The Premier League is back and If you’re Arsenal or Mikel Arteta, watching your potential title rivals stumble on the opening weekend, with only Manchester City, a side you thrashed 3-0 just a week ago, managing to scrape a hard-fought win, you’d have every reason to believe this could finally be Arsenal’s time to rule the competition.
Arsenal’s dominant win over Coventry City on Friday night was expected, but it became even more significant after the Sky Blues’ fellow newcomers shocked top-flight teams to record winning starts in their respective games.
The Gunners stayed top of the Premier League until Sunday following a 3-0 victory at the Emirates, while fellow Londoners Brentford moved joint-top after humbling Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday evening.
Brighton moved to the summit later on Sunday afternoon following an astonishing performance that saw them blow away Aston Villa 4-0 at the Amex, with all four goals coming in the first half, while João Gomes was also sent off for the visitors before the interval.
The Good, the Bad, and the In-betweens
It was a dramatic weekend that got off to a dream start for the defending champions, as Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard all found the scoresheet on their first Premier League start together since December 2024.
Together, they showed that Mikel Arteta’s team are ready to make up for their shortcomings in attack after sealing the title with just 71 goals last campaign, the lowest tally by any Premier League winner in exactly a decade.
Manchester United, who had won the most Premier League points in 2026 before the Matchday 1 fixtures, were handed a different priority at full-time after suffering a 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Hull City.
Goals from Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy handed the Tigers their first-ever Premier League win over the Red Devils, who suffered back-to-back opening-weekend defeats for the first time in the competition’s history after losing 1-0 to Arsenal in last season’s opening fixture.
Michael Carrick’s side were considered among the favourites to challenge Arsenal for the league title, but after that result at the MKM Stadium, there are concerns that it may be too early to regard them as genuine rivals to the Gunners, particularly with a return to European football among their responsibilities this season.
At the Gtech Community Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur fans arrived for their clash against Brentford with optimism after their club had already spent almost £300 million in the transfer window and assembled a squad featuring some of the league’s most expensive players.
However, their evening ended in disappointment as they were handed another unpleasant dose of last