LONDON — Robin van Persie was on target against his old club as Manchester United brushed Arsenal aside for a 2-1 victory to leapfrog Chelsea at the top of the Premier League Saturday. Playing against Arsenal for the first time since his big-money move to Old Trafford in August, Van Persie fired home after just three minutes for his 10th goal of the season to set United on its way. Wayne Rooney dragged a penalty wide in first-half injury time for United, but the England striker crossed for Patrice Evra to head in the clinching goal in the 67th minute. Arsenal, which played the final 21 minutes with 10 men after Jack Wilshere was sent off for two bookings, grabbed a consolation goal through Santi Cazorla with the final kick of the game. But the loss marks the team's worst start to a season after 10 games since Arsene Wenger took charge in 1996. With 15 points, Arsenal is already nine behind United and is sorely missing the marksmanship of Van Persie, who left the Gunners after eight seasons for 24 million pounds (then $38 million) in search of silverware. He was received warmly by the visitors — Arsenal left back Andre Santos even asked the Dutchman to swap shirts at half time — and didn't celebrate his goal that came after Thomas Vermaelen scuffed his clearance from Rafael da Silva's cross. “It's the first time I've ever played against a former club,” Van Persie said. “So it's a special day but it's about the game and we won it. “I played there for eight years, I had a fantastic time there and I respect the fans, manager, players and the whole club so that is why I didn't celebrate.” Chelsea endured a frustrating end to a controversial week as it failed to reclaim top spot after Pablo Hernandez earned Swansea a 1-1 draw with an 88th-minute equalizer. Victor Moses' first league goal for the Blues had looked set to secure an away victory at the Liberty Stadium before Hernandez continued the Swans' recent resurgence under Michael Laudrup with a superb strike. Chelsea has claimed just a point from its last two league matches after defeat by Manchester United last weekend. Although the match lacked the controversy of last weekend's contest, John Obi Mikel was booed by some sections of the crowd in the early stages. This appeared to be a nod to the Blues' decision to lodge a formal complaint with the Football Association over allegations Mark Clattenburg used “inappropriate language” toward the Nigeria midfielder during the United match — an allegation the referee denies. United, which ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a controversial 3-2 win last weekend, has 24 points from 10 games with Chelsea on 23. Third-placed Manchester City, which has 21 points, was to conclude the day's action later at West Ham United. Everton moved into fourth place with 17 points despite conceding a last-gasp equalizer in a 2-2 draw at Fulham. Tottenham Hotspur slipped out of the top four after a surprise 1-0 defeat at home by Wigan Athletic. Norwich City beat Stoke City 1-0, while Aston Villa achieved only its second win of the season, 1-0 at Sunderland. — Agencies
