 near the half hour mark.

A long ball targeting Diomansy Kamara saw the Fulham striker in an aerial challenge with the Arsenal center halves. The Senegalese won the challenge, knocking the ball down for a supporting Clint Dempsey while Laurent Koscielny put hand to mouth, apparently stunned by something that happened in the challenge.

Tottenham Hotspur have gone 1-0 up on Birmingham City through Sebastien Bassong’s poacher’s finish on a free kick. The chance was created by left back Liam Ridgewell, who pulled down Gareth Bale on the right wing, picking up a yellow card and giving Spurs a free kick from about 22 yards away from goal. Bale hit his free kick towards the far post and it was poorly dealt with by Ben Foster. It’s hard to tell if Foster punched the ball or if it deflected of of Liam Ridgewell, but the ball eventually fell to Sebastien Bassong, who was unmarked at the center of the box. With Foster out of position after poorly attempting to punch clear, he had a simple finish and made mo mistake about it, putting Spurs up in the 19th minute.

Spurs have been the much better team to start the match and the match announcers were in agreement that their goal was well deserved. They were challenging the Birmingham goal before they scored and they’ve continued to challenge since. Interestingly enough, three of Spurs’ attackers, Bale, Peter Crouch, and Jermain Defoe, have displayed a poor first touch at times. If all of them were on their games early, Spurs very well could be up by three goals already.

At the DW Stadium, fans are getting an idea of why possession sometimes does not matter. Wigan has held two-thirds of it, though Stoke has generated most of the chances, though in the 18th minute, it was some dead ball randomness that gave the visiting Potters the match’s first goal.

That opener came off the right foot of Robert Huth. The German defender lined up a direct kick from 22 yards out, thundering a right footer into the Wigan ball. The ball deflected off and through the wall, beating Ali Al Habsi to send Wigan down one.

Arsenal have been in control since the opening kick-off, but were it not for a misplayed ball by Aaron Hughes, their match with Fulham may still be scoreless. However, a poorly trapped ball allowed Andrei Arshavin to put Samir Nasri through on goal, and after weaving his way around two backtracking defenders, the France international has put his club up 1-0 after fourteen minutes.

And it all started with Hughes, whose attempt to bring down a long ball with his chest saw the ball bounce hard off of him, to Arshavin. The Gunners attacker collected the ball before putting Nasri through, sliding a ball into the right side of the penalty box. Nasri looked to take a show when Brede Hangeland threw himself at the ball. Nasri pulled the ball back, looked set to take another shot when Hughes laid out for a block. Again, Nasri balled the ball back and to his left.

Carlos Tévez had been particularly active at the onset of the match at Eastlands, but it took some magic from Yaya Touré and a poor decision from Zat Knight to give Manchester City a fourth minute lead over Bolton. With their captain’s finish from 17 yards out, being an oncoming Jussi Jaaskelainen after being put behind a high Bolton line, City was up -0 on the Trotters.

The decisive aspect of the play happened moments before, when Touré, carrying the ball into Bolton’s half, alluded central defender Zat Knight, who had come out of the Trotter line but could not slow Touré. A move to the left was enough to get around Knight and leave Gary Cahill isolated in the Bolton defense. With Bolton’s line high - 35-40 yards from goal - Carlos Tévez had plenty of room to turn a diagonal run upfield when Touré‘s ball left his feet.

Yesterday’s relief at the English Premier League’s return as faded into anticipated. No early kick-off today, thanks to bSkyb’s nPower Championship feature. No late match, thanks to the frozen tundra of Bloomfield Road. Six matches. One start time. And a swarm of updates from SB Nation Soccer. Let’s walk through it ...

A lot of our focus is going to be on the City of Manchester Stadium, where fourth place Manchester City hosts sixth place Bolton. Bolton has become the Premier League’s darlings, while Manchester City’s become a weird combination of Billy Zabk and Draco Malfoy. It’s not fair to those who have supported the Citizens since before their reascension to the first division, but that’s what having a rich dad does.