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Winners
Manchester United
Exactly the result they would have been hoping for at the Emirates.
Liverpool
The consolation is the reminder that, even against this malfunctioning Arsenal side, a point at the Emirates is a decent result and it maintains Liverpool's unbeaten record against fellow 'Big Four' opposition this season. The nagging doubt will be their failure to take advantage against a numerically-disadvantaged side also deprived of their captain and playmaker. When a statement could have been made, Liverpool went mute.
Perversely, it must have been a source of regret for Rafa Benitez to see his side threaten to score in the closing minutes because had David N'Gog been introduced before the 88th minute then a winner may have been forthcoming. That even the notoriously-cautious Benitez decided to finish the game searching for a winner can be interpreted as notice that the Spaniard did not consider a draw an especially satisfactory result.
Their lead at the top of the table may have been doubled but, with just one win from their last five matches, Liverpool's early-season momentum has been stalled and they are vulnerable to being overtaken tonight.
West Brom
Ever since Bradford came close to bankrupting themselves in 2000 by spending a vast amount on Benito Carbone and chums in a failed bid to stay in the Premier League, newcomers have proved reluctant to attempt to spend their way clear of trouble. Yet prudence is also a matter of calculation and, albeit as an outsider looking in, it is puzzling that the Baggies plan to "find a few loans" next month when survival is reputedly worth £50m. Surely as little (or as much) as £10m is worth the gamble given the stakes involved?
Robin van Persie
How different last season may have been for Arsenal had Van Persie not been injured.
Not, though, that there should be much sympathy. In a story that should be memorised by those wanting to know why Arsenal players suffer more injuries than most, the Dutchman recounted in the summer how a second rushed comeback in January caused a further two months out having originally suffered a thigh strain in October. "I came back too early," he said. "I had never had a muscle injury before so I didn't know what was normal. There was some pain but I thought perhaps it's nothing so I gave it a go."
Which is an admirable attitude for a Sunday League player but a very odd way to treat a £30m product. And the game he rushed back for? A Carling Cup run-around with the kids.
Blackburn Rovers
It was 'only' against Stoke but Rovers would have been bottom at Christmas had they not won on Saturday.
Sam Allardyce
Stoke were also the victims of 'new manager syndrome' at the start of the year when Newcastle were immediately revitalised by the appointment of Kevin Keegan as Allardyce's successor. And, as one mailboxer has already pointed out, Allardyce's first match in charge of Newcastle also saw his new side 3-0 ahead within 27 minutes.
Matthew Taylor
Given that he plays in a low-scoring team, a high-scoring midfielder like Taylor is especially valuable to Bolton.
Aston Villa
Having deserved to take a point from their matches at Everton and West Ham, their two fortunate victories mean that Villa will be six points clear of Arsenal if the Gunners - without Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor - are beaten on Boxing Day.
Sunderland
To repeat a previous observation: Djibril Cisse and Kenwyne Jones will surely score enough goals to keep Sunderland in the league.
Newcastle United
Last-minute winners having conceded last-minute equalisers in their previous two home fixtures.
Losers
Manchester City
It could only be City. From the dawn of a bright new world is a looming relegation fight. It's crazy even by City's legendary capacity for madness.
A section of the City support at The Hawthorns is reported to have seranded Mark Hughes with the unflattering observation that "You don't know what you are doing" but then what's new? Nobody ever knows what is going on at City. Hughes believes his job is safe but after just one win in nine matches the pressure is mounting and "assurances" from Abu Dhabi may dry up if Hull are not beaten on Boxing Day.
Whether the recent malaise also reduces the size of Hughes' transfer kitty next month is another unknown but it cannot help the mood of the dressing-room knowing that replacements are being sought. In effect, Hughes is asking his current set of players to buy him enough time so that he can buy a new set. Shake your head in wonder. It could only be City.
Micah Richards
If he continues playing like this he'll be the new Titus Bramble.
Howard Webb
Having suggested that Arsenal's supporters had no right to criticise the dismissal of Adebayor because they 'mourned the snapped leg of Eduardo last season', a comparison which is plainly preposterous, The Independent's match report from the Emirates continues by declaring 'the referee Howard Webb had little choice but to show Adebayor a yellow card because the studs-bared stamp has become one of football's great taboos'.
Well, if it has, then the upgrade was achieved only on Saturday night after replays of Julio Arca's diabolical stamp on Andy Johnson. Webb's apologists can herald him as a protector but the outrage of the weekend was the feebleness of the response to Arca's disgusting lunge and if Adebayor was deemed guilty of a 'stamp' or a 'dangerous lunge' then his punishment should have been a straight red card and not a caution.
