The decade is nearly over, ten years have swept by never to be reclaimed, kept purely in the recesses of the mind. Well that is if you don’t read lists such as this which have been complied to jog your memory about some of the greatest matches to have ever been played in the Premier League. There are a number of contenders, but there can only be ten in all, so without further ado let us list the matches worthy of our attention.

Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City (2009)

An enthralling Manchester Derby played out at Old Trafford, contrasted vastly against the mundane draw seen last night, if only they could be this entertaining. United went in front three times, only to let City reduce the deficit and equalize on all three occasions. Craig Bellamy looked to have secured a memorable draw, with an outstanding strike, until Michael Owen gave his most significant contribution to date, by scoring the winner in the 96 minute.

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Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham (2008)

A London derby this time, which was full of drama, suspense and excitement. Tottenham went in front with a superb 40-yard volley from David Bentley; this only appeared to ignite Arsenal who then went to score three goals with Mikael Silvestre, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor all contributing to a 3-1 lead. Darren Bent pulled one back, but Robin Van Persie replied, seemingly sealing Arsenal’s victory until Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon provided the late show to earn a jubilant draw.

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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE TWO…

Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal (2009)

A little Russian by the name of Andrey Arshavin stole all of the headlines in this eight goal thriller. Arsenal went ahead and went into the break leading, but Liverpool replied with intent in the second half with goals from Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun giving them the lead. Arshavin went on to claim his hat-trick, but Torres claimed his brace to level, not to be outdone Arshavin capped his incredible night with a fourth. Benayoun then managed to salvage a point in the dying minutes of stoppage time.

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Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (2007)

Who would have thought these two sides were such entertainers? Benjani scored twice, giving Portsmouth the lead, then Stephen Hunt pegged on back. The second half was to see 8 goals with Dave Kitson equalizing for Reading, Herman Hreidarsson made it 3-2 and then Reading capitulated with Bejani, Niko Krancjar, Sean Davis and a Sulley Muntari penalty giving a 7-3 score-line, as Shane Long had made it 5-3, netting after Krancjar. Nicky Shorey would provide only a consolation to this crushing defeat by scoring Reading’s fourth late on.

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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE THREE…

Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough (2004)

Arsenal had to fight back from being 3-1 down whilst at home, with Thierry Henry leading the charge with his scoring prowess and netting two goals. This win saw Arsenal equal Nottingham Forest’s 42 game record of remaining undefeated, they eventually would proceed to amass 49 games without defeat and set a formidable record.

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Newcastle 3-2 Sunderland (2005)

A five goal thriller ensued in one of the greatest North East derbies on record with both sides fiercely contesting every ball, as you would imagine. Newcastle went in front with Shola Ameobi, Liam Lawrence equalized and Ameobi scored again. Stephan Elliott made it 2-2 until Emre scored a free-kick to take all three points.

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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE FOUR…

Liverpool 1-4 Chelsea (2005)

Under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea would claim an emphatic win over their rivals. Frank Lampard opened the proceedings with a penalty and Steven Gerrard would equalize with Liverpool’s only goal. Damien Duff, Joe Cole and Geremi would then seal the win which saw Chelsea go nine points clear in the League and finish as eventual champions.

Fulham 3-3 Tottenham (2007)

Another London encounter saw Tottenham outplay their opponents and must have walked away from the game pondering how they had let the win slip. Younes Kaboul poked home to take the lead and it was doubled when Dimitar Berbatov smashed in. Fulham pulled one back through Clint Dempsey, but Gareth Bale made it 3-1 until Fulham staged a comeback with Alexey Smertin and an overhead kick in the 90th minute from Diomansy Kamara.

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More cracking Premier League matches on PAGE FIVE…

Everton 3-3 Manchester United (2010)

A brilliant late fight back saw Everton come from 3-1 down to secure a memorable draw with United squandering their dominance and lamenting the absence of Wayne Rooney who was dropped amidst rumours of his private life. Two injury time goals came from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta which gave rise to ecstatic celebrations from the home crowd.

West Ham 3-4 Tottenham (2007)

Tottenham found themselves 2-0 and 3-2 down at separate stages of the game, but managed to rectify these situations by finishing victors. They had Paul Stalteri to thank after an injury-time winner broke the hearts of West Ham fans who had to endure their fair share of worries throughout the season. Carlos Tevez scored in the game and became a cult hero who helped West Ham to secure their Premiership status.

