1
Tides change for Arsenal on Tyneside
St James’ Park has done strange things to Arsenal. It had become Mikel Arteta’s bogey ground, defeats the last three visits, his team unable to score. Each time, bright beginnings had given way to becoming bogged down by refereeing controversy, Arsenal pulled into the rolling maul football that better suits Newcastle’s muscle. Sunday’s attacking team selection and Arteta throwing the kitchen sink in chasing a win when a point had already been rescued hinted at a change in mentality. Arteta’s team eventually wrested control of the physical battle to push for three. If the dimensions that Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres have added failed to pay off, the Premier League’s deepest squad found the aerial power within itself, via Arteta’s attacking substitutions. An early overturned penalty and missed chances felt all too familiar. Arsenal’s response to those reverses, overturning their St James’ mental block, suggested a fresh determination that will serve them well in the title hunt. John Brewin
2
King shines brightly again for Fulham
Josh King’s previous trip to Birmingham was a 7-1 defeat at St Andrew’s in the EFL trophy with Fulham’s under-21s approaching 12 months ago. While he again tasted defeat, this time at Villa Park, his performance was the overriding promising takeaway for Marco Silva’s side. Almost all Fulham’s positive play went through the 18-year-old midfielder, again preferred to Emile Smith Rowe, a £27m signing last year, or the experience of Tom Cairney and Harrison Reed. King, who joined his boyhood club aged eight, made his Premier League debut last December but has evolved into a regular starter this campaign. His disallowed goal at Chelsea did not stop Fulham from making it their August goal of the month. Against Aston Villa he was the game’s outstanding player until the hosts roused. No wonder Fulham signed him to a new four-year deal in July. Ben Fisher
3
Kayode launches Brentford to victory
Long throws aren’t just back, baby, they’re bigger than ever – and Brentford’s Michael Kayode is surely the best ball-slinger in the league. His first after three minutes against Manchester United was a jaw-dropper, hard and flat and howling like a V2 rocket to the goalline. His second was like Julian Dicks smashing a penalty towards the top corner, while simultaneously being fired out of a cannon. It almost went straight in. Watching Kayode do this off both touchlines, you waited to see if his later throws would lose energy (they didn’t). Can he maintain his speeds? Come back for a third spell? Should we manage his workload? It isn’t hard to see why this has happened. There is so little coaching time now. More complex attacking patterns take longer. Get it launched. Two things occur: will we see players signed now on the strength of their throws in a data-driven game? And why did Manchester United look so surprised by this, Ruben Amorim so offended by the use of a highly telegraphed tactic? Apart from the obvious reasons. Barney Ronay
4
Palace investment in Nketiah pays off late
As Arsenal supporters will no doubt have noted as they celebrated Liverpool’s demise on Saturday evening, the coup de grâce being delivered by one of their academy graduates made Crystal Palace’s victory taste even sweeter. The Brockley-born Eddie Nketiah has been forced to play second fiddle to the immense Jean-Philippe Mateta since he moved south of the river last year, and he missed the first month of the new season after suffering a hamstring injury. Having returned in style against Liverpool, the striker should get plenty of opportunities this season with Palace to begin their Conference League campaign on Thursday against Dynamo Kyiv. “One of our slogans is: if you invest, you get something back. It’s one of the credences in my life,” said the Palace manager, Oliver Glasner. “Eddie is investing so much and he got the reward with the match-winner in front of our fans.” Ed Aarons
5
Welbeck offers focal point for Brighton
Brighton looked toothless for long spells against Chelsea. Georginio Rutter can be a clever attacker, but he was ineffective after starting as a No 9. It was only when Fabian Hürzeler brought on Danny Welbeck and moved Rutter deeper in the 67th minute that the game changed. Brighton had created little until that point and looked aimless even after Chelsea were reduced to 10 men, Trevor Chalobah seeing red in the 53rd minute. But their threat grew when Welbeck came on to provide a focal point. The veteran missed one simple chance to equalise but kept his head up, and he was in the right place to score the leveller from Yankuba Minteh’s cross in the 77th minute. The forward’s experience remains vital. He scored his second deep into added time, sealing a 3-1 win for Brighton after Maxim De Cuyper had put them in front. Hürzeler will hope that Welbeck can push on after getting on the scoresheet for the first time this season. Jacob Steinberg
6