As Webb only cautioned Adebayor then the presumption must be that he did not believe the 'lunge' was dangerous, in which case, given his foot did not make contact with the full-back and no foul was committed, it is difficult to fathom what Webb's reasoning actually was.
Officialdom
Howard Webb is rated the Premier League's top referee. He is also top of the charts for the number of red cards produced by Premier League referees this season. Start ringing the alarm bells.
There was a painfully-telling moment just after half-time on Sunday when Abou Diaby, in a rare incident of accomplishment, cleanly dispossessed Alvaro Arbeloa only for Webb to whistle for a foul. "Winning the ball in this league is becoming very hard to do," muttered Andy Gray in commentary. Take a bow, son, because you're not wrong. Tackling itself will, one suspects, be the next 'great taboo' tackled by officialdom until the game ceases to be a contact sport. Indeed, Diaby was lucky. By the end of the match, almost every foul committed - or deemed to be committed - was greeted with a flash of yellow from Webb's pocket.
Even less than 20 years ago, dismissals in football matches were rare and games were almost always XI v XI affairs. Not any longer. Having taken it upon themselves to rid the game of tackling, officialdom has made itself a dominant influence over the game as a whole. As an indication of how influential they have become, consider how many ex-referees are now regularly employed as media pundits to have their say on the most recent controversies. Why? Because more than ever, referees are having too loud a say over the direction of football matches. If the hallmark of a good referee is his anonymity then officialdom, led by its number-one-rated whistle-blower, is currently failing spectacularly.
Arsenal
They began the year with Tomas Rosicky, Alex Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas as their preferred midfield quartet and will end it with Samir Nasri, Abou Diaby, Alex Song and Denilson. As well as they played in the final half-hour against the league leaders, the conclusion that Arsenal have declined is unavoidable.
Tottenham
Still unable to pull themselves clear of the mire.
Carlton Cole
Cole won over the West Ham fans last year but he is losing them again after squandering numerous opportunities this month. Cole's career record of 21 goals from 143 league appearances is pitifully meagre for a striker.
Portsmouth
Only Blackburn and the three promoted teams have a worse defensive record this season.
Hull City
Winners of just one of their last nine league games.
Manchester United
Exactly the result they would have been hoping for at the Emirates.
Liverpool
The consolation is the reminder that, even against this malfunctioning Arsenal side, a point at the Emirates is a decent result and it maintains Liverpool's unbeaten record against fellow 'Big Four' opposition this season. The nagging doubt will be their failure to take advantage against a numerically-disadvantaged side also deprived of their captain and playmaker. When a statement could have been made, Liverpool went mute.
Perversely, it must have been a source of regret for Rafa Benitez to see his side threaten to score in the closing minutes because had David N'Gog been introduced before the 88th minute then a winner may have been forthcoming. That even the notoriously-cautious Benitez decided to finish the game searching for a winner can be interpreted as notice that the Spaniard did not consider a draw an especially satisfactory result.
Their lead at the top of the table may have been doubled but, with just one win from their last five matches, Liverpool's early-season momentum has been stalled and they are vulnerable to being overtaken tonight.
West Brom
Ever since Bradford came close to bankrupting themselves in 2000 by spending a vast amount on Benito Carbone and chums in a failed bid to stay in the Premier League, newcomers have proved reluctant to attempt to spend their way clear of trouble. Yet prudence is also a matter of calculation and, albeit as an outsider looking in, it is puzzling that the Baggies plan to "find a few loans" next month when survival is reputedly worth £50m. Surely as little (or as much) as £10m is worth the gamble given the stakes involved?
Robin van Persie
How different last season may have been for Arsenal had Van Persie not been injured.
Not, though, that there should be much sympathy. In a story that should be memorised by those wanting to know why Arsenal players suffer more injuries than most, the Dutchman recounted in the summer how a second rushed comeback in January caused a further two months out having originally suffered a thigh strain in October. "I came back too early," he said. "I had never had a muscle injury before so I didn't know what was normal. There was some pain but I thought perhaps it's nothing so I gave it a go."
Which is an admirable attitude for a Sunday League player but a very odd way to treat a £30m product. And the game he rushed back for? A Carling Cup run-around with the kids.
Blackburn Rovers
It was 'only' against Stoke but Rovers would have been bottom at Christmas had they not won on Saturday.
