Arsenal will have the opportunity to regain first place in the Premier League before the end of 2007 after Manchester United blew a half-time lead to lose 2-1 at West Ham. More galling still for Sir Alex Ferguson, West Ham’s recovery came after United had missed a penalty that would have given them a two-goal lead midway through the second period.

Cristiano Ronaldo had given United the lead after just 14 minutes, netting his 18th goal of the season when he headed past Robert Green from Ryan Giggs’s cross. But it was Ronaldo too who would become the villain for United, belting his 65th-minute penalty wide after Jonathan Spector had handled the ball in the area.

In truth a second goal for United would have been harsh on West Ham, who had enjoyed much of the play; Mark Noble had missed an open goal moments before Ronaldo’s opener. They looked to have earned a deserved point when Anton Ferdinand headed in Noble’s corner after 75 minutes, but few would have expected Matthew Upson’s winner five minutes later - laid on once again by Noble from a free-kick.

The match of the day came at White Hart Lane as Tottenham recorded an extraordinary 6-4 win over Reading. Dimitar Berbatov scored four times, the first after only seven minutes, but the home side were forced to come from behind three times as Kalifa Cisse and Ivar Ingimarsson made it 2-1 before Berbatov levelled.

That was the first of seven goals in 20 crazy minutes as Dave Kitson, Berbatov, Kitson again and Steed Malbranque made it 4-4 before Jermain Defoe and Berbatov completed the carnage.

Injury-hit Chelsea closed to within four points of top spot with a controversial 2-1 win over Newcastle. Michael Essien gave the home side a half-time lead when he swept home from six yards shortly before the half-hour mark but Nicky Butt levelled when he eventually bundled home Charles N’Zogbia’s cross at the second attempt. However, Salomon Kalou scored a dubious winner three minutes from time after the ball deflected through to him, Newcastle appealing for offside with the striker seemingly at least three yards offside.

Sunderland hauled themselves out of the drop zone with a 3-1 victory against Bolton, with Kieran Richardson scoring his first goal for the club. Richardson blasted the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen following brilliant work from Kenwyne Jones. The roles were reversed when Jones powered home a header from Richardson’s corner. El Hadji Diouf halved the deficit before half-time when his flighted free-kick evaded everyone and curled into the net, but the Sunderland substitute Daryl Murphy kept his composure in stoppage-time to seal the win.

Fulham dropped to second bottom after Sebastian Larsson handed Birmingham a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s. Carlos Bocanegra’s eighth-minute header put the visitors ahead in Ray Lewington’s final match as caretaker boss. But Blues equalised after the interval when Larsson latched on to Fabrice Muamba’s through ball before his finish deflected in off Elliot Omozusi. Hameur Bouazza was then sent off for a second yellow card.

Wigan replaced Sunderland in the bottom three after Aston Villa staged a second-half fightback to win 2-1 at the JJB Stadium. Titus Bramble scored his first goal for the Latics with a bullet header from Ryan Taylor’s pinpoint corner in the 28th minute, but Curtis Davies marked his first Premier League start for Villa with his first goal for the club, heading in Gareth Barry’s corner after the break. Gabriel Agbonlahor then flicked a header past Chris Kirkland to complete the turnaround.

Tuncay ^anli’s fourth goal in the last six games handed Middlesbrough a 1-0 victory at Portsmouth, tapping into an empty net after David James parried Gary O’Neil’s volley from Stewart Downing’s inswinging cross.

17 mins Curious incident in the follow-up to that last move by Everton - Kolo Toure went down holding his eye as the ball was running out, but there was nobody anyone near him. Setanta’s commentators thought he might have been hit by something from the crowd, but nothing if he was then there’s nothing obvious on the replay.

15 mins Finally a glimmer of life in this game, and it’s Everton who provide it - Cahill and Pienaar trading passes as they worked their way down the left wing, but Cahill’s last ball runs a bit too far and Pienaar can’t prevent it from running off for a goal-kick.

13 mins The signs aren’t looking good - we’re yet to have a shot on goal and I’m yet to have an email from anyone not called George Templeton (1st minute). The Arsenal fans at Goodison Park seem to be enjoying their singsong, mind.

10 mins Manuel Almunia appears to have hurt himself claiming a Phil Neville cross into the box, much to the delight of Jens Lehmann who has already taken his practice top off and started to warm up. Sadly for Jens, after a dab of Gary Lewin’s magic sponge, Almunia is back on his feet and good as new.

7 mins Yakubu takes the ball from Cahill on the edge of the area with his back to goal, but attempts to slip the ball into the path of a non-existent team-mate running into the box when when Cahill was hoping for a return ball.

5 mins Eduardo slides in a touch recklessly on Hibbert (I think), and gets a boot in the face for his troubles. It’s not been what you’d call an electric start.

3 mins First impression is that it probably is a 4-4-2 after all for Arsenal, with Hleb moved out to the right wing and Diaby on the left. Diaby jabs a ball in the direction of Eduardo pushing into the area but it gets trapped under his feet and he’s dispossessed.

1 min And Bendtner gets us away with a little nudge to Eduardo. “When did London become the goal-scoring centre of England,” demands George Templeton. “A 4-4 at Stamford Bridge, a 6-4 game at White Hart Lane and to top it off, your average come from behind win for West Ham over Manchester United. I guess the capital is the place to be.” Yup, but we’re on Merseyside. Sorry.