Spurs attack looks frankly predictable
A second consecutive Premier League draw for Tottenham, and another rescue mission required. Thomas Frank has at least installed a determination that Spurs only displayed in the Europa League last season. Against Wolves, as at Brighton, Frank’s side were dominant but did not create enough quality chances. Richarlison remains a handful for defenders but lacks consistent goal threat. The manager is keenly awaiting the return of Dominic Solanke and for Randal Kolo Muani, laid up with a dead leg, to play more than his 13 minutes so far. Lucas Bergvall played closest to Richarlison over the course of the two draws and fluffed a number of chances. Mostly by dint of his being anonymous off the left, there is a growing clamour for Xavi Simons to assume the playmaker role. Beyond the speed down the flanks of Mohamed Kudus and Destiny Udogie’s overlapping surges, there is a predictability about Frank’s new Tottenham. Wolves’ Vítor Pereira had them worked out soon enough and his team almost took full advantage. JB
7
Rodri unlikely to be risked on Monaco trip
While Manchester City remain an enigmatic blend of a soft centre and mean attacking edge led by Jérémy Doku, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola is fearful of further injury problems for Rodri. The Ballon d’Or winning midfielder did not feature in the win over Burnley, after reporting “a lot of pain” in the knee that suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage last season. “Rodri said: ‘I’m not able to play. I have a lot of pain in my knee. I cannot play, I cannot play,’ said the City manager. “I don’t know yet,” was Guardiola’s response when asked if Rodri would return for Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Monaco, with a league visit to Brentford also due before the next international break. Jamie Jackson
8
Woltemade headed for cult-hero status
Newcastle fans are going to have plenty of fun watching Nick Woltemade. His 6ft 6in height was used to its fullest extent in nodding in his first-half goal. Not bad for a player for whom the advanced notices were that heading is not actually his specialism. Against Arsenal, he showed off the requisite decent touches for a big man. Blushes were spared when a bad miss against the bar was followed by an offside flag but Arsenal’s defence, the best by reputation in the English game, was constantly troubled by his movement and hustle. Gabriel’s attempt to claim a foul as Woltemade scored was an acknowledgment that the Brazilian had been beaten to the punch and thus needed to take preventive – and failed – measures. St James’ Park has always warmed to its cult heroes, and Woltemade left the field to a standing ovation with 25 fateful minutes to play. Alexander who? JB
9
Longstaff a crucial cog for Farke’s Leeds
With a goal and an assist against Bournemouth, Sean Longstaff showed he is quickly becoming an important cog at Leeds after his summer move from Newcastle. It was not solely his work in the final third that made him one of the standout players; all over the pitch Longstaff made his presence felt. He is comfortable on the ball and also eager to put his foot in, and can physically dominate most opponents. Considering how important set pieces will be to Leeds this season, Longstaff’s delivery will be imperative and he showed his quality by finding Joe Rodon for the opener. The midfielder then showed precision and exceptional technique to thrash home. “Outstanding, man-of-the-match performance,” said Daniel Farke. “Scored a goal, was there with an assist, his workload, his composure on the ball, his tactical understanding, also body language and leadership – on the pitch, off the pitch – we are pretty blessed and happy that we have him.” High praise indeed. At £12m, Longstaff could turn out to be a bargain. Will Unwin
10
Sunderland looking up after flying start
Can Sunderland buck the trend of promoted clubs going straight back down? After two successive seasons where all six newbies slipped promptly back into the EFL, Sunderland and Leeds both look capable of beating the drop this term. The Black Cats have 11 points from six games afer their 1-0 triumph at Nottingham Forest – the most a promoted team have managed at this stage since West Ham in 2012-13. The last two sides to start even better – Blackburn in 1992-93 and Forest themselves in 94-95, both with 14 points from six games – went on to achieve top-four finishes. “To be competitive we have to break something otherwise the same trend will come. We will go game by game, doing our best,” said Régis Le Bris, whose only previous top-flight experience came in Ligue 1 with Lorient. The Frenchman has not only had to contend with the shortest summer of the promoted trio to prepare for this new level, he has also had to pull together a team strategy after 17 sales and 15 arrivals, so their organisation and effectiveness is all the more laudable. Next up: Manchester United away on Saturday. Peter Lansley