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After defeat to Liverpool, and all that went with it, it was the first time Aston Villa fans vented their frustrations at Gerard Houllier. After showing too much respect for one of his former clubs and suffering a heavy defeat, Aston Villa fans have started to question their managers style of play and ability to move Aston Villa forward. Are Aston Villa fans right to question their manager’s capabilities?

After the job Martin O’Neill did at Aston Villa, it was always going to be a difficult job for anyone. The funds simply aren’t in place to compete with Tottenham and Manchester City and the squad is thin. Martin O’Neill took Aston Villa as far as he could – is Houllier the right man for Aston Villa? Sadly, it seems that his tactics and football philosophy are outdated and he hasn’t changed from his time at Liverpool. Of course Aston Villa fans will be disgruntled with the way he sets his teams out. Martin O’Neill was a manager who desired expressive and expansive play – Houllier will not allow his players this freedom.

It is unfair to judge Houllier against O’Neill because Villa are a work in progress. Come January, Villa could have a new look, but it seems they will loose players before they invest. Take the example of Ashley Young. Will he now see Villa as a declining club under Houllier, and look to move on come January? It would be a huge blow for Aston Villa and their fans. They way it is going at Villa Park at the moment, who would bet against it.

Aston Villa fans deserve better that what Houllier has offered so far. Houllier is a better manager than he is showing. There are problems at Aston Villa – and Houllier is shouldering a lot of the fans’ frustrations. They are frustrated about not being able to compete in the transfer market, loosing key players to teams challenging around them and the fear that they are declining. If Aston Villa continue to drop down the Premier League table, Houllier may find himself out of a job. Fans’ frustration is very powerful.

The best thing Gerard Houllier and Aston Villa can do is get on with the job. The win against West Brom on Saturday will have lifted the whole club – it could be the kick start their season needed. Aston Villa need accept that they have fallen behind clubs, but they can fight back. Does Houllier have the fight in him? Do Villa need another O’Neill character – passionate. If results get better it wont be an issue, but Houllier could be in trouble if Villa do not start climbing the table again.

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Mark van Bommel has been attracting much interest from the Premier League in recent weeks and the Dutch international’s agent is claiming that Liverpool have made an offer for the Bayern Munich midfielder.

Van Bommel’s agent Mino Raiola has confirmed that the Anfield club has made a firm offer for the player, but also that the Reds face competition for his signature. Raiola told Germany’s Bild newspaper that “I know about Liverpool’s interest, but other offers are currently more interesting.” He went on to say “I have got to find Mark the perfect club and we still have enough time for that.”

So is Liverpool the perfect club for Mark van Bommel? Kenny Dalglish is seemingly keen to add some experience and quality to his squad and in those two respects van Bommel is an ideal signing. With the Dutchman’s contract expiring in the summer, the Reds should be able to get van Bommel on the cheap as well.

Mark van Bommel himself was not willing to shed any light on the situation. He said “you never know what the future brings. I am concentrating on Bayern while my agent takes care of all the rest.”

The 33-year-old looks almost certain to leave Bayern Munich in the summer, but he could yet stay in the Bundesliga and sign for Wolfsburg, or move to Italy where Serie A giants AC Milan have registered an interest. If the Bayern Munich captain was to join Liverpool, he would come to the Premier League with his tough tackling reputation and style of play that could well be perfect for the English game.

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Almeria climbed off the bottom of the La Liga table with a 3-2 win over relegation rivals Osasuna on Sunday.

Jose Luis Oltra’s men got off to a dream start, with goals to Carlos Garcia Badias and Leonardo Ulloa putting them two-up after just 11 minutes.

Badias was on the end of a Hernan Bernadello corner to finish from inside the six-yard box, before Michel’s cross found Argentine striker Ulloa three minutes later to give the hosts a strong lead.

Osasuna pulled a goal back via the boot of Carlos Aranda, whose shot from the edge of the area sparked the visitors into action.

But they could not find an equaliser, and shortly after the break the home side restored their two-goal buffer when Ulloa scored his second from Michael Jakobsen’s cross.

Osasuna striker Dejan Lekic struck two minutes into second-half injury time to create some nervous moments for Almeria but they held on for three vital points, lifting them to 18th on the table and just one point from safety.

