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Premier League, Old Trafford – Manchester United 4 (Scholes 51, Hernandez 63, Buttner 66, Powell 82) Wigan Athletic 0.

Four goals in an inspired second-half showing gave Manchester United a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in their Premier League encounter at Old Trafford.

A missed spot kick from Javier Hernandez in the fifth minute after a very dubious penalty was awarded left the match goalless at half-time, but goals from Paul Scholes, Hernandez and debutants Alexander Buttner and Nick Powell gave United all three points.

It was a landmark day for three United players: Scholes made his 700th appearance for United, Ryan Giggs became the first player to feature in 600 Premier League games, and Rio Ferdinand hit the 400 mark, and it would prove to be a fine afternoon for all three after an unconvincing first-half showing from the hosts.

Robin Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa were both confined to the bench for United as Sir Alex Ferguson handed a debut to defender Buttner at left-back and Danny Welbeck and Hernandez were paired together in attack.

Anders Lindegaard was again preferred to the dropped David de Gea between the posts, and the Dane was left flat-footed early on as Ivan Ramis rose above Ferdinand to head narrowly wide of the far post from a corner.

Welbeck was very lively early on, and he won his side a penalty in just the fifth minute as he stormed forward and took a dramatic fall as Ali Al Habsi closed him down. Replays showed that there was little or no contact, and Wigan were furious with the decision from referee Michael Oliver.

The visitors’ sense of injustice did not last long, however: Hernandez planted a dismal penalty tamely to Al Habsi’s left, and the Oman goalkeeper was able to make a comfortable save down low with the Mexican left to bemoan his effort.

United, who had won all 14 meetings in all competitions with Wigan prior to their defeat in April last season, did not have things all their own way in the first half as striker Arouna Kone fluffed his kick at the back post after the excellent Jean Beausejour curled over a pinpoint cross.

Nani and Welbeck each managed to get in behind the Wigan back four courtesy of sublime through balls from Scholes, but the Portuguese was too cute with an attempted chip which drifted over the bar, while the latter was denied by an impeccable last-ditch challenge from Maynor Figueroa.

Neither manager made any changes at the break, and Wigan continued where they left off in the second half, building from deep and breaking at pace with Beausejour and Kone using their speed to good effect, stretching the United back four.

But Scholes marked his landmark match with a tap-in from the six-yard box after a fine cross from Nani which Al Habsi could only parry to the midfielder. It was the 37-year-old’s 155th goal for the club, and turned the match decisively the way of the home side.

Just seconds later, Nani roared down the right once more and cut the ball back for Welbeck, whose first touch left him with his back to goal, and his inventive overhead kick just drifted the wrong side of the far post.

Roberto Martinez introduced Jordi Gomez at the expense of Shaun Maloney on the hour mark in an attempt to inspire a fightback from his side, but United continued to dominate the play from midfield, and they made it two as Wigan lost their composure in the penalty area.

Welbeck won the ball back for the hosts superbly in the Wigan box, before debutant Buttner's shot was turned past Al Habsi by Hernandez, who was played onside as he stole in to grab an opportunist goal.

Minutes later, it was game over as the provider turned goalscorer: Buttner rampaged down the left and brushed past both Boyce and Ramis before driving a low shot past the helpless Al Habsi. It was an inspired strike from the defender.

The old guard were withdrawn after 71 minutes as Scholes and Giggs made way for 18-year-old Nick Powell and Van Persie, who had scored four goals from just six shots on target so far for United before the game and netted a staggering 52 goals in his last 58 Premier League games.

Van Persie missed from close range two minutes later as Nani forced his way down the right once more and cut the ball back, but the Dutchman got his feet tangled up and failed to convert from the six-yard box as Al Habsi swooped to gather.

But Powell added more gloss to the scoreline in the 82nd minute. Wigan failed to clear a loose ball on the edge of their own box, and Hernandez found Powell who jinked inside a challenge from Caldwell with real poise before firing an emphatic finish inside the near post.

Ferguson called for his side to be more solid defensively before the match, and he could hardly have wished for a more convincing display from his side at both ends of the field ahead of the Champions League clash with Galatasaray on Wednesday.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paul Scholes (Manchester United) – On his 700th appearance, it was the midfielder who broke the deadlock with an opportunist close-range finish, and his creativity from deep that kept Wigan on the back foot for most of the game.

Chelsea got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

Branislav Ivanovic and Frank Lampard had the European champions two goals up within seven minutes of the kick-off after a blistering early start orchestrated by their marquee summer signing, Eden Hazard.

