The following was guest blogged by Nick Walsh from Betfair.

There’s a well-worn maxim that behind every good man is a good woman and January signing Andrei Arshavin was quick to single out his better half after he finally announced himself as an Arsenal player in the 4-0 mauling of Blackburn at the Emirates on Saturday.

The enigmatic Russian, who was cup-tied for the sudden death victory against Roma in the Champions League, recovered from a deep wound in his foot that required stitches at half-time to turn this game on its head with a mixture of craft and commitment.

The 27-year-old, a winter arrival from Zenit St Petersburg, unnerved Andre Ooijer into putting through his own net after just two minutes and was a bag of tricks for most parts before he finally got his reward after the restart.

Arshavin left Danny Simpson in knots before drilling the ball past Paul Robinson to set Arsenal on their way to a one-sided victory against Sam Allardyce’s decimated squad.

Blackburn’s miserable afternoon was compounded when the much-maligned Emmanuel Eboue, on as an 83rd-minute substitute, scored two late goals, including a penalty.

This was Arsenal back to their free-flowing best with players sweeping forward from all angles.

Yet for all the positives, Arsenal supporters continued to show their disdain for Nicklas Bendtner, who wasted five clear-cut chances to make the scoreline more emphatic.

Arsene Wenger insisted the Dane will win over his detractors and was pleased Arshavin grabbed his first goal in Arsenal colours, adding that the Russian international could have a significant impact in the race for Champions League qualification.

He said: “Arshavin has lots of talent – his intelligence, vision and finishing are top quality.”

The boss added: “We were convincing and this team goes from strength to strength.”

Scolari’s position in Chelsea is increasingly shaky. His attacking style resulted in a vulnerable Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the Brazilian has to juggle a language barrier, smaller transfer kitty, clash of ideals with Roman Abramovich and player politics to survive.

Chelsea fans have also whetted their appetite for trophies since Jose Mourinho’s reign and will not take kindly to empty-handed seasons. The “unqualified” Avram Grant managed to keep the ship on a steady keel last season so if Scolari falls short of that benchmark, his past glories will mean little in saving his job.

As for Mark Hughes, he is struggling with consistency. Manchester City lost 1-0 to Everton, marking the fifth home league defeat of this season. Despite the signing of £32.5m Brazilian superstar Robinho, Manchester City are looking nothing like championship material. At least Sven put up a fine pretense until Christmas when their title run fell apart.

Though Hughes’s Middle Eastern boss is not in a hurry to sack him, that patience may evaporate when he fail to match their expectations after more money is made available to recruit quality players in January.

But we may at least see the duo until the end of the season. Blackburn’s manager Paul Ince is in a far bigger crisis – his team has gone without a victory since September and he seems helpless in changing the team’s relegation fate. Though Ince survived a board meeting last week, his job is still hanging by a thread, especially after losing the first of “five cup finals.”

On Saturday, Wigan effortlessly blew Blackburn apart in a 3-0 victory, with goals coming from Emile Heskey, Antonio Valencia and Lee Cattermole. Paul Ince took full responsibility for their sixth successive defeat and vowed to carry on as manager.

Blackburn fans are not cheering that decision though. Once Wigan started banging in the goals, choruses of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” and “You don’t know what you’re doing” filled the stadium, a clear indication of Ince’s current standing among the fans.

By the 12th minute, any semblance of Blackburn’s resistance was destroyed. Valencia eased past Warnock and delivered a brilliant cross which was met by Heskey for his third goal of the season. Two minutes earlier, Valencia had nutmegged Warnock by slipping the ball between his legs and the live-wire was simply too hot to handle.

Blackburn had barely regained their composure when their defense was breached again in the 14th minute. Paul Robinson took a goal-kick but Mario Melchiot was first to the ball and played it to Valencia, who slotted home stylishly after a free run on goal. Once again, Warnock and Pedersen were negligent in their basic defensive duties.

Just before the break, the match could be sewn up had Cattermole scored from Valencia’s assist but his header hit the underside of the bar. It was finally over in the 77th minute when Valencia’s cross was deflected by Warnock and Cattermole was alert enough to drive the ball into the net.

I must say Rovers defense was extremely sloppy and unrecognizable from the team of spirited fighters crafted by Mark Hughes. It has caused much of their demise today. Not that the midfield performed any better as Blackburn surrendered possession easily and frequently, with Tugay the serial offender.

In the aftermath of this defeat, Paul Ince cut a lonely figure in the Blackburn camp. Fortunately, Wigan’s manager Steve Bruce, stood behind his former team mate in his darkest hour. He urged patience, saying: “I’ve known him for a long, long time and you don’t play for Milan and Liverpool unless you’ve got a bit of bottle. I don’t want to comment on him losing his job and I’m sure he will turn it around.”

