Arsenal off the mark, Sturridge strikes again

Arsenal FC earned their first three points of the 2013/14 Premier League campaign at the second time of asking, triumphing 3-1 at London rivals Fulham FC.

Amid torrential rain in the lunchtime fixture at Craven Cottage, Gunners manager Arsène Wenger got a positive response from his players to last week's 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa FC.

Olivier Giroud got the ball rolling with his second of the season, poking in from close range on 14 minutes, and Lukas Podolski converted a rebound after a David Stockdale parry to double the lead before the break.

The German international's angled drive put the game beyond Fulham midway through the second half, although debutant Darren Bent's predatory effort at least gave the home fans something to cheer.

Matchwinner for Liverpool FC seven days ago against Stoke City FC, Daniel Sturridge repeated the feat as the Reds made it two wins out of two with a 1-0 success at Villa. Incorporating the end of last season, the England forward has scored eight goals in his past seven club outings.

Sunderland AFC were on course for an away victory themselves at Southampton FC until José Fonte (88) cancelled out former Juventus winger Emanuele Giaccherini's first goal in English football. Elsewhere, there were home wins for Hull City AFC and Stoke against Norwich City FC and Crystal Palace FC respectively.