The Premier League’s opening weekend wrapped up, so here’s a quick look at the week’s key results.
Arsenal 3-0: opposition was a class below, but the real level is still unclear
Arsenal opened the new season with a comfortable win at the Emirates, showing newly-promoted Coventry City no mercy — 19 shots to the opposition’s 4 tells the story of a complete rout. New signing Tzolis impressed, with the decisive press and the assist for the opener both coming from him, showing off solid defensive work, passing and threat down the flank. That said, the opposition was clearly a level below, so while the overall performance looked sharp, Arsenal’s actual current level is still hard to judge from this alone.
Hull City 2-0 Manchester United: the biggest shock of the season so far
This one might be the biggest shock of opening weekend — possibly the biggest of the whole season so far. Against promoted Hull City, United controlled 72% of possession and put up 20 shots with 6 on target, but every single one was saved by Hull keeper Tzolakis, while Hull punished United twice from set pieces instead. United’s set-piece defending is a serious problem, and the new signings clearly haven’t gelled yet — if this doesn’t get fixed soon, it could be a genuinely rough season.
Brentford 3-0 Tottenham: both the back line and midfield are raising red flags
Tottenham’s 0-3 loss exposed serious concerns in both defense and midfield. Big-money summer signing Tonali had an underwhelming debut, barely making his presence felt, and Mateus Fernandes couldn’t string together an effective attacking sequence after coming on. Add in the centre-backs losing aerial duels and a poor showing from the goalkeeper, and you get this kind of heavy defeat. The new manager’s high-press possession philosophy didn’t translate well in game one — if the midfield keeps performing like this, another relegation-fight-adjacent season is a real possibility.
Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth: a nervy stoppage-time escape
City needed a stoppage-time goal to edge past Bournemouth, and while they took all three points, new midfielder Elliot Anderson had a quiet game — it was substitute Cherki who delivered two key assists to complete the comeback. Neither Anderson nor Cherki look fully in sync with star man Haaland just yet — Haaland didn’t score, and the normally lethal finisher uncharacteristically fired three shots wide, including one open goal with no defender in sight. Still, City showed decent structure and attacking threat across the 90 minutes, and there’s reason for optimism once the pieces settle in.
Fulham 2-3 Chelsea: papering over defensive cracks with attack
The scoreline looks tight, but in terms of overall play, Chelsea’s attacking performance was thoroughly dominant — all three goals came from relatively easy chances in space. Palmer had a goal and an assist and was excellent going forward, and new signing Morgan Rogers also impressed, causing real problems for the opposition back line. The defense, though, is a serious concern — particularly goalkeeper Robert Sánchez, who arguably should have saved both Fulham goals, drawing plenty of post-match criticism from fans. If Chelsea have to keep outscoring opponents to cover for their defense every week, this season could get difficult.
My take: the big clubs are all still gelling — Arsenal’s early lead looks more real
Other results this weekend included Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace and Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa, but neither club is a priority focus of mine, so I won’t get into them here. Overall, every big club is still working through post-window chemistry issues — Arsenal are the one exception, playing with real composure in their opener. I still like Arsenal to pull away from the pack from here.