1. Arsenal Turn the Tide at St James’ Park
St James’ Park has often been a difficult venue for Arsenal, becoming a bogey ground for Mikel Arteta with three consecutive losses and no goals scored. In previous visits, promising starts were undone by refereeing disputes and Arsenal getting drawn into the physical, confrontational style that suits Newcastle. However, Sunday showed a shift in mindset. Arteta’s attacking lineup and his all-out push for a win, even after securing a draw, demonstrated a new approach. His team eventually dominated the physical battle to secure three points. While new signings Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres didn’t make an impact, Arsenal’s deep squad and Arteta’s offensive substitutions provided the aerial threat needed. An early overturned penalty and missed opportunities felt familiar, but Arsenal’s resilience in overcoming their mental block at St James’ Park signals a determination that will benefit their title challenge. John Brewin
Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal
Mikel Arteta’s tactical changes paid off with a late winner from Gabriel. Photo: Jon Super/AP
2. King Shines Again for Fulham
Josh King’s last visit to Birmingham ended in a 7-1 defeat with Fulham’s under-21s almost a year ago. Although he suffered another loss at Villa Park, his performance was the standout positive for Marco Silva’s team. The 18-year-old midfielder was central to almost all of Fulham’s promising play, once again chosen over last year’s £27m signing Emile Smith Rowe or the experienced Tom Cairney and Harrison Reed. King, who joined his childhood club at eight, made his Premier League debut last December and has become a regular starter this season. His disallowed goal at Chelsea still earned Fulham’s August goal of the month award. Against Aston Villa, he was the game’s best player until the hosts rallied. It’s no surprise Fulham secured him with a new four-year contract in July. Ben Fisher
Match report: Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham
3. Kayode’s Throws Power Brentford to Victory
Long throws are not just back; they’re bigger than ever, and Brentford’s Michael Kayode might be the best in the league at them. His first throw against Manchester United after three minutes was astonishing—powerful, flat, and screaming like a rocket to the goal line. His second was like a penalty blasted toward the top corner while being shot from a cannon, nearly going straight in. Watching Kayode launch them from both sidelines, you wondered if his later throws would lose steam (they didn’t). Can he keep up this pace? Return for more? Should his workload be managed? It’s clear why this tactic has emerged: with limited coaching time, simpler attacking moves are favored. Two questions arise: will data-driven teams now sign players for their throwing ability? And why were Manchester United so caught off guard, and Ruben Amorim so upset by such a predictable strategy? Beyond the obvious reasons. Barney Ronay
Match report: Brentford 3-1 Manchester United
4. Palace’s Investment in Nketiah Pays Off Late
As Arsenal fans celebrated Liverpool’s loss on Saturday, seeing the final blow delivered by one of their own academy graduates made Crystal Palace’s win even sweeter. Eddie Nketiah, born in Brockley, has been playing second fiddle to Jean-Philippe Mateta since moving south last year and missed the season’s first month with a hamstring injury. After his impressive return against Liverpool, the striker should get plenty of chances this season, especially with Palace starting their Conference League campaign against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday.Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said, “One of our mottos is: if you invest, you get something back. It’s a principle I live by. Eddie put in a lot of effort and was rewarded with the winning goal in front of our fans.” Ed Aarons reported on the match where Eddie Nketiah scored the decisive goal for Crystal Palace against the defending champions, Liverpool, in a 2-1 victory.
In another game, Brighton struggled to create chances against Chelsea until Danny Welbeck came on in the 67th minute. His presence as a focal point transformed the game; although he missed an easy opportunity, he scored the equalizer and later added a second goal in stoppage time, leading Brighton to a 3-1 win. Jacob Steinberg noted that Welbeck’s experience was crucial, and his manager will hope this boosts his confidence after his first goals of the season.
Tottenham drew for the second straight Premier League match, with their attack appearing predictable. Despite dominating possession, they lacked cutting edge, and there’s growing support for Xavi Simons to take on a creative role. Richarlison poses a threat but isn’t consistently scoring, and the team awaits the return of key players. Wolves nearly capitalized on Spurs’ weaknesses, as reported by JB.
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is cautious about Rodri’s knee injury, which kept him out of the Burnley game. Rodri expressed significant pain in the same knee that had an ACL injury last season. Guardiola is unsure if he’ll be fit for the Champions League match against Monaco or the league game at Brentford, as per Jamie Jackson.
Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade made an impression with his height, scoring a header in the first half and troubling Arsenal’s defense with his movement. Despite a missed chance that was ruled offside, he showed promising skills for a tall player and is on his way to becoming a fan favorite.End and hustle. Gabriel’s appeal for a foul as Woltemade scored was an admission that the Brazilian had been outplayed and resorted to desperate, unsuccessful measures. St James’ Park has always embraced its cult heroes, and Woltemade left the pitch to a standing ovation with 25 crucial minutes remaining. Alexander who?
Sean Longstaff is quickly becoming a vital player for Leeds after his summer transfer from Newcastle, contributing a goal and an assist against Bournemouth. It wasn’t just his attacking play that stood out; he made his presence felt all over the pitch. Comfortable on the ball and eager to tackle, he can physically overpower most opponents. With set pieces key for Leeds this season, Longstaff’s delivery will be essential, as shown by his assist for Joe Rodon’s opening goal. The midfielder then displayed precision and technique to score himself. Daniel Farke praised his “outstanding, man-of-the-match performance,” highlighting his goal, assist, work rate, composure, tactical understanding, and leadership on and off the pitch. At £12 million, Longstaff could prove to be a bargain.
Sunderland are looking up after a strong start. Can they defy the trend of promoted teams being immediately relegated? Following two seasons where all six newcomers dropped straight back to the EFL, both Sunderland and Leeds appear capable of avoiding that fate this year. The Black Cats have 11 points from six games after a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, the best start for a promoted side since West Ham in 2012-13. The last two teams with even better starts—Blackburn in 1992-93 and Forest in 1994-95, both with 14 points—went on to finish in the top four. Manager Régis Le Bris, whose only previous top-flight experience was with Lorient in Ligue 1, emphasized the need to break the trend and take it game by game. Despite having the shortest summer to prepare among the promoted teams and integrating 15 new signings after 17 departures, their organization and effectiveness are commendable. Next, they face Manchester United away on Saturday.
League Table:
1. Liverpool – P:6, GD:5, Pts:15
2. Arsenal – P:6, GD:9, Pts:13
3. Crystal Palace – P:6, GD:5, Pts:12
4. Tottenham Hotspur – P:6, GD:7, Pts:11
5. Sunderland – P:6, GD:3, Pts:11
6. AFC Bournemouth – P:6, GD:1, Pts:11
7. Man City – P:6, GD:8, Pts:10
8. Chelsea – P:66. Brighton – 6 points, 0 goal difference
10. Fulham – 6 points, -1 goal difference
11. Leeds – 6 points, -3 goal difference
12. Everton – 5 points, 1 goal difference
13. Brentford – 6 points, -2 goal difference
14. Man Utd – 6 points, -4 goal difference
15. Newcastle – 6 points, -1 goal difference
16. Aston Villa – 6 points, -2 goal difference
17. Nottm Forest – 6 points, -5 goal difference
18. Burnley – 6 points, -7 goal difference
19. West Ham – 5 points, -8 goal difference
20. Wolverhampton – 6 points, -9 goal difference
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful and concise FAQs based on the key talking points from this weekends Premier League matches designed for fans of all knowledge levels
Beginner General Questions
Q Who won the big match between Manchester City and Arsenal
A It was a 00 draw Neither team managed to score
Q Why is everyone talking about the Liverpool vs Brighton game
A Because it was a dramatic 21 win for Liverpool with a late winning goal that keeps them in the title race
Q What does a draw mean in football
A A draw is when a match ends and both teams have the same number of goals neither team wins or loses and each gets one point in the league table
Q What is the Premier League table
A Its the leaderboard that ranks all 20 teams based on their points The team at the top after 38 games wins the league
Q Which team is at the top of the table now
A Following this weekends results Arsenal is at the top but Liverpool and Manchester City are very close behind
Advanced Tactical Questions
Q Why was the Man City vs Arsenal match so cage and tactical
A Both teams were cautious and prioritized not making a mistake over attacking freely They canceled each other out in midfield leading to very few clear chances
Q What is game management and how did Liverpool show it
A Game management is controlling the tempo of a match especially when leading Liverpool slowed the game down made smart fouls to break Brightons rhythm and held onto their narrow lead effectively
Q How did Arsenals defensive setup nullify Erling Haaland
A Arsenals central defenders William Saliba and Gabriel marked Haaland very tightly preventing him from receiving the ball in dangerous areas They also cut off the supply from midfield isolating him
Q What does it mean that the title race is now a threehorse race
A It means three teamsArsenal Liverpool and Manchester Cityare all serious contenders to win the league separated by only a few points with a handful of games left