Real Madrid kept the gap between themselves and Barcelona to four points on the table, with a 1-0 victory over Mallorca.

France forward Karim Benzema’s strike in the 61st minute was all Jose Mourinho’s side needed to get maximum points from the clash at the Bernabeu.

Espanyol consolidated their fifth placing on the table with a 3-1 win away to Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Miku put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute, and they maintained their lead to the break.

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But it was all Espanyol after half-time, as Luis Garcia, Jose Callejon and Sergio Garcia all netted in the space of 12 minutes.

Real Zaragoza continued their resurgent league form, bringing up their third win in four with a 1-0 triumph over Deportivo La Coruna.

Sporting Gijon upset Atletico Madrid 1-0 home, with striker David Barral on target for the victors.

Arsenal will be without top scorer Samir Nasri when they welcome Everton to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

The French midfielder injured his hamstring in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Huddersfield in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, and manager Arsene Wenger confirmed he would be unavailable for the Premier League clash against David Moyes’ side.

“Nasri looks to have a serious hamstring injury,” Wenger said. “Usually it is three weeks (out), we have to see if it is a grade one (strain) because that can be two (weeks).”

“It is a big blow, how big I do not know because the results in the future will tell, but it is a big blow.”

Arsenal are still alive in four competitions this season and Tuesday’s clash with Everton could be pivotal to their hopes of winning the league for the first time since 2004.

The Gunners trail league leaders Manchester United by five points after 23 matches but Wenger said it would be tough to maintain their run in the Premier League, Champions League, Carling Cup and FA Cup.

“History shows it’s extremely difficult,” Wenger said. “It’s difficult to tell my players not to go for this competition and that competition now as we are in there.”

“It’s the important part of the season not to lose your players. When you go into the final sprint, it’s important you have all your best players available.”

Injuries could prove to be a hurdle for Arsenal, with Nasri joining Denilson, Barcary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen on the injury list.

Everton will arrive in London full of confidence after drawing 1-1 with defending champions Chelsea in their fourth-round FA Cup tie on Saturday.

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Moyes’ side were unlucky not to win the match, with Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell dominant in the midfield and Louis Saha scoring his seventh goal in eight matches against Chelsea.

Everton have had a nasty habit of drawing winnable games this season, with a record of five wins, 12 draws and six losses in the Premier League so far this season.

They will be buoyed by the likely return of their top scorer Tim Cahill, who returns to the side on Tuesday after a month away with the Australian national side, who lost the final of the Asian Cup to Japan on Saturday.

And so we arrive again at that magical time in the football year, when everyone suddenly realizes there’s an international match on in mid-week, explaining the slight dip in Sky’s usual hyperbolic bluster, the sudden rise in suspect injuries to top players and the increasingly highlighted presence of Fabio Capello at an unfeasible amount of games on the same day. As it happens, for once Don Fabio has a relative clean bill of health, with Fergie and Carlo having plainly exhausted all their excuses as well as every entry from the big book of short-term injuries. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your view point – he won’t be able to utilize them in the newly launched, inaugural Nations Cup, which kicked off with the Republic of Ireland beating Wales 2-0 at the new <insert corporate name here> Stadium on the site of the old Lansdowne Road.

The Nations Cup is essentially the old British Home Championship, except with the Irish in the place of the English, who turned down the option to take part at an early stage, only to attempt to revive the BHCs themselves earlier this year, once again displaying the startling and embarrassing arrogance, inefficiency, and dynamic forward planning of the FA in one fell swoop.

Despite being the dodgiest looking thing this side of a Tracey Emin sculpture of Al Pacino’s hair, the Nations Cup is a throwback to the good old days of semi-competitive home nation rivalry. The days when in lieu of being any good against the likes of Italy or Brazil, we could always console ourselves with the prospect of beating someone just as rubbish at us, in something that was vaguely meaningful in a localized albeit trivial way. Due to the obviously tight window available, the first round of games will finish this week, after Scotland has played Northern Ireland, and not renew until the end of the domestic season in May, whereupon two more rounds will be played.

This may seem a little pointless – and truly it is – but it is at least a chance for some competitive, interesting International football, rather than the ever devaluing and distracting friendly games, often merely played as a token concession to some vague notion that these lads should probably play together once in a while if they’re going to be able to beat anyone.

