Arsenal debt to captain Campbell

Arsenal FC 2-0 Everton FC

Sol Campbell made an emphatic return to domestic duty for Arsenal as the Londoners won 2-0 against Everton on Monday night. The England defender, who turned 31 on the eve of the match, celebrated in style with two headed goals, in the eleventh and 30th minutes, from José Antonio Reyes free-kicks. Campbell said: "I had one chance for the hat-trick but two is fine. It is great to be back. It has been a long time and it felt good."

Campbell had missed the first four games of the Premiership season through injury and was given the captain's armband as Thierry Henry continued his rehabilitation from a groin problem. Prior to the Everton match, Arsène Wenger said: "Thierry needs two weeks' rest and we have sent him away for ten days."

There was a fresh worry for Wenger when Robert Pirès limped off with an ankle injury just before the half-hour to be replaced by Aleksandr Hleb. In goal, Jens Lehmann came in for Manuel Almunia, with one game left of his European ban, while Robin van Persie started up front despite his Matchday 2 suspension against AFC Ajax. The 18-year-old Cameroonian midfielder Alexandre Song, on loan from SC Bastia, made his Arsenal debut as a late substitute.

AZ Alkmaar 4-2 AFC Ajax

Ajax slumped to eighth in the Eredivisie after a high-scoring defeat by Alkmaar. Wesley Sneijder's double was not enough to tame AZ, who are joint-top after five wins from five. The Amsterdam side lie nine points off the pace, albeit with a game in hand, having lost two of their four matches.

Sneijder gave Ajax a tenth-minute lead with a cross-shot following good work by Olaf Lindenbergh. Shota Arveladze hit back with two goals, before Sneijder equalised on the stroke of half-time with a delightful free-kick. But two second-half strikes from Kenneth Perez put the tie beyond Ajax, who suffered their first league defeat by AZ since September 2000.

The match also cost Ajax midfielder Lindenbergh's services for the next three domestic games. The 31-year-old is suspended having seen red for hitting out at Arveladze. However, defender Zdeněk Grygera was able to play on Sunday, with his sending-off against Willem II on 10 September rescinded. Defender Julien Escudé appeared on the bench after recovering from back trouble, but goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (shoulder), left-back Maxwell and winger Nicolae Mitea (both knee) all missed out.

"We gave it away too easily. In the first half-hour we played terrific football," said Sneijder. "We stopped creating in the second half and allowed AZ to play to their undoubted potential. It is painful for us, but it's too early in the season to draw conclusions."

SC Düdingen 0-1 FC Thun

Four days after coming within a minute of taking a famous point from their Champions League debut at Arsenal, Thun returned to earth with a bump as they laboured to victory over lower-league side Düdingen in the Swiss Cup first round.

The Bernese outfit lined up with nine of the team that lost 2-1 at Highbury, but it was one of the two players drafted into the side that made the most telling contribution, German youngster Eren Sen scoring the only goal after the half-hour.

Urs Schönenberger's men backed off after making the breakthrough, however, and struggled to finish off their fourth-division opponents. A sluggish performance was lightened by some moments of individual skill, while Sen and substitute Florian Favre were denied by the woodwork as Thun had to settle for a narrow win to take them into the second round.

1. FC Slovácko 2-0 AC Sparta Praha

Sparta's poor domestic run continued as a 2-0 defeat at Slovácko made it four points from the last four Czech top-flight games. Miroslav Matušovič's free-kick aside, Sparta never really threatened their less-fancied rivals as the hosts dominated. Thomas Sowunmi broke the deadlock just after the interval before former Sparta player Vladimír Malár capped a fine win in the final minute, capitalising on a mistake from goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek.

Sparta entered the game without midfielder Tomáš Sivok and striker Miroslav Slepička, who both sustained injuries in the 1-1 Matchday 1 draw with Ajax, while defender Lukáš Zelenka was only fit enough for bench duty. Talismanic captain Karel Poborský did provide a fillip, returning from a long lay-off, but was short of match fitness and withdrawn midway through the second period.

Coach Jaroslav Hrebík was left to rue his side's profligacy after a disappointing all-round display. "We enjoyed some good combination play but lacked the shooting ability to finish the job," he said. "The midfield played well, but other players elsewhere did not help them."