On the Premier League: Match Day number two.

Match day number two in the Barclays Premier League was full of goals and full of excitement. I'll be giving you my impressions of the major clubs, as well as my reactions from some great games today.

Without further ado, let's see how the Gunners faired today:

1. Arsenal 6-0 Blackpool.

Blackpool found themselves in Emirates Stadium today after defeating Roberto Martinez's Wigan Athletic 4-0 last week. This was the first victory for Blackpool in top flight English football since 1973.

However, Blackpool were brusquely shaken from their dream today with a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsene Wenger's ailing Arsenal side.

The man of the match today, quite obviously, was Theo Walcott. Walcott got a hat trick today and each goal was well deserved. He showed off his blazing pace and finally demonstrated that he can strike the ball with his left foot. This was a big match for Walcott, who has fallen out of favor with the Emirate faithful in recent years. But he showed today exactly what it is that makes him a special player in top flight football.

But Walcott would have never been able to get some of these goals were it not for the marvelous and tireless efforts of Tomas Rosicky, who was the orchestrator of nearly every Arsenal attack and was breathtaking on the ball.

Indeed, the one touch football was on display in a big way for the Gunners, as Rosicky, Chamakh, Diaby, Wilshere, and Ashravin passed circles around the hapless Blackpool defenders.

Speaking of those players, let's evaluate their performances. Jack Wilshere, the promising young English starlet, was impressive today. He was all over the field and had a great work rate. Abou Diaby was, as he was last week, untouchable on the ball and was monumental in linking play. He also ended up with a well deserved, well finished goal. Andrei Ashravin continued to not impress me today, with a relatively timid performance. He mishandled a number of balls and really didn't seem like his old self. He got a goal from a penalty which left Blackpool with only 10 men, but other than that, the Russian looked rusty. Marouane Chamakh, until finally connecting with his head on a cross to get the sixth goal, was miserable. Mishandling balls left and right and an absolutely comical miss on an open goal made the Frenchman look a little ridiculous. Hopefully he'll find his form before too long.

Cesc Fabregas finally made an appearence late on in the game, but still didn't seem to be totally fit. Robin Van Persie also came in and continued to fail to live up to expectations. Both looked flat footed and out of shape. But, they have Arsene Wenger coaching them, so these things, you'd think, will change soon.

In the back the Gunners were rock solid, particularly the returning Alex Song who chased down every ball and cleared his lines without fail.

2. Chelsea 6-0 Wigan Athletic

Not to be outdone, Chelsea also put half a dozen on their opponent, the woeful Wigan managed by Roberto Martinez.

Of particular note were the Chelsea center backs Alex and John Terry, who extinguished any hope that Wigan had in the match throughout. Florent Malouda got his third of the season to start the scoring, but that was the only goal in the first half. In the second act though, Chelsea piled on the goals, with two for Nicolas Anelka, two for Salomon Kalou, and Yossi Benayoun finished off Wigan soundly.

3. Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Stoke City

Both goals in the match for Spurs were scored by Gareth Bale, the young talented Welshman. His first goal was hilarious, bouncing off his head, unbenownest to him, into the goal in a fray in the 18 yard box.

His second, however, was sublime. A cross from Aaron Lennon found Bale on the left flank. Then Bale swung with his left foot, catching the ball beautifully and sending it on it's way to the upper 90.

Tottenham were helped greatly by this win in their hopeful quest to stay in the top four, and also gain some confidence ahead of their Champions League bout with Young Boys, whom they trail 3-2 in the aggregrate.

Other news: West Ham lose again 3-1 to Bolton at home with Upson starting the scoring with an own goal, West Brom debut boy Peter Odemwingie (signed two days ago) gets the only goal in their match against Sunderland providing a welcome victory after their thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, Everton continue to disappoint drawing 1-1 with Wolves, Birmingham surprised Blackburn with a come from behind 2-1 victory.

That's all from me today, stay tuned tomorrow from comments on MANCHESTER UNITED's second match against Fulham, on at 11 AM on the Fox Soccer Channel.

On France: What makes them the most balanced team in the world

France is not my favorite team. I'm actually pretty sure I have no feelings about them whatsoever. But, when looking over their roster, it's incredible to realize how much balance this team has, in every aspect of the game. Let's examine this.

1. Power and speed in attack. Franck Ribery (pictured above) is really fast. But, he's not Theo Walcott fast (who runs like a track star who happens to have a ball at his feet), this is controlled speed. This is speed that can stop on a dime, cut in, and deliver a cross. To my knowledge, other than Portugal's Simao, the previously mentioned England's Walcott, and Holland's Arjen Robben, no other player is known for breakneck pace like Ribery is. Ribery sets the pace for this team, and you should watch France if only to (try) and see him on the ball.

But then they've got guys with great power too, like Yoann Gourcuff, whom I discussed yesterday. So France can gash you with their pace, and then break your back with their heartstopping shots.

2. Age. Some teams in the world cup this year, like Germany, Holland, and in my mind Brazil, are getting a little old. Like, all of them. Other teams, like Argentina, are full of a lot of youngsters. France has a lot of both, the perfect mix really. And this shows with their captain, Thierry Henry. Now, Henry didn't play his best football this year, riding the bench at Barca, but he's still a leader on and off the field. Then they have guys like Gourcuff, who are in their first World Cup and are eager to make their debut.

3. Balance at every position. Let's start from the back and work our way forward on this one. Lloris is a great goalkeeper. So great, that many think that a lot of the reason why Lyon made their run in the Champions League this year is because of his outstanding reach and reaction time.

In defense, they have William Gallas, who is arguably the strongest defender in football. He's also a cocky asshole, which is needed on the back line of any great team. Then they have Patrice Evra, who is, in my mind, the best defender on the ball in the world. His crosses are absolutely superb, and his ability to get up the field will allow Ribery to get into the box, where that speed and agility will come in very handy. Also back there is Bacary Sagna, who has been known to get up field and take a whack or two, adding some power into the mix. They round it out with Gael Clichy, a solid, all-around good defender.

Midfield is where the talent really starts to show. In the defensive midfield positions, they have Alou Diarra and Jeremy Toulalan, one of the most reliably impenetrable combinations in Europe. Out on the wings, they have Ribery and Florent Malouda, who is also wickedly fast. Then up top in the middle is the man of the hour, Gourcuff.

Finally, up top, they have Nicolas Anelka who was recently described by The Sun as "the world's most complete striker," Henry whom we have already talked about, and Andre-Pierre Gignac, who's got some great skills.

All in all, I can't think of another team that has this kind of balance in every aspect of football (shut up Spain). France is a darkhorse to win the Cup, in my opinion.