So far the early signs haven’t looked too promising. Held in Dublin, many locals were put off attending the Republic vs. Wales by tickets priced around the cost of a Premier League game. Much like Wembley Terminal 5 before it, the newly built Lansdowne Aviva Christmas Disco Multiplex needs to be paid for, and this means bums on seats and cash in wallets. Generally however the expectation is that the potential is there for something exciting eventually, but that the FAI – much like the English FA – will almost certainly make a hash of it somehow. With the meatier, more interesting ties scheduled for May, we ‘ll likely have to wait until then to see if it pans out well or not, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on for all those who bemoan the lack of excitement in International football these days.

It’s hard to imagine the Republic vs. Northern Ireland, or even the Republic vs. Scotland playing out to anything but raucous full houses, even if FAI chief John Delaney does decide it’s an excellent opportunity to add a new conservatory to his house.

The assumption that any eventual England inclusion would lead to a tiringly monotonous parade of victories is not really grounds for concern. Given the current state of the English national team, the Celtic nations would be hard pressed to field a team of physically handicapped semi-professionals who couldn’t have improved on England’s performance at the World Cup, and the intense rivalry that could be re-generated by a home nations grudge match would go at least some way to leveling any supposed uneven playing field.

And of course it hardly matters who wins the thing. Which is handy because it’s hideously ugly anyway and no one in their right minds would want it on display in their custody for a whole two years. It looks like the kind of thing ball boys bring tennis balls to the court in, except containing three relay batons instead, which has then been hit viciously in several places by a particularly angry Tennis player and then had ribbons tied around it like bandages in the vain hope of giving it some dainty presentational appeal. No one really cares who wins it, it’s about the event natures of the games themselves. The one-upmanship, the bragging rights and the actual competitiveness. Something for the fans to get their teeth into other than a complimentary salmon roll.

Some fans and politiks don’t want England involved, mainly due to the way the FA rather shambolically went about trying to dismiss it’s existence, but many do see the financial and atmospherical benefits of the Three Lions inclusion. I think it’d be in everyone’s interest if England did take part. From blooding young players, to getting fans more into it (which, lets face it, is a problem at the new Wembley “lets all do Mexican waves after 20 minutes” Stadium.) It’d certainly be more interesting than playing Denmark. No offense Denmark, but I just can’t get very excited about you.

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You can follow Oscar on Twitter here, http://twitter.com/oscarpyejeary where you can forward your complaints about his unfair treatment of Denmark to Top Gear. (No really please do, if only to just confuse them)

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Arsenal defender Johan Djourou has backed his team-mates to stifle Barcelona star Lionel Messi in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

The Swiss international missed last season’s quarter-final defeat to Barca through injury, but remains confident that the English side can get past Barcelona at the second attempt.

“I think we all know about Barcelona. They are a great team and we all know about Lionel Messi, but don’t think it’s only about him, because he has great service from other great players like Xavi or Iniesta,” Djourou said.

“Also, I think that we have to be focused as a group, as eleven players ready to get behind the ball when we have to defend and move together – because I don’t think it’s all (the responsibility) of the defenders, but how we block the space to not give him (Messi) space to run into.”

Djourou admitted it was painful watching from the sidelines as Barca ran riot against the Gunners in last season’s quarter-final, with Messi scoring four goals in a 4-1 win at the Nou Camp.

“Of course, for me it was difficult because I was injured, but I have to say that they really gave us a good game over the two ties,” Djourou said.

“I think that it you look again we had a couple of chances when we played here at home. I think we could have scored before they did, but it’s going to be an exciting game and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Messi will no doubt be the focus of Arsenal’s defensive attentions, but Djourou said it was important not to ignore other potential threats.

“I have to say he’s just a great player. He’s a great exuberant player. He’s shown (his skill) all over the world, but I don’t think you have to be scared,” Djourou said.

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“You have to be excited because it’s going to be a great game.”

“As I said before, it’s going to be a team performance to defend, because he’s shown that he’s very good in the one-against-one. But I think that as long as we have cover we can be hard to beat.”

