It has been a terrific start in the Premier League for the two north London clubs as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur picked up contrasting but crucial wins. While Spurs had to fight hard for their victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal breezed past Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Coming into the game with two huge wins against Crystal Palace and Leicester, Arsenal had a chance to go top with a win on the South Coast. Mikel Arteta named an unchanged side once again and the young Arsenal stars dazzled to pick up their third successive win, their best start to a season in 18 years.
It took the Gunners just five minutes to take the lead as new signing Gabriel Jesus was heavily involved in the build-up. The Brazilian wriggled through the Bournemouth defence after a brilliant first touch and played in Martinelli, whose shot was saved but the rebound was tapped in by Odegaard.
The 2nd goal arrived just six minutes later as Odegaard doubled the lead after a low cross from Ben White. William Saliba scored a fine curling goal with his weaker foot in the 2nd half to put the icing on the cake for the Gunners.
Tottenham, meanwhile, were made to work hard by a spirited Wolves side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A 2nd half strike from Harry Kane was the difference between the two sides. Bruno Lage’s men were the better team in the first half but couldn’t break the deadlock.
Antonio Conte demanded a reaction from his players after the break and he got it as skipper Kane was in the right place at the right time to head in from a corner. In the process, the England captain became the Premier League’s highest goal-scorer for a single club with 185 goals, surpassing Sergio Aguero.
Leeds stun Chelsea at Elland Road
In what was the biggest upset of the weekend, Leeds United destroyed Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road. The Chelsea manager, who was fined £35,000 for his confrontation with Antonio Conte, was allowed to stay on the touchline for the game as his ban was suspended temporarily.
Chelsea started brightly but it was Jesse Marsch’s side that drew first blood. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy made a mess of a routine clearance as United States forward Brenden Aaronson pinched the ball from the Chelsea goalie and scored past an empty net.
The Blues were rocked once again as Rodrigo scored his 4th goal of the season, heading in a free-kick from Jack Harrison. Leeds went on to add a third through Jack Harrison to complete the rout. Leeds have now picked up 7 points from the first 3 games, while Chelsea are struggling.
Newcastle and Manchester City draw in six-goal thriller
Champions Manchester City have dropped their first points of the season as their perfect start was ended by Newcastle United at St. James’ Park. Goals from Haaland, Gundogan and Bernardo Silva were cancelled out by strikes from Almiron, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier in a 6-goal thriller.
Manchester City opened the scoring through Ikay Gundogan, who fired in a cross from Bernardo Silva. What was supposed to be a routine win for Pep Guardiola’s men turned into a close contest as Newcastle hit back twice. Almiron got the faintest of touches on a cross from Saint-Maximin to equalize for the Magpies.
Just minutes later, Saint-Maximin once again carved up City’s defence to set up Callum Wilson, who gave Newcastle the lead. The Magpies supporters were in dreamland when Trippier scored an exquisite free-kick in the 2nd half to double the lead. City dug deep and responded immediately with two quick-fire goals to equalize.
Erling Haaland continued his goal-scoring form with a strike from the 6-yard box, while just 3 minutes later, De Bruyne’s wonderful pass was slotted in by Bernardo Silva. It set up a grandstand last half-hour at St James’ Park but neither side could get the winner.
In the other games across the weekend, Demarai Gray’s late strike gave Frank Lampard’s Everton a 1-1 draw against newly-promoted Nottingham Forest. Leicester City’s disastrous start to the season continued as they surrendered a lead once again to lose 2-1 at home to Southampton.
Brentford suffered their first loss, while Fulham picked up their first win as Marco Silva’s men won 3-2 against Brentford. A Wilfried Zaha inspired Crystal Palace won 3-1 against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa, while Brighton handed a third successive defeat to David Moyes’ West Ham in a 2-0 win. In a blockbuster game on Monday, Manchester United take on bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford in the last game of Matchday 3.
