EPL Review: Arsenal show early growth, Haaland already on fire

Following every weekend of Premier League action, theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points to emerge from the slate of matches. Below, we dissect Matchweek 2 of the 2024-25 season.

Arsenal vanquish some demons

Arsenal arguably played better in each of their two matches against Aston Villa last season – both crippling defeats – than they did in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park.

Some of that is simply the randomness of the sport. If not for two inexplicable misses from Ollie Watkins – one a close-range shank and the other a truly sensational save from David Raya – and a brilliant recovery tackle from William Saliba, we could be sitting here talking about Villa as the Gunners’ bogey team. Instead, thanks to the timely finishing of Leandro Trossard and a rare blunder by Emi Martinez, the conversation is geared toward Arsenal showcasing a more ruthless, clinical edge in their renewed effort to unseat Manchester City.

“The two previous performances (against Aston Villa) on paper, you have to win comfortably and we didn’t, so there was something missing – today we did it,” Mikel Arteta said after the match, according to ESPN.

Arsenal don’t have the luxury of playing well and dropping points. Pep Guardiola’s title-winning machine leaves no room for even the tiniest slip. Saturday’s triumph should provide an early-season boost for Arteta’s men and is especially valuable considering their next three fixtures are, incredibly, at home against high-flying Brighton, away to bitter rivals Tottenham, and then away against the reigning champions.

We’ll find out within the next month if Arsenal have taken the step forward that Arteta believes they have.

Quick free-kicks

Familiar frailties: Manchester United, to the surprise of many, kept the faith with Erik ten Hag, entrusting him to deliver the progress he promised when hired. But Saturday’s last-gasp loss looked a lot like so many other capitulations under the Dutchman, with multiple defenders standing around while Joao Pedro was left all by his lonesome to score Brighton’s winner. Some of that is coaching, some of that is on the players, but the continued defensive lapses are becoming a fixture of his tenure.

Newcastle’s regret: Newcastle had little choice but to sell Yankuba Minteh this summer to not run afoul of the league’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). After the Gambian winger’s first two games for Brighton, it looks like the kind of sacrifice that will haunt the Magpies in the years to come. Minteh is a constant threat. His final touch or pass wasn’t always crisp against Manchester United, but that will come with time. What can’t be taught is the dynamism the youngster so clearly possesses. His potential is massive.

Woeful Everton: Everton’s first two matches of the new season couldn’t have gone much worse. They’re bottom of the table after losing both games by a combined 7-0 scoreline, and they look short on overall quality after another summer clouded by uncertainty over the club’s future ownership. There’s no magical fix coming in the final days of the transfer window, because, according to Sean Dyche, there’s no money. After flirting with relegation for three straight seasons, another nervy campaign seems inevitable.

Muric mistakes: As the gap in quality between Championship and Premier League clubs continues to widen, the margin of error for promoted teams to maintain their top-flight status is dwindling. Ipswich Town need nearly everything to go right this season, but in Aro Muric, they paid around £15 million for a goalkeeper who could undercut all their positive efforts. Getting outclassed by Manchester City is obviously nothing to be ashamed of, but Muric, at fault for two of four goals, looks like a worrying weak link.

Palmer powers Chelsea: No matter how much bigger Chelsea’s gigantic squad becomes – there’s still five days left in the window to create more bloat – this team will still be led by Cole Palmer. His scoring numbers, aided by penalties, got the attention last season, but his best quality is his ability to create openings for teammates, as evidenced by his three assists for Noni Madueke in the 6-2 win over Wolves on Sunday. Amid all the chaos at the club, Enzo Maresca will always be able to count on Palmer to deliver.

Star performer

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Remember when there were genuine conversations last season asking if Haaland was contributing enough to Manchester City’s buildup play?

It was preposterous then and looks more nonsensical each time he finds the net. Which is just about every time he steps on the pitch. Haaland’s hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Ipswich Town gave him 94 tallies in 101 appearances for Manchester City. He completed just seven passes in his 89 minutes of play. That came after he completed only three in the season-opening win over Chelsea. He scored there, too. Of course he did.

Haaland, who now has seven Premier League hat-tricks in just 68 games, has already created space for himself in the Golden Boot race, where he’s looking to become just the third player in EPL history to claim the award three consecutive times. The other two? Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry. Decent company for someone who isn’t involved enough in his team’s overall play.

Best XI

(Courtesy: FotMob)

Highlight of the weekend

There were some splendid goals this weekend. Yves Bissouma unleashed a rocket for Spurs, Micky van de Ven ran the length of the pitch to set up Son Heung-min, and Emile Smith Rowe opened his Fulham account in style. But the best play didn’t involve the ball finding the net at all. Quite the opposite.

Stat of the weekend

Is this karma for years of “Fergie Time” coming to the rescue?

Social media moment

Noni Madueke wrote on Instagram that everything about the city of Wolverhampton is “shit” – and accidentally made the post public – ahead of Chelsea’s match at Molineux. Booed by the conscious Wolves fans every time he touched the ball, he proceeded to score a hat-trick within 14 second-half minutes. He later apologized for the comment. What a novela.

Where we stand

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