News of the team sheet variety:
Phil Neville has passed a late fitness test for Everton, while Arsene Wenger has taken a very interesting step by dropping Emmanuel Adebayor and naming Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner up front. He has also plumped for Most Overrated Player 2007 Abou Diaby in midfield. I’m assuming this is a 4-4-2, but don’t be surprised if it turns out to be more of a 4-3-2-1 with Diaby and Eduardo sitting slightly deeper behind Bendtner.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott, Arteta, Carsley, Neville, Pienaar, Cahill, Yakubu. Subs: Wessels, Johnson, Vaughan, Nuno Valente, Anichebe.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, Diaby, Bendtner, Eduardo. Subs: Lehmann, Senderos, Rosicky, Diarra, Adebayor.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

Fun with facts Arsenal have taken 61 points off Everton since the Premier League came into being - more than they have against any other team. (Reader advisory: statistic has minimal relevance to today’s fixture)

Preamble: Hello, and welcome to the most televised (in England, anyway) of today’s Premier League games. One that’s been set up really rather neatly, I might add, by Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham «football.guardian.co.uk». Arsenal now know that a win would ensure they end 2007 on top of the English football tree.

Of course, this game was always likely to be among today’s most intriguing, with an Arsenal side who haven’t quite been hitting their early-season heights of late taking on an Everton team playing as well as they have under David Moyes. The Toffees were desperately unlucky not to get anything from their «football.guardian.co.uk» last week and they’ve won four in a row at home. When Arsenal last visited Goodison Park - in March - Andy Johnson snatched all three points for Everton in second-half injury time, and I have a hunch today’s game could well go the same way.

(Christian Science Monitor)This story was written by Alexandra MarksThe E-Z Pass of the air could be coming soon to an airport near you.

The registered traveler program, conceived after 9/11 as a way to speed frequent fliers through airports’ long and unpredictable security lines, is finally gaining national momentum.

Though it isn’t expected to be operational in enough airports to ease those jam-packed security lines for this peak flying season, it should help by next summer, when as many as 20 major airports are expected to have special security lanes for registered travelers.

With planes packed to record capacity and security concerns heightened after the foiled terrorist attacks in Britain, the expansion of the registered traveler (RT) program at least may give passengers something to look forward to as they pad barefoot through metal detectors this summer.

Some analysts say the RT program could spur a series of new conveniences at airports, such as special RT parking lots and waiting rooms. Eventually, RT cards could be used to ease screening logjams at places like sports stadiums and large concerts, they say.

But many see another benefit to RT: It could help struggling airlines improve their bottom lines by cutting the hassle factor enough to entice more people back to the air.

“The most profound aspect of this could be its impact on airlines’ revenues, profits, and share prices,” says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition in Radnor, Pa. “That’s because the last six passengers generally make a difference between profit and loss on a given flight and, since 9/11, there’s been a falloff in business travel that’s never rebounded.”

Only six airports currently have RT programs that provide a special security lane for people willing to pay a one-time fee of $100, go through a background check, and a biometric iris scan. That number could triple by next summer, with busy airports in cities such as Atlanta, Washington, and Newark, N.J., adding the program.

The goal is to make air travel easier for everyone who hops a flight, not just for the wing-tipped briefcase crowd. The idea is the same as for E-Z Pass: There’s less traffic congestion for everyone when passholders can speed through the toll booths.

“Our customers spend between 30 seconds and four minutes going through security sometimes it’s five or six minutes on a very busy Monday morning,” says Steve Brill, founder of CLEAR, a private company that operates the first and largest of the RT programs. “For everybody else, it’s five minutes to an hour. The issue is predictability.”

It’s estimated that RT lanes can process three times more people than a garden-variety security line. That’s because registered travelers have already undergone a background check and in some places, like Orlando International in Florida, they even get to keep their shoes on during screening. But perhaps more important, say analysts, is that registered travelers are regular fliers like Henry Morgan, a regional manager of Highline Products who departs out of the Orlando airport.

He takes to the skies so often he’s already got the change out of his pockets and any liquids out of his carry-on long before he gets to the security line. He was one of the first people to sign up for CLEAR’s RT pilot program when it started almost two years ago in Orlando.

“I wish it were all over the country,” Mr. Morgan says of the RT program. “I’ve seen lines an hour an a half long on many occasions. It’s horrendous. With CLEAR, I’m through security from start to finish in five minutes. It’s the predictability and it’s helped me get through by the skin of my teeth on more than one occasion.”

The program is a kind of public-private partnership. The federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) certifies private companies such as CLEAR and sets security standards. The companies, in turn, contract with airports and airlines to provide their services.

Some security analysts are worried that “sleeper cell” terrorists could become registered travelers and, in that way, exploit the system. TSA, though, notes that registered travelers still go through screening before boarding a plane. Moreover, the background check system for the RT program is the same as the one used to give clearance to airport employees and those who work on the tarmac, Mr. Brill says. CLEAR’s system is updated each day with new information, and a person’s RT status can be revoked immediately if questions are raised about that individual.

TSA also allows RT companies to experiment with new technology and, if it works, will let them use it.

At New York’s John Kennedy International Airport and at the Orlando airport, the shoe-scanners in CLEAR lanes are a case in point. Mr. Brill hopes that TSA will soon give its permission to deploy the shoe-scanner at all CLEAR sites.

“The good news is that they asked us to come up with technology ideas. The other good news is that we came up with technology ideas,” says Brill. “But the bad news is that approval is frustratingly slow.”

Brill’s company is working with other firms to develop a scanner that will allow registered travelers to keep their jackets on and another that could make it possible for travelers to bring their laptops in their cases.
Other companies, such as Unisys, have also begun offering airports registered traveler programs.

Brill and others are working, too, to expand the RT program internationally.