Arsenal, Heurelho Gomes and John Carew are the 'Heroes' of the week while Alex Ferguson is whinging his way into the 'Zeroes'.

By Eugene YS Han

HEROES

ARSENAL
Arsenal have proved that when they play really well, lowly teams like Wolves and AZ Alkmaar, will be annihilated. Despite having seven players out through injuries, Arsenal have shown they have the strength in depth to match the expected front-runners: Chelsea and Manchester United. In seasons gone by, Arsenal have been known to fall off the pace but not anymore. Cesc Fabregas is perhaps the most in-form midfielder in the country right now and the Arsenal captain looks in good shape to lead the Gunners into title contention right to the end of the season.

HEURELHO GOMES
Tottenham had Heurelho Gomes ('The Octopus' version) to thank instead of Heurelho Gomes ('Spongebob Squarepants' version) against Sunderland. After taking the lead against the Black Cats, Tottenham retreated into their shell and let Sunderland come at them. Gomes had to save three times from ex-Spurs Steed Malbranque but his defining moment was stopping twitter twit Darren Bent's penalty. His saves helped keep a clean sheet and nab three points in the bag for Spurs - easy peasy.

JOHN CAREW
Aston Villa had to respond after their shock defeat to West Ham in midweek and John Carew was the catalyst in their resurgence against Bolton. The Norwegian was just different class on the field. Not only did he scored one, he also made three goals to lead the Villians to a handsome 5-1 victory over Bolton - their biggest winning margin this season so far. It was also their first win in seven league games.

HULL
Did Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the man with possibly the longest name in English football, help save Phil Brown's job at Hull City? Stoke were looking to snatch all three points before Seyi Olofinjana equalised just after the hour mark. Then the Dutch striker was on hand to tap home the rebound in the final minute after Jimmy 'sick-note' Bullard's shot had been saved. Brown can now afford to breathe easier as the international break approaches.

BURNLEY
For earning their first away point in the Premier League. Extra points for doing it at big-spending Manchester City. Burnley are now unbeaten against both football teams from Manchester.

ZEROES

SIR ALEX FERGUSON
Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Sir Alex Ferguson can complain all he wants but no one will be too bothered by his comments about the match referee - Mark Atkinson. It's true Manchester United were at the end of several questionable decisions. Wayne Rooney was not offside when he was put through on goal but this was more the fault of the assistant referee on the touchline. Darren Fletcher's ‘foul' that eventually led to the goal was a legitimate tackle. The United players, who at that point were comfortably repelling Chelsea's attacks, were caught cold by the free-kick by Frank Lampard. Amazingly, it was the first goal United have conceded via a set-piece. The goal was enough to sink United and sent Chelsea five points clear. What's not amazing was Ferguson's penchant for bringing down the referee with him every time United suffer a setback. Ferguson may feel aggrieved but no one is sympathising with him this time.

MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City's great start to their league campaign has slowed down alarmingly. Although they have only lost one league game, they have now drawn five games in a row. Mark Hughes may not be under the same amount of pressure as Manuel Pellegrini at Real Madrid as his team are still in the top six. But City's form must worry Hughes. His so-called defence has conceded three goals against Burnley. Hughes is not helped by the stuttering form of Emmanuel Adebayor who has not scored since his goal against Arsenal. And to make things worse, Robinho has been making even more noises about his wish to move to Barcelona. The clock is ticking for Hughes.

DAVID NGOG
To think Liverpool had to rely on a dive by David Ngog to help earn a point against Birmingham. The young Frenchman should have been the hero for Liverpool after his excellent volley gave the Reds the lead. But he will be remembered for the wrong reasons after he conned the referee into giving his team a penalty.

DARREN BENT
Prior to Ngog's dive, Darren Bent did the same when he won a dubious penalty early in the second half for Sunderland. But this time, justice was served as Heurelho Gomes made a great save. Perhaps the chance to put one over his former boss Harry Redknapp, and the fact that England manager Fabio Capello was in the stands watching, overwhelmed him. It was a key miss as Sunderland were all over Tottenham with the score 1-0 to Spurs and Sunderland failed to capitalised on their superiority. At least Don Fabio was impressed with enough to recall him to the England squad.

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