Bruce is being kind but Blackburn fans are running out of patience and they will prefer the axe to fall on Paul Ince tomorrow. The question is no longer if but when for these diehard supporters. If Ince flunk the next four games, the inevitable may just happen.

I know it is heartbreaking for the fans to see the deterioration of their club. Blackburn finished 7th last year and have been in the top half of the league for the last 3 seasons. They earned a reputation of being defensively tight and had a manager that was tactically astute and motivated the players well. Now, with gov’nor Paul Ince around, the oomph factor is gone.

However, the fans have to discard the “we want it now” mentality. Developing a mid-table club into perennial title contender requires patience, planning, vision, and if possible, truckloads of cash. Patience is in especially short supply these days but if Hodgson (Fulham), Moyes(Everton) and Megson(Bolton) are still in their jobs after experiencing nasty setbacks, then sacking Paul Ince may be too hasty.

Ince has appealed for more time to grow accustomed to the pressure of managing a Premier League club and I believe it is justified. There is no point in handing Ince another 4-5 games without giving him the whole season. Many managers had escaped the drop right till the last day of the season so why should Ince be deprived of the chance?

Beginners must be given a fair chance at success and in order to have more English managers gaining international recognition, the least we can do is to give them time and space to develop in the Premier League. There will be no Sir Alex Ferguson today if results were expected of him in the first attempt.

To alleviate the stress, Ince had shifted some responsibility back to the Blackburn board when he called upon them to spend. He said: “The cold hard fact is we need investment. You saw Wigan today “lots of pace, power and we need new faces coming in.”

Paul Ince may have a point there. To be a major title contender, you can’t be signing players like Keith Andrews – a 29 year old 3rd division player, or bringing in Robbie Fowler and Matt Jansen for trials.

If these guys are good enough to make the first XI, then other players may not be motivated to perform. Existing players like Tugay has lost the plot and Santa Cruz’s heart is no longer with the club. Coupled with the departure of David Bentley, one of Blackburn’s most promising stars, Ince’s trump cards are limited when the going gets tough.

I wouldn’t blame the board for not getting solid reinforcements though. The club is not exactly flush with cash and the January transfer budget, if any, is expected to be modest. Ince has no choice but to make do with the lack of depth in the squad.

In any case, getting additional quality players is not a process which is achievable overnight. If the board adopts a financially reckless approach, in the worst case scenario that Blackburn are demoted which means considerably less revenue, they may do a Leeds’ United and have to liquidate their best assets.

I believe Paul Ince may be facing lesser criticisms if he has some notable achievements under his belt. Unlike Scolari and Hughes, Paul Ince can only claim to have saved Macclesfield from relegation and took MK Dons to the title and a cup but both clubs are in the lower divisions.

On hindsight, it may be better for Ince to spend a few more years managing these clubs and leading them to titles to build up his reputation and experience before moving up the ladder.

Blackburn were lucky when they took a gamble to appoint Mark Hughes. He did not have much experience (Blackburn was his first club appointment) but things worked out perfectly. Sparky learnt quickly on the job and was able to impose his own presence in the dressing room.

But if Blackburn were hoping for a second time lucky, they were greatly disappointed. Paul Ince’s learning curve turns out to be more eventful and in terms of tactical acumen, organization and encouraging his team, he has lots to catch up.

Nevertheless, not all aspects are negative about Paul Ince’s reign. When we consider Blackburn’s efforts against Liverpool or even against Spurs, Rovers were unorganized but worked hard to frustrate their opponents. After resilient performances characteristic of Ince, Rovers finally succumbed to the meekest of goals.

Blackburn’s next matches are against Stoke, Sunderland and Manchester City – all matches in which they have an even chance of winning. If they picked up full points, jumping out of the relegation zone is not impossible. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Ince can do just that and prove his critics wrong.

Blackburn had barely soaked in the atmosphere of the Emirates Stadium when they fell behind in the 4th minute. Phillippe Senderos scored the opener by meeting Eduardo’s corner (totally unmarked, thanks to Benni McCarthy) with a powerful header.

Goalkeeper Brad Friedel had no chance to react but he made amends by putting in a resolute performance up to the end of normal play. Mathieu Flamini, Adebayor and Alexander Hleb were continually frustrated with excellent stops but Friedel’s brave efforts were undone in stoppage time with a fine finish from the prolific Adebayor.

It flatters the score-line as Arsenal have fluffed so many chances in between, that Blackburn’s hopes of an equalizer burned brightly throughout the game.

The Gunners dished out their typical free-flowing football but were missing the sharpness in front of goal. Alex Hleb hit a post while Cesc Fabregas shot wide and then just over. These are the chances which the Spaniard will have converted easily but considering his throat infection, his presence on the pitch was already more than what the fans can ask for.