Striker Adam Kwasnik scored the only goal as Central Coast qualified for their third grand final in six A-League seasons on Saturday.After missing a host of great chances, the Mariners finally found the back of the net in the 75th minute when Kwasnik scored his 10th goal of the season against Gold Coast United in the preliminary final.Midfielder Michael McGlinchey had a shot blocked by a Gold Coast defender and Kwasnik was in the right spot to capitalise and send the Mariners into a grand final against Brisbane next Sunday. Despite scoring, the Mariners still had plenty of anxious moments in the final 15 minutes. Teenage goalkeeper Mathew Ryan ensured the home team stayed in front with a brilliant double save from Joel Porter and Bruce Djite in the 78th minute.The Mariners went into the match as slight favourites and had a great opportunity to open the scoring after only three minutes, but striker Daniel McBreen appeared to stumble as he was about to shoot from close range.Ryan denied Djite in the 13th minute before the Mariners started to dominate.Defender Joshua Rose and midfielder Oliver Bozanic both had long range attempts saved and in the 44th minute Patricio Perez had a curling shot just miss the target.Young defender Trent Sainsbury, who had a tough time in the first half, should have at least hit the target in first half injury time, but miss-hit a volley from a Bozanic cross, much to the frustration of Mariners coach Graham Arnold.Chances were few and far between in the second half.The Mariners came close to opening the scoring in the 69th minute when Patrick Zwaanswijk headed a corner on to the crossbar and a minute later Bozanic sent a glancing header over the bar.Despite failing to put the Queenslanders away earlier the Mariners deserved the win and now get a chance to win a grand final for the first time.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis wants his side to reach the 40-point mark as soon as possible but claims it will not guarantee Premier League safety.Champions Chelsea visit the Britannia Stadium this weekend and a win for Stoke would see them reach Pulis’ target.

However, despite Stoke currently sitting mid-table in tenth, they are only five points above the drop zone.

“You have to get to 40 points as quick as you can and then you can take things from there,” Pulis said.

“Getting to 40 points is a watershed for us at this football club – but you might need more than this and that’s why it’s important to get there as quickly as possible.”

“It’s so much in the balance this year in the league and it’s been interesting – not just at the bottom but at the top of the table as well.”

With five points separating nine teams, Pulis believes it is vital not to get distracted by other side’s results.

“We don’t get involved in who’s doing what or who’s saying what – we’ll just do our own job,” continued Pulis.

“The only thing you can affect is yourselves. I can’t influence what other people do but I can influence and affect what happens at this football club.”

Anything but a loss on Saturday against Chelsea would take Stoke’s unbeaten home run to nine games in all competitions.

“I am very proud of that record,” Pulis said.

“Since we defeated West Ham (at the beginning of March) the place has taken off. There is a sense of togetherness at the Britannia and around the city.”

“That feeling will be important for the last four games here.”

On-loan striker John Carew is expected to return for Saturday’s clash after overcoming a back injury, but Abdoulaye Faye remains out with a hamstring problem.

Mamady Sidibe is out for the season with an Achilles problem.

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino will captain an experimental Italy team in their friendly against the Ukraine on Tuesday.Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will make seven changes to the side that beat Slovenia 1-0 in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday.

AC Milan’s Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini of cross-city rivals Inter come out of attack, to be replaced by Gilardino and Giuseppe Rossi of Villarreal.

Bologna’s Emiliano Viviano will start ahead of regular captain Gianluigi Buffon, who will surrender the armband to Gilardino.

“It is a great reward that the national team gives me,” Gilardino said.

“It is an honour considering all those players that have captained the national team in the past, like Fabio Cannavaro.”

Only defenders Christian Maggio and Giorgio Chiellini and midfielders Roberto Aquilani and Riccardo Montolivo have been retained from the starting line-up against Slovenia.

Ukraine will also be without some of their big names for the match in Kiev.

Dynamo Kiev striker Andriy Shevchenko is unavailable for personal reasons, while defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy and midfielder Yevhen Konoplyanka are both missing through injury.

Defenders Taras Mikhalik and Igor Oshchypko and forward Artem Milevski will also be sidelined.

Yuriy Kalytvyntsev’s side will be aiming for the first win since September, when they defeated Chile 2-1 in a friendly.

“Italy are still difficult opponents even though they are going through a generational change,” Ukraine midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk said.

“Our opponents will go on the attack, so it’s important to take our chances.”

Ukraine have never beaten Italy and lost five of the six meetings between the two countries.