Martin Taylor tried to cut the cross out but his lunge succeeded only in deflecting the ball into Bergkamp’s path. The opener was the result of a beautiful one-two between Robert Pires, who had a hand in all three goals, and Sylvain Wiltord. If they are going to be a top team, they are going to have to learn to live with that, but for the first 20 minutes we could not live with them.”Arsenal’s football in the opening exchanges was often sublime. “If you smack someone in the mouth, there is no way you should be on the pitch,” said the Blackburn manager before delivering a verdict on Arsenal from the Corporal Jones school of tactics “They don’t like it up ‘em. After seeing his side claw their way back from a two-goal deficit and then fail to seize their one-man advantage, Graeme Souness could scarcely conceal his anger, which was directed towards both teams.”Their third goal was amateurish We must sort out our naivety. We have a back four who do not sense danger.” The Blackburn manager’s frustration was the greater because of his belief that Bergkamp should have been the second Arsenal player to be sent off after appearing to swing his arm at Nils Eric Johansson when the scores were locked at 2-2. It also cancelled out Matt Jansen’s two goals and justified Wenger’s argument that it is points not cards that count.Blackburn, who are above the relegation zone on goal difference, would probably agree.

If Arsenal under George Graham were all about winning with one goal; Arsenal under Ars? Wenger are all about winning with one man down. Just before the break , Richards sent a half-volley over.Bobby Robson, who revealed Dyer will be out for another six weeks, said the title race was still wide open: “It’s fantastic and I can’t see who’ll win it. Our industry was outstanding and got us through the game, and we’ll keep chipping away.”Tottenham Hotspur (3-5-2): Sullivan 6; King 6, Richards 7, Perry 6; Taricco 5, Sherwood 5, Anderton 6, Poyet 5, Davies 5 (Etherington, 70, 4); Sheringham 60, Iversen 5. Substitutes not used: Kelly (gk), Rebrov, Leonhardsen, Thelwell.Newcastle United: (3-5-2): Given 6; O’Brien 6, Distin 6, Dabizas 6; Hughes 5, Acuna 6, McClen 5, Elliott 4 (Robert, h-t, 6), Solano 5; Shearer 6, Bellamy 7. Substitutes not used: Harper (gk), Barton, Ameobi, Kerr, Robert.Referee: M Dean 7 (Heswall, Wirral)..

As Bellamy skipped past two men on the left flank, he raced into the penalty box and crossed to the far post where Alan Shearer continued his run and tapped in from two yards out.With 12 minutes to go, victory was assured as Spurs wilted in the face of continued pressure, mainly orchestrated by the Frenchman Robert as well as Acuna. His team looked as if they would honour his request but their resolve crumbled after the break when they conceded three goals in 12 minutes to put that emphatic Cup victory firmly to the back of their minds.
It was last month that Newcastle finally ended the curse of the capital that had hung over them for four years and 29 matches, and they did it in style by beating Arsenal. Substitues not used: Lewis, Flowers (gk).Referee: B Knight (Orpington) 5.. Glenn Hoddle clearly saw it coming. Substitues not used: Owen, Litmanen, Arphexad (gk).Leicester City (3-5-2): Walker 5; Laursen 6, Elliott 6, Stewart 5 (Rogers 5, 15); Impey 7, Jones 5 (Marshall 5, 60), Izzet 6, Oakes 5 (Benjamin 5, 85), Davidson 6; Scowcroft 4, Piper 4. “Emile hasn’t scored for a while and he does it against his old club.”Liverpool (4-4-2): Dudek 5; Wright 5, Henchoz 5, Hyypia 5, Carragher 5; Smicer 4, McAllister 6 (Murphy 5, 73), Hamann 5, Berger 6 (Riise, 86); Heskey 7, Anelka 5. The England striker has been as a barren as a desert in recent months but shook off Elliott and then waited for Walker to make his move before chipping over the goalkeeper.”That’s the way this are going for Leicester at the moment,” Dave Bassett, the visiting manager, said.