LONDON, 23 September 2007 — Emmanuel Adebayor scored a hat trick yesterday to lead Arsenal to a 5-0 win over Derby that kept the Gunners top of the Premier League.

Abou Diaby and Adebayor scored in the first half at Emirates Stadium, before Adebayor completed his hat trick with efforts either side of a goal by prolific midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Arsenal moved to 16 points, four more than Liverpool, which missed the chance to put more pressure on the Gunners when it drew 0-0 against visiting Birmingham.

Manchester City had the chance to move up the standings later when it played at Fulham, while Manchester United or Chelsea could trim the gap when they play each other in one of today’s five games. Arsenal dominated Derby and almost took the lead when Adebayor missed the target from a cross by Gael Clichy. But Diaby put the Gunners in front in the 10th minute with a shot from outside the area into the top corner. Adebayor doubled the lead 15 minutes later when he took a pass by Fabregas and rounded goalkeeper Stephen Bywater before rolling the ball into the net.

Bremen Thump Stuttgart

to Revive Campaign

In Berlin, Hugo Almeida scored twice in two minutes to help injury-hit Werder Bremen to a convincing 4-1 victory over champions VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga yesterday. The two heavyweights made disappointing starts to the season, winning only two of their first five matches, and were looking to bounce back from mid-week Champions League defeats. A rampant Bremen made a spectacular start, racing into a 2-0 lead inside four minutes after Almeida beat Stuttgart keeper Raphael Schaefer with sharp strikes from the edge of the box.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Beats Hearts 2-1 for First Win

In Glasgow, Scotland, Craig Brewster scored in the last minute yesterday to give Inverness Caledonian Thistle a 2-1 win over Hearts and its first victory of the Scottish Premier League season.

Inverness had lost its first six matches and scored just two goals, so was expected to struggle against a Hearts side that routed powerhouse Rangers 4-2 last weekend.

That seemed even more likely after Ian Black put Hearts ahead at Caledonian Stadium with a 34th-minute own-goal, but forward Dennis Wyness equalized in the 64th with a tap in from a rebound.

Niculae Double Helps

Auxerre Sink Marseille

In Paris, Daniel Niculae struck twice in six first-half minutes to give AJ Auxerre a 2-0 victory over Olympique Marseille in the early Ligue 1 game yesterday.

Romanian striker Niculae opened the scoring after 19 minutes with a shot from close range after being set up by midfielder Benoit Pedretti.

Five minutes later he met a Kevin Lejeune cross to beat goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for the second time.