Arsenal Maintain Perfect Start with Win Over Sunderland

Arsenal’s perfect start to their Premier League title defence rolled on, powered by a thunderbolt from Bruno Guimaraes in a 2-0 win at Sunderland that felt every bit as ruthless as the scoreline suggests.

Mikel Arteta’s side are four wins from four, three points clear of Manchester City, and already pulling away from a pack of supposed contenders who all stumbled at home.

Guimaraes stunner and Raya rescue Arsenal

At the Stadium of Light, Arsenal had to suffer before they could celebrate. Sunderland earned a golden chance to derail the champions when Enzo Le Fee stepped up from the spot, but David Raya guessed right and beat away the penalty, a huge moment in a tight game.

The response was brutal.

Just over two minutes later, Guimaraes took aim from distance and ripped a first Arsenal goal into the top corner, silencing the home crowd and underlining exactly why Arteta pushed to bring him in. One swing of his right boot, and the match tilted decisively.

Sunderland chased, but Arsenal managed the game with the cold efficiency of a side that knows what it takes to go the distance. Deep into stoppage time, Bukayo Saka was handed the chance to finish it from the spot. He did, with the final kick of the game, sealing another statement win.

City can haul themselves level on points if they win the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. Even so, after just four games, a gap in authority – if not yet in numbers – is already visible between Arsenal and the rest.

Alonso wants ‘boring’ Chelsea as Hull refuse to blink

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea produced their usual chaos.

The front three of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer lit up the game in flashes, but defensive frailty again dragged Xabi Alonso’s side back into trouble in a 2-2 draw with newly-promoted Hull.

Since Alonso took charge, Chelsea have now played five games against top-flight opposition, scoring 16 and conceding 12. It is thrilling, but not in the way a title-chasing manager wants.

“(It’s) maybe entertaining, but I hope one day you’ll say it was a boring game and we win and we don’t give these entertaining moments,” Alonso admitted, his team now five points off the top.

Hull arrived as the last side in the Premier League yet to concede and with three straight clean sheets behind them. That record vanished early when Rogers drilled in at the near post after seven minutes, a sharp finish that seemed to open the floodgates.

Instead, it woke Hull up.

Chelsea’s slackness at the back was punished twice before the break by Mohamed Belloumi, who took full advantage of loose marking to turn the game around and stun Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea rallied after the interval. Joao Pedro met a Palmer cross and lashed it into the top corner just after the hour to level, and from there the home side poured forward. The winner never came.

Hull, still unbeaten and sitting third, walked away with their Premier League honeymoon very much intact.

Liverpool stalled as Fulham dig in for Arbeloa

At Anfield, the mood was far less forgiving.

Liverpool remain unbeaten under Andoni Iraola, yet a goalless draw with struggling Fulham drew boos at full-time as Alvaro Arbeloa collected his first point in charge of the visitors.

On paper, Liverpool’s forward line should have overwhelmed a defence that has leaked goals. Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – three £100 million signings – started together, but the chemistry never sparked. Fulham held their shape, frustrated the hosts and escaped with a clean sheet.

“When you draw, especially at home, you can’t be happy,” Iraola said, pointing to the toll of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid. “Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference.”

Liverpool sit sixth, already six points behind Arsenal. For a club that has built its recent identity on ferocious home form, the boos told their own story.

Goal-shy Spurs slide towards trouble

Across London, Tottenham’s problems run even deeper.

A £300 million outlay on new players was supposed to end the fear of another season spent glancing nervously at the bottom of the table. Yet Spurs still have not scored a league goal, their latest blank coming in a stalemate with Everton.

They sit just above the relegation zone, the weight of that barren run growing heavier with every minute they fail to find the net. The spending spree was meant to banish memories of back-to-back 17th-place finishes. Right now, it looks like a familiar nightmare.

Delap answers critics as Forest hit Villa late

Aston Villa are also trapped in the bottom three after a late twist at Nottingham Forest, who seized a measure of revenge for last season’s Europa League semifinal defeat.

Eyebrows rose when Forest paid a reported club-record £45 million to bring Liam Delap from Chelsea, a player who never made the grade at Stamford Bridge. The fee carried pressure. Delap responded with quality.

His long-range drive into the bottom corner opened the scoring and gave Forest belief. Villa finally found their first league goal of the season through Alysson, levelling the contest and hinting at a turning point.

Forest had the final word. Igor Jesus struck to secure Oliver Glasner’s first win as Forest boss, a landmark result against his new club’s recent European tormentors.

Palace punished, Ipswich pounce, Brentford steady

Glasner’s former side Crystal Palace endured another miserable afternoon, slipping to a 3-2 home defeat against Ipswich.

Palace’s task became far harder when Axel Disasi was sent off in the first half, and the visitors made the extra man count deep into stoppage time. Zian Flemming, still chasing a first goal for the Tractor Boys, chose the perfect moment to find it, snatching all three points at the death and prolonging Palace’s poor start.

On the south coast, Brentford kept their unbeaten record alive with a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, Kevin Schade scoring twice to drag his side through a breathless contest.

Four games in, the table already has a familiar look at the top. Arsenal are setting the pace. The question now is who, if anyone, can live with it.