The Belgian playmaker laid on the through ball from which Ivanovic went on to score his first goal since Chelsea's 2-1 win over Wigan back in April before winning the penalty which Lampard converted soon afterwards.

The rest of the game was not exactly the sort of dominant performance befitting of Chelsea's status as the reigning European champions, with several uncertain moments at the back and Wigan spurning some decent chances, but Roberto Di Matteo will just be satisfied to get a first win as the London club's full-time manager under his belt.

Hazard was the only one of Chelsea three summer signings to start at the DW, with Oscar starting on the bench and Marko Marin not included in the squad. Defender Ivan Ramis had a Wigan debut to forget as he was outwitted by Hazard for both of Chelsea's goals.

Chelsea's joint-biggest away win in the Premier League came at the DW Stadium almost two years ago to the day, and their fast start had many wondering if another drubbing was on the cards.

With just two minutes on the clock Hazard turned in the centre circle and rolled a ball into the path of Branislav Ivanovic's galloping run. The Serb defender charged into the area and coolly finished past goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.

Ivanovic was allowed to play in his club's opener despite getting sent off in last weekend's Community Shield due to that showpiece no longer being classified as a first-team match by the FA, and Chelsea reaped the rewards of that administrative adjustment.

Ramis was the player Hazard spun around before setting up Ivanovic's opener, and the Spaniard was again undone by the Chelsea man's poise and skill after five minutes when he tripped the Belgian inside the area to concede a clear penalty.

Frank Lampard hammered his strike from 12 yards low and underneath Al Habsi's dive to register a seventh goal on the opening day of a season in his career, one behind Alan shearer's Premier League record of eight.

After that early blitz, Wigan began to see more of the ball but they were unable to fashion many chances. The home side felt they should have had a penalty when Petr Cech appeared to catch the ball just outside the area, but none of the officials were sure enough to penalise the Chelsea keeper.

Victor Moses, reportedly a target for Chelsea, tested Cech with a well-struck effort from a wide angle that the keeper met with strong hands, but the Czech should have been beaten in first-half injury time. Maynor Figueroa played Franco Di Santo through on goal, but the former Chelsea striker's hesitation was costly as Cech and David Luiz combined to deny the forward.

For all the attacking talent Chelsea now have on their books, Fernando Torres is the only out-and-out striker at their disposal, but the Euro 2012 golden boot winner was unable to open his account for the season. He came close to scoring after showing great strength to battle his way into the area and trickle to ball past Al Habsi, but Ramis was on hand to clear it off the line.

Both Oscar and Wigan's new striker Arouna Kone looked lively after they were both introduced midway through the second half. Brazilian attacker Oscar fired wide with a low shot from range while Kone enjoyed lots of good interplay with fellow substitute Jordi Gomez, who fired a spectacular overhead kick off target with five minutes of the 90 remaining.

Individual errors from Ashley Cole and Cech could have proved costly on another day, but Wigan were unable to capitalise and Chelsea sealed their 12th win in 15 league meetings against the Latics.

Arsenal's Premier League resurgence continued as a comfortable 4-0 victory over Wigan at the DW Stadium saw them move into fifth place in the table.

Mikel Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen, Gervinho and, inevitably, Robin van Persie all found themselves on the scoresheet as the Gunners registered a sixth victory in their past seven league games to draw level with Newcastle United.

Wigan, who move bottom of the table following Blackburn's victory over Swansea, offered little threat as Arsene Wenger oversaw the kind of accomplished victory that used to be so commonplace for Arsenal, but has been rather absent over the past 12 months.

Indeed, it was Arsenal's biggest away victory since the opening day of the 2009-10 season when they defeated Everton 6-1 at Goodison Park.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, a proud Catalan, took his cue from Barcelona when deploying Wigan in a rather amorphous and unexpected 4-6-0 formation, with Jordi Gomez operating in the Lionel Messi 'false nine' role.

It was the Spaniard who enjoyed the first chance of the match, though Messi would no doubt have done rather better when Wojciech Szczesny palmed a cross from David Jones into the path of Gomez, who had the goal at his mercy but fired his shot against Andre Santos.

The real impact of Wigan's tactical manoeuvring, far from ushering in a Barcelona-esque performance, was to leave them rather toothless in attack and it was Arsenal who enjoyed by far the greater weight of chances in the first half.

Gary Caldwell had almost scored an own goal when making a mess of an attempted clearance from a Theo Walcott cross before Arsenal did take control of the match with two goals in the space of a minute.

