The good, the bad and the ugly

ARSENAL extended their lead at the top beating West Brom, Manchester United lost again — this time to Middlesbrough — and teenage prodigy Wayne Rooney was sent off in a frenetic programme of English premier league matches yesterday.

Thierry Henry scored Arsenal’s late winner in a 2-1 success at West Bromwich Albion, lifting Arsene Wenger’s champions four points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who were held 0-0 at home by Southampton.

Manchester United lost further ground when they succumbed 3-1 at Middlesbrough, their second straight defeat, while Liverpool’s poor run continued with a 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers.

After 20 games, Arsenal have 42 points, Chelsea 38 and Manchester United 35. Everton are fourth on 34 points with Liverpool on 33.

Rooney, the 17-year-old who has taken English soccer by storm this season, was harshly sent off for a high tackle with nine minutes left of Everton’s 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.

The striker was given his marching orders by referee David Elleray for showing his studs in a tackle on Birmingham’s Steve Vickers.

The 17-year-old had come on as a substitute after City’s American international Jovan Kirovski had cancelled out Canadian Tomasz Radzinski’s opener for Everton.

West Brom took a third-minute lead against Arsenal when lanky striker Danny Dichio powerfully headed home a corner, and the champions struggled to create openings for the rest of the half, but they were level three minutes into the second period when striker Francis Jeffers, making a rare start, pounced from close range.

Jason Roberts then struck the post for West Brom but Henry, having missed one sitter, made no mistake with five minutes to go after Patrick Vieira charged down Adam Chambers’s attempted clearance.

Manchester United captain Roy Keane made his first start since August 31 at the Riverside, but fine finishes by Croatian Alen Boksic and Slovakian Szilard Nemeth either side of half time put Middlesbrough into a deserved 2-0 lead.

Ryan Giggs’s close range effort on the hour gave United hope but five minutes from time Joseph Desire Job killed off the visitors, who also lost at Blackburn on Sunday having won their previous eight games.

At Anfield, John Arne Riise, who earlier this week feared he might have to return to Norway to carry out military service, fired a deflected 17th-minute opener for Liverpool against Blackburn. But a wonderful Andy Cole volley from 30 metres 13 minutes from time gave Blackburn a point and doused Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier’s festive spirits. Liverpool have now taken only three points from the last 24.

Leeds’s 16-year-old midfielder James Milner beat Rooney’s record as the premier league’s youngest goalscorer by five days when he netted after 51 minutes at the Stadium of Light to cancel out Michael Proctor’s goal for Sunderland. The 16-year-old came on as a 35th-minute substitute for Alan Smith and got on the end of a Jason Wilcox cross to equalise for Leeds five minutes after the break.

At 16 years and 357 days, Milner is fractionally younger than Rooney, who was 16 and 361 days when he scored a memorable winner for Everton against Arsenal on October 19.

Milner made his debut for Leeds against West Ham last month but the exploits of Rooney have ensured that his prodigious talent has gone largely unnoticed.

Ipswich’s Jason Dozzell remains the youngest player to have scored in the top flight of English football having scored just 57 days after his 16th birthday in a match against Coventry in the old first division in 1984.

Meanwhile, Robbie Fowler’s cool 80th-minute penalty gave Terry Venables’s side a vital three points to lift them clear of the drop zone and leave Sunderland firmly in it.

Bolton Wanderers scrambled out of the bottom three with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Newcastle United at the Reebok Stadium, only their second home league win of the season.

Michael Ricketts’s brace gave Bolton a 4-1 lead but Sam Allardyce’s side were made to sweat as Shola Ameobi and Alan Shearer, with his second of the game, set up a nervy finale.

Tottenham Hotspur recovered from two goals down at home to draw 2-2 against Charlton Athletic, but had German wing back Christian Ziege sent off for the second successive game in stoppage time.

Bottom club West Ham’s search for their first home win of the campaign continued after they drew 1-1 with Fulham. The home side had Czech defender Tomas Repka dismissed late on.

Cameroon’s Marc-Vivien Foe scored twice in Manchester City’s 3-1 success over struggling Aston Villa at Maine Road.