The loss leaves Blackburn ninth in the Premier League on 39 points and destroyed their seven-match unbeaten run but manager Mark Hughes has reasons to be optimistic. His team was gritty in weathering the storm and threatened to score a couple of goals in the process. The Arsenal blitz that Hughes feared, after conceding so early, never materialized.

In fact, Blackburn bounced back from their early folly and made themselves extremely difficult for Arsenal to break down. It was admirable to see Blackburn trying to out-pass their opponent; their brand of passing was a success to some extent but a deficiency in quality going forward prevented any real damage to Arsenal’s back line.

“I was really pleased with how we went about our job,” Hughes declared. “Not many teams come to the Emirates and take on Arsenal in the passing game.”

“I’m disappointed in the 2-0 scoreline. I thought we were very good for long periods. We’ll take a lot of positives from it.”

Arsenal have now extended their own unbeaten league run to 10 matches. Adebayor has been a revelation all season and it is scary to the opponents that he is scoring goals for fun. If Henry was around, certainly, the Togolese will still be struggling in the shadows and deprived of the chance to take center stage.

As long as Adebayor remains in such scintillating form, Arsenal have high hopes of ending their four-year wait for the title. The striker has scored 12 times in nine games to draw level with Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo on 19 league goals this season.

However, Wenger chose to deflect some of the attention away from Adebayor, in case he the Togolese really assumes credit for himself and grows self-conceited, by insisting that the team contributes to the goals as much as the striker’s efforts.

“He can score goals, but I believe that all the strikers benefit from our outstanding teamwork,” Wenger said.

“It’s not a coincidence that strikers who play here score goals because everybody goes forward, everybody gives you good balls. The team feeds you when we go forward.”

Arsene Wenger must be pleased with the way his charges maneuvered a tricky situation with confidence. Blackburn was a tough nut to crack but once again, the winner’s mentality shone through.

“I feel we handled the pressure very well each time this year when we’ve had our backs to the wall,” Wenger said.

“I don’t want my team to focus on the difference between us and the rest. I want us to focus on strengthening our lead and asserting our authority.”

There are still twelve games left and while Arsenal are in a good position, the title race will be a cliffhanger with all the contenders fighting till the last minute. The young Gunners have the belief but Wenger is aware of the dangers of any premature celebrations.

He said: “As soon as you’re not at your best at the top, you can drop points. We have seen that over the weekend,” – an obvious reference to the slip up by Manchester United.

The title is Arsenal’s to lose and we all know that Arsene Wenger, unlike Kevin Keegan, is not a person who wears his heart on his sleeve and is less perturbed by mind games. Manchester United cannot depend on others to do the job for them. When both teams face off again, it will be crucial for the Red Devils to get all three points, another defeat will be good as throwing in the towel.

His 21st anniversary at United barely over, and his proteges reward him with another convincing victory to savor. This time it is Blackburn Rovers who were brought to their knees and United leapfrogged over Arsenal (at least for a few hours) to the top of the Premiership.

United started the match without the inspirational Rooney who will miss the actions for four weeks due to a freak ankle injury. Including Paul Scholes, that is two attacking lynchpins down already. Fortunately, two first half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo made light of the issue.

The compelling victory underlined the depth of the squad Ferguson has assembled. He is confident more trophies are headed their way. He said: “This is a good young team, they want to win something and I think they have a good chance of doing that.”

Following the midweek 4-0 win over Dynamo Kiev, this result should appease Ferguson who was enraged over the loss of three points at the Emirates Stadium from Arsenal’s last gasp equalizer. His vitriolic abuses at Wenger, Arsenal, the stadium security and match officials were petty and did not win him many sympathizers.

I give Ronaldo a strong vote of confidence. What is impressive about Ronaldo is that he has not peaked yet. He is constantly improving on his technical abilities. While last season he was a brilliant midfielder with fanciful footwork, he has now developed enough sharpness and poacher’s instinct to step into the role of a striker effortlessly.

Indeed, Blackburn found him too hot to handle. Heading in a Ryan Giggs corner and then, barely a minute later, fastened on to a Carlos Tevez pass to double United’s lead, he put the result beyond any doubt.

The victory also allows Ferguson a chance to trumpet the fact that United is in safe hands – meaning his hands, and any thought of successors should be banished. The rumor mill suggesting Hughes as his potential successor must have grated on his ears.

He said: “Every time we play against an opponent managed by one of my old players, this crops all the time. It’s unfair on whoever is being discussed at the time. Also, it’s trying to shove me out the door quicker than I want to go! I’m fit and healthy and as long as that continues, I want to go on.”

Hughes was let down by two defensive lapses and a second half dismissal for Dunn virtually killed off their chances of forcing a draw. Against a scintillating Ronaldo and United’s quick counter-attack, he was put in his place. But do not write off Sparky though, he will not take this defeat lying down.