Parlour restores Arsenal's drive

Arsenal in crisis? All but Manchester United in the English game would give plenty to be experiencing one like it. Lame Newcastle's challenge may have been, but Arsenal's thoroughbreds emphatically demonstrated that there are a few furlongs left yet in this supposed one-horse Premiership race.

A hat-trick by the industrious, deserving Ray Parlour, complementing goals by Thierry Henry and Kanu, were tangible proof of an attitude among the Arsenal players that, after a recent sticky patch, this was the start of the rest of their season. 'It was a turning point in the life and the confidence of the team,' said the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, like his team back to his sophisticated best after a midweek loss of composure.

From the outset, there was, this time, controlled anger to Arsenal's performance, the players determined to focus fully on improving their patchy league form. Now they have 10 weeks to pursue United before attempting to remedy a poor start to their Champions League group, United's slip at Charlton fuelling the new optimism.

'We got smashed,' said the Newcastle manager, Bobby Robson, without excuse and without wanting to criticise a fragile and depleted team. With Alan Shearer still out - and his knee injury possibly needing surgery and three months' recuperation should another injection fail this week, Robson revealed - they were particularly threadbare up front, where the L-plate striker Lomana Lua-Lua wandered lonely. By contrast, Parlour made light of the absence of Arsenal's talisman, the hamstrung Patrick Vieira. 'Arsenal were hungry,' added Robson. 'Apart from their quality all over the pitch, they had a terrific desire. They beat us with passing and movement, quick two-, three- and four-touch football.'

It was seen in the early goal that Arsenal so craved and so deserved. Tony Adams, rarely called on to break up opposition attacks, instead had time to create one, with an incisive ball into the inside-left gully which found Henry one-on-one against Aaron Hughes. Instants later, Hughes was in the Frenchman's wake, the ball tucked past Shay Given's left hand and nestling in the corner of the net.

Now Arsenal were buoyant, rampant even, and three minutes later came an even better goal. With perfect timing, Kanu flicked a through ball into the path of Parlour, who took one touch to control before drilling a low shot into Given's right-hand corner. Thereafter they over-elaborated at times, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg spurning chances before the team regrouped at the interval.

This time there was never a chance they would surrender a two-goal lead, even if Newcastle did not have Bayern Munich's revival in them; Dennis Bergkamp even got a late run-out. Soon it was three, Ljungberg lifting a ball between the floundering defenders Hughes and Gary Caldwell for Kanu to run on to and beat Given.

Newcastle had been bent on damage-limitation. After failing to hold Arsenal early on, they had no alternative to a game plan of contain and counter. Arsenal now have six Premiership clean sheets in succession.

The visitors did manage a shot on target, Alex Manninger turning aside the disappointing Kieron Dyer's shot, but it was a straw in the fierce wind and normal service was soon resumed. From Henry's cross, Parlour - a player who gets stronger as the game progresses - nodded home. Finally, in added time, Parlour picked up Pires's neat through-ball and scored, Newcastle's back four now in 1-1-1-1 formation, having been left exposed by a ragged midfield. A canter to curtail the crisis.