5 BIG Premier League talking points: Arsenal’s late win and more
So many trends and patterns are emerging 4 rounds into the Premier League season. Here’s what everyone’s talking about heading into the international break.
Burnley and Luton battling in the BIG time
The Clarets and the Hatters are finding Premier League life rather difficult with neither promoted side winning a point yet. Burnley have shipped 11 goals so far, with 5 of those knocked past them in a 2-5 defeat to an impressive Tottenham team at Turf Moor. Meanwhile, Luton’s much-anticipated home debut ended in a 1-2 defeat to West Ham on Friday night.
Haaland leading the Golden Boot race
Man City’s Norwegian goal machine already has 5 Premier League hat-tricks to his name and he’s played just 39 times in the competition. He also supplied the assist for Julián Álvarez’s opener against Fulham.
Spurs skipper Son Heung-min and Brighton’s Evan Ferguson also bagged hat-tricks on Saturday, with 18-year-old striker Ferguson becoming the fourth youngest player ever to net 3 goals in a Premier League game (after Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Chris Bart-Williams).
With 6 strikes already, Haaland holds a 2-goal lead over Ferguson and Bryan Mbeumo at the top of the charts.
Newcastle’s slow start
The Magpies have been handed a tricky start to the season by the fixture computer. They’ve already tasted defeat against Man City, Liverpool and Brighton, with their sole victory coming over Aston Villa.
Things aren’t likely to get much easier for Eddie Howe’s men, who have been drawn to play Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and PSG in the Champions League. They also face Man City in the EFL Cup third round. Newcastle’s upcoming Premier League schedule is a bit less daunting on paper with clashes against Brentford, Sheffield United and Burnley in their next 3.
Sheffield United and Everton in a relegation battle
An entertaining 2-2 draw between the Blades and the Toffees saw both sides have the lead but fail to turn it into 3 points. They had each lost their first 3 games, so are still searching for a first win. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, were the only team to keep a clean sheet on Saturday and they’re currently in the top half of the table after a shock 1-0 triumph at Chelsea.
Arsenal leave it late to win a thriller
Marcus Rashford scored a superb opener against the run of play for Man Utd at Arsenal. The Gunners hit back immediately after nice work from Gabriel Martinelli to tee up skipper Martin Ødegaard.
The referee overturned a penalty awarded in favour of Kai Havertz just before the hour mark and United thought they had won it in the 89th minute through Alejandro Garnacho but the Argentine was marginally offside after smart defending from Gabriel Magalhães.
The drama wasn’t done yet. Declan Rice scored his first Arsenal goal from close range when United failed to clear their lines and Gabriel Jesus put the cherry on a tasty cake for Arsenal with his first ever goal against Man Utd at the 13th attempt.
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