LONDON: Theo Walcott scored a sparkling first goal and Andrei Arshavin threaded in the second to give Arsenal a 2-1 victory at Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League on Saturday.

Walcott, who netted a hat-trick in a 6-0 home thrashing of Blackpool last week, looked sharp again in a much tougher game at Ewood Park and fired Arsenal ahead with a fine finish after 20 minutes.

Mame Diouf levelled for Rovers on his first Premier League start before Arshavin sealed a deserved victory for Arsenal early in the second half.

Victory put Arsenal top on seven points from three games but champions Chelsea can reclaim first place if they maintain their 100 percent start to the season at home to Stoke City on Saturday.

Manchester United are at home to West Ham United in an early evening kick-off (1630 GMT).

Arsenal`s ability to eke out victories away to physical sides like Blackburn has been questioned in recent seasons but they were up to the task on Saturday.

The only blemish on an encouraging day for Arsene Wenger`s side was the sight of Dutch striker Robin van Persie limping off with a twisted ankle before halftime.

Van Persie missed a large chunk of last season with an ankle injury although Wenger said afterwards he hoped he would be back in eight to 10 days.

Walcott was surprisingly left out of Fabio Capello`s England World Cup squad but has started the new campaign with a spring in his step and his searing pace caused Rovers problems throughout a flowing game.

He has scored four times already this season, as many as he managed in the whole of the last campaign, and should feature in Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

"I had a good think about everything after not going to the World Cup," Walcott told Sky Sports. "I had a good break, went away and relaxed and had a look at myself. Now all I want to get playing and get on the scoresheet a bit more often."

Arsenal took the lead with a typically incisive attack which ended with Van Persie threading a pass to Walcott, who thumped a shot past Paul Robinson without breaking his stride.

Rovers levelled seven minutes later when El Hadji Diouf surged past Arsenal`s Laurent Koscielny and angled the ball back for his namesake to tap the ball past Manuel Almunia.

The visitors were the better side after the break and shredded Blackburn`s defence in the 51st minute when Bacary Sagna accelerated down the right and picked out Cesc Fabregas whose blocked shot fell for Arshavin to thread in a shot.

BDST: 2207HRS, August 28, 2010