 Arsenal faced West Ham United in the first weekend of October. Dixon, Nigel Winterburn and Overmars were rested for the match, replaced by Luzhny, Slyvinho and Šuker. In spite of general dominance from Arsenal, West Ham striker Paolo di Canio scored in each half to win his team the match. Patrick Vieira was dismissed during play for a foul on Di Canio. A confrontation soon after occurred between the player and Neil Ruddock. Vieira was subsequently charged, banned for six matches and fined a record £ 45,000 by The Football Association. Šuker scored twice against Everton at Highbury on 16 October 1999. Arsenal then travelled to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. Goals from Tore André Flo and Dan Petrescu seemed to have given the home side victory, before Kanu scored a hat-trick in the space of 15 minutes. His first involved extending his legs and stabbing the ball past goalkeeper Ed de Goey, once it fell kindly in his direction. The equaliser came in the 83rd minute: Kanu received the ball from Overmars, which took him away from goal but hit the ball to the left of De Goey ’ s dive. In injury time Kanu, in the downpour, chased down the ball and dribbled past the stranded Chelsea goalkeeper on the byline, before curling the ball over Frank Leboeuf and into the far corner of the goal net. Kanu's teammate Šuker described the third goal as "beautiful", while Bergkamp added: "The skills he has got, the moves he makes, are something you like to watch and learn from. I watch him in training and it is a joy." The month ended with a goalless draw at home to Newcastle United, which left Arsenal fourth, three points behind league leaders Leeds United.
