Arsenal and United come from nowhere for surprise wins

TO BE the champs, you gotta beat the champs!

That’s what Arsenal did at the Emirates against the reigning Premier League champion, Manchester City. It used to be a one-sided rivalry, but now Mikel Arteta has got his statement victory against Pep Guardiola.

It was Arsenal’s first Premier League win over the Citizens since 2015 and marked Guardiola’s first back-to-back loss in Premier League matches since 2018. Arsenal achieved the win by keeping it solid at the back and denying City spaces to operate.

Looking at the starting lineup, one might wonder where the pace would come from, as Arsenal’s wingers, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, were not in it.

Arteta had a plan, and the movement of all three forwards that started proved to be effective.

The game was won with Arsenal choking the space via Declan Rice and City missing Rodri in the team. With Rodri suspended for three games, City have lost all three.

Another talking point from the game will be the non-dismissal of Mateo Kovacic.

Once again, the referee and VAR are in the spotlight for non-calls. The mistakes keep piling up and could disrupt what could be a great season in the league.

The North London teams keep showing their strength and this could be a league battle for the ages.

At the American Express Stadium, it ended all squares in the Mac Allister derby. Liverpool were very sloppy in the first half and Simon Adingra took advantage of this. Brighton’s pressing was on point and Liverpool had no answer to it.

Liverpool tried to outpass Brighton but only after playing more directly, Liverpool went ahead by two goals to one with a brace from Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool failed to kill off the game in the second half, and a defensive lapse by Andy Robertson allowed Lewis Dunk to equalize for Brighton.

Not the ideal way to celebrate Klopp’s eight-year’s anniversary with the club.

Manchester United finally joined the ‘comeback is real’ bandwagon after getting away ‘scot-free’ by overturning a one-nil deficit in ‘Fergie’s time’ to record a win at Old Trafford against Brentford (2-1). Perhaps this tribute from a Scottish player is dedicated to the late Lady Cathy Ferguson, the wife of Sir Alex Ferguson, who passed away recently.

This win prevented Erik ten Hag from losing three consecutive league home games in a row.

The irony of it all is that they achieved the win by playing route one football, rather than the ‘United way’!

Harry Maguire provided an assist for the winning goal, a redemption for a player who was getting a lot of stick from the United fans. Could this be how United would play in future games?

Tottenham Hotspur continue their unbeaten run with a one-nil win over Luton Town. They achieved the win by playing with ten men after Yves Bissouma got sent off for simulation. At the start of the game, Spurs were guilty of not taking their chances, especially Richarlison.

Spurs seem to struggle against a team that play a low block, and Ange Postecoglou has a lot to work on for his team to break down teams that defend deep. This is required if Spurs want to challenge for the title.

The end of time is definitely near as Chelsea recorded two consecutive away game wins in a row.

After going down early to Burnley, Raheem Sterling put on an impressive performance to help the Blues.

With a challenging set of fixtures after the international break, this win will give some breathing room and less pressure from the media on Mauricio Pochettino.