It was Arteta who struck the first blow when, on 28 minutes, he found a pocket of space 25 yards from goal and unleashed a swerving effort that flew past Ali Al Habsi, who should have done better in the Wigan goal as the ball flew through his fingers.

After the restart, Arsenal quickly won a corner and Vermaelen met Van Persie's deep delivery at the back post as he leaped above Caldwell to steer a precise header inside the far post and out of the reach of Al Habsi.

Having been at fault for the first goal and helpless for the second, Al Habsi then displayed the kind of form that has seen him become Wigan's best player in a dismal campaign when extending his left arm to make a fine save to deny Van Persie, who had shot first-time from Gervinho's square pass.

If Gomez was playing with little success dropping off the front from a central position, then his opposite number, Van Persie, was revelling in the chance to operate from withdrawn positions despite his role as a lone striker.

The Dutchman loves to drop deep to collect the ball and on the stroke of half-time he came into his own half to take possession before releasing Gervinho with a beautiful ball through the centre of the pitch. The Ivorian rounded Al Habsi but ran the ball far too wide and lost possession.

Arsenal perhaps should have had the chance to extend their lead just five minutes into the second half. Ramsey took possession of a loose ball and drove into the box before being clearly pulled back by Steve Gohouri. The midfielder, though, was denied a penalty by Mark Clattenburg.

The visiting side only had to wait until the 62nd minute for their third goal though. Van Persie exchanged passes with Alex Song before cutting inside his man and lashing a shot at goal. Al Habsi could only parry the effort into the path of Gervinho, who tapped in for his third Premier League goal of the season.

The goal was a combination of a lengthy passing move and Arsenal were clearly enjoying themselves on a slick surface at the DW Stadium. They constructed another fluid attack on 64 minutes but, unusually, when finding time and space in the box to apply the finishing touch, Van Persie skewed his shot wide of the post.

On 78 minutes he would not be denied though. Walcott skipped away from Caldwell and then retained possession as the Wigan skipper put in a desperate challenge in a failed attempt to nick the ball away.

Walcott waited for Van Persie to drop into a pocket of space and the Dutchman swept the ball home for the fourth and final goal, and his 14th of the season in the Premier League.

Liverpool's run of four straight wins was brought to an end after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Wigan Athletic at Anfield in the Premier League.

Raul Meireles scored his fifth goal in his last six matches to open the scoring midway through the first half, only for Steve Gohouri to level halfway through the second.

The solitary point is not enough to lift the Latics out of the bottom three, as Wolves were the only team in the bottom half of the table to lose.

Luis Suarez at times dazzled the home crowd with his skills on his full Anfield debut - the Uruguayan was involved in most of Liverpool's best moves forward - although he also displayed his propensity for going to ground with only the slightest encouragement, something which will not win him too many admirers away from Merseyside.

Liverpool just about deserved their lead, although Wigan offered plenty going forward in an open first half.

Charles N'Zogbia weaved his way into the box and fired wide of the far post before Maxi Rodriguez laid off Meireles's pass into the path of Dirk Kuyt, who forced a regulation stop from Ali Al-Habsi.

Meireles struck on 24 minutes when Fabio Aurelio's cross deflected off a Wigan player and dropped perfectly for the Portuguese to strike a crisp volley that beat Al-Habsi. That strike means Meireles has already registered more league goals in this campaign than any other in his career. His haul is even more impressive considering that all of those goals have come within the last month.

Suarez almost doubled Liverpool's lead soon after the restart when he bent an effort off the far post, before Meireles flashed a shot wide from range.

However, Wigan continued to press their hosts without creating many clear chances. Victor Moses worked tirelessly down the left flank while N'Zogbia hit a well-struck free-kick too close to Pepe Reina.

The second half maintained the same pattern, with Suarez drawing a foul and a booking from Antolin Alcaraz on the edge of the box. Aurelio fired the subsequent free-kick over the bar.

Soon afterwards, on 65 minutes, Wigan were level. Kuyt managed to clear the immediate danger from a corner, but N'Zogbia was allowed the time and curl in a dangerous cross that Gohouri prodded past Reina for his first goal since May 2010.

With Meireles now off the field, Maxi took charge of free-kick duties, firing one over the bar and rattling the frame of the goal with another.

Tom Cleverley's introduction briefly boosted Wigan's hopes of scoring a winner, but it was Liverpool who spurned most of the opportunities to claim victory with Maxi, Aurelio and Glen Johnson all firing efforts off target.