arsenal started october with a 3–1 win against sunderland, breaking manchester united's premier league record of 30 matches unbeaten. they however suffered their first defeat of the season, against everton; teenager wayne rooney scored from long range in the last minute of the match. wenger used his post-match press conference to praise the striker: "at that age, rooney is already a complete footballer. the guy can play. he's the best english under-20 i've seen since i came here [in 1996]." in spite of dominating their next match against blackburn rovers – "27 goal attempts, 14 on target," arsenal were beaten 2–1; the winning goal was scored by dwight yorke in the second half. it was the team's third consecutive defeat in all competitions, their worst run since november 2000, and moved league leaders liverpool four points clear at the top of the table.