Sam Allardyce
Stoke were also the victims of 'new manager syndrome' at the start of the year when Newcastle were immediately revitalised by the appointment of Kevin Keegan as Allardyce's successor. And, as one mailboxer has already pointed out, Allardyce's first match in charge of Newcastle also saw his new side 3-0 ahead within 27 minutes.
Matthew Taylor
Given that he plays in a low-scoring team, a high-scoring midfielder like Taylor is especially valuable to Bolton.
Aston Villa
Having deserved to take a point from their matches at Everton and West Ham, their two fortunate victories mean that Villa will be six points clear of Arsenal if the Gunners - without Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor - are beaten on Boxing Day.
Sunderland
To repeat a previous observation: Djibril Cisse and Kenwyne Jones will surely score enough goals to keep Sunderland in the league.
Newcastle United
Last-minute winners having conceded last-minute equalisers in their previous two home fixtures.
Losers
Manchester City
It could only be City. From the dawn of a bright new world is a looming relegation fight. It's crazy even by City's legendary capacity for madness.
A section of the City support at The Hawthorns is reported to have seranded Mark Hughes with the unflattering observation that "You don't know what you are doing" but then what's new? Nobody ever knows what is going on at City. Hughes believes his job is safe but after just one win in nine matches the pressure is mounting and "assurances" from Abu Dhabi may dry up if Hull are not beaten on Boxing Day.
Whether the recent malaise also reduces the size of Hughes' transfer kitty next month is another unknown but it cannot help the mood of the dressing-room knowing that replacements are being sought. In effect, Hughes is asking his current set of players to buy him enough time so that he can buy a new set. Shake your head in wonder. It could only be City.
Micah Richards
If he continues playing like this he'll be the new Titus Bramble.
Howard Webb
Having suggested that Arsenal's supporters had no right to criticise the dismissal of Adebayor because they 'mourned the snapped leg of Eduardo last season', a comparison which is plainly preposterous, The Independent's match report from the Emirates continues by declaring 'the referee Howard Webb had little choice but to show Adebayor a yellow card because the studs-bared stamp has become one of football's great taboos'.
Well, if it has, then the upgrade was achieved only on Saturday night after replays of Julio Arca's diabolical stamp on Andy Johnson. Webb's apologists can herald him as a protector but the outrage of the weekend was the feebleness of the response to Arca's disgusting lunge and if Adebayor was deemed guilty of a 'stamp' or a 'dangerous lunge' then his punishment should have been a straight red card and not a caution.
As Webb only cautioned Adebayor then the presumption must be that he did not believe the 'lunge' was dangerous, in which case, given his foot did not make contact with the full-back and no foul was committed, it is difficult to fathom what Webb's reasoning actually was.
Officialdom
Howard Webb is rated the Premier League's top referee. He is also top of the charts for the number of red cards produced by Premier League referees this season. Start ringing the alarm bells.
There was a painfully-telling moment just after half-time on Sunday when Abou Diaby, in a rare incident of accomplishment, cleanly dispossessed Alvaro Arbeloa only for Webb to whistle for a foul. "Winning the ball in this league is becoming very hard to do," muttered Andy Gray in commentary. Take a bow, son, because you're not wrong. Tackling itself will, one suspects, be the next 'great taboo' tackled by officialdom until the game ceases to be a contact sport. Indeed, Diaby was lucky. By the end of the match, almost every foul committed - or deemed to be committed - was greeted with a flash of yellow from Webb's pocket.
Even less than 20 years ago, dismissals in football matches were rare and games were almost always XI v XI affairs. Not any longer. Having taken it upon themselves to rid the game of tackling, officialdom has made itself a dominant influence over the game as a whole. As an indication of how influential they have become, consider how many ex-referees are now regularly employed as media pundits to have their say on the most recent controversies. Why? Because more than ever, referees are having too loud a say over the direction of football matches. If the hallmark of a good referee is his anonymity then officialdom, led by its number-one-rated whistle-blower, is currently failing spectacularly.
Arsenal
They began the year with Tomas Rosicky, Alex Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Cesc Fabregas as their preferred midfield quartet and will end it with Samir Nasri, Abou Diaby, Alex Song and Denilson. As well as they played in the final half-hour against the league leaders, the conclusion that Arsenal have declined is unavoidable.
Tottenham
Still unable to pull themselves clear of the mire.
Carlton Cole
Cole won over the West Ham fans last year but he is losing them again after squandering numerous opportunities this month. Cole's career record of 21 goals from 143 league appearances is pitifully meagre for a striker.
Portsmouth
Only Blackburn and the three promoted teams have a worse defensive record this season.
Hull City
Winners of just one of their last nine league games.
