5 BIG Premier League talking points: Arsenal land psychological blow
Tottenham and Arsenal are sitting pretty heading into the season’s second international break. Let’s round up the weekend’s BIGGEST Premier League talking points with all stats via SkySportsStatto unless otherwise stated.
Spurs pass another test
Away from home and down to 10 men for the entire second half, Tottenham stood firm to win 1-0 against Luton and go top of the table. That’s where they’ll be heading into the international break, ahead of North London rivals Arsenal on goal scored. This is Spurs’ best start to a league season since they were last crowned champions in 1960/61.
It’s tight at the bottom
Sheffield United are rock bottom with just a single point after 8 rounds. It was a terrible weekend for the Blades, who went down 3-1 at Fulham and lost influential defender Chris Basham to a serious ankle injury. On the horizon for them are matches against Man Utd and Arsenal. Everton got only their second league win of the season, a much-needed 3-0 success against fellow strugglers Bournemouth, while Burnley’s 1-4 home defeat to Chelsea means they’re on 4 points and inside the relegation zone just above the Cherries, who are stuck on 3.
McTominay spares Man Utd’s blushes
Super-sub Scott McTominay’s match-winning brace against Brentford in the 93rd and 97th minutes certainly changed the mood around Old Trafford. It’s the first time they’ve been trailing an EPL match in stoppage time and gone on to win it (via OptaJoe). He only entered the field in the 87th minute.
Brighton continue to leak goals
The Seagulls rallied back to claim a point against Liverpool in an entertaining 2-2 draw but it continues a worrying defensive trend for Roberto De Zerbi’s side. They’ve now shipped 17 league goals this season. Only the current bottom 3 have conceded more. That being said, they do have the best attack in the division with 21 goals scored. They’re also just 4 points adrift of the top of the table after 8 games.
Arsenal beat the treble winners
Man City have lost 5 of their last 8 Premier League away games when influential midfielder Rodri hasn’t started. They’ll be delighted to get him back after the break, but he was missed against Arsenal as they suffered a third successive domestic defeat. The Gunners finally halted a 12-match Premier League losing streak against City, limiting the champions to just 4 shots, the fewest a Pep Guardiola side have managed in a top-flight match since April 2010.
Substitute Gabriel Martinelli picked a good moment to score his first goal of the season. His deflected shot off Nathan Aké after good hold-up play by fellow substitute Kai Havertz is likely to increase belief that Mikel Arteta’s men can go all the way in 2023/24.
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