November 17, 2002	Sunday	Ramazan 11, 1423

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LONDON, Nov 16: Champions Arsenal stormed back to the top of the English Premier League by battering north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Saturday.

Goals by Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and Sylvain Wiltord at Highbury sealed an easy win against out-for-form Spurs, who had Welsh winger Simon Davies sent off in the first half.

Arsenal lead the table on 32 points, two clear of Liverpool who will replace them if they beat Sunderland at Anfield on Sunday. Third-placed Chelsea moved to within four points of Liverpool with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday. In the day’s other games Newcastle leapt to sixth with a 2-1 home victory over Southampton, Charlton moved clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 win at Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion played out a goalless draw with local rivals Aston Villa.

At Highbury Henry danced through the Tottenham defence, teased Spurs defender Stephen Carr and then placed a calm left-footed shot past Kasey Keller to give Arsenal a 13th-minute lead.

Spurs’ problems were compounded by the 27th-minute dismissal of Davies for a second yellow card, although his second booking, for a foul on Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira, looked harsh.

It could have been worse with Sylvain Wiltord and Henry denied further Arsenal goals only by the linesman’s offside flag before halftime.

Ten minutes after the break, Gilberto Silva broke into the penalty area to set up Swedish midfielder Ljungberg for the second.

Spurs’ misery continued as defender Dean Richards missed a sitter and Wiltord wrapped up the win from a Robert Pires pass after Henry’s initial shot was saved.

The defeat meant Spurs extended their poor record against Arsenal to one win in 15 meetings and it is nine years since they last won at Highbury.

Arsenal top the table for the first time since October 6.

After five games unbeaten, Chelsea have crept quietly into the title race and had Celestine Babayaro to thank for another precious three points.

The Nigerian wing-back slammed the ball into the Middlesbrough net after 47 minutes to settle a tight encounter in west London.

At St James’ Park, James Beattie brought Champions League qualifiers Newcastle United down to earth with a stunning second-minute volley to give Southampton the lead.

But Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi made it 1-1 four minutes before halftime from a Kieron Dyer cross and Irish defender Aaron Hughes finished off a flowing move to give them the lead nine minutes into the second half.

Newcastle jumped three places to sixth with the win.

In the day’s other derby match, Villa should have beaten struggling West Brom at the Hawthorns when Gareth Barry earned them a penalty in the second-half.

England striker Dion Dublin took the kick but West Brom’s outstanding goalkeeper Russell Hoult pulled off a fine save.

Manchester City came back to earth with a thump following the euphoria of last Saturday’s derby win over Manchester United when South African striker Shaun Bartlett’s close range finish at Maine Road gave Charlton Athletic a valuable victory.

The three points lifted Charlton three points clear of third-from-bottom West Ham, whose home game against Manchester United is one of the highlights of Sunday’s programme.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal 3 Tottenham Hotspur 0

Chelsea 1 Middlesbrough 0

Manchester City 0 Charlton Athletic 1

Newcastle United 2 Southampton 1

West Bromwich Albion 0 Aston Villa 0

FERGUSON SAVES RANGERS

GLASGOW: Barry Ferguson salvaged Rangers’ unbeaten record Saturday when his late penalty earned the Scottish Premier League leaders a 2-2 draw at Aberdeen.

The Scotland midfielder converted his spot-kick 12 minutes from time at Pittodrie to earn a point but Alex McLeish’s side will still lose top spot if champions Celtic beat Partick Thistle at Celtic Park on Sunday.

Rangers have 39 points from 15 games at the top of the table, with second-placed Celtic on 37 with a game in hand.

Dutchman Arthur Numan put Rangers in front against Aberdeen but second-half goals by Aberdeen’s Leon Mike and Darren Mackie turned the match on its head before Ferguson’s late saver after Fernando Ricksen was fouled in the area.

Rangers manager McLeish, a member of Aberdeen’s triumphant 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup side, believed his side should have taken all three points.

Rangers had won the previous 10 matches between the sides and they looked on course to extend that record after enjoying the majority of pressure in the first period.

They took the lead after 24 minutes when Numan — making his 100th league appearance for the club — drove a low shot into the net after being set up by Ronald de Boer.

Aberdeen were a different proposition after the break and former Manchester City striker Mike equalised from close range on 55 minutes.

Mackie then stunned Rangers with a low header beyond Stefan Klos on 74 minutes. But the leaders regained their composure to earn a point three minutes later as Ferguson tucked home a penalty after Philip McGuire chopped down Ricksen.

SCOTTISH LEAGUE RESULTS

PREMIER LEAGUE

Aberdeen 2 Rangers 2

Hibernian 2 Dundee 1

Kilmarnock 2 Livingston 0

Motherwell 1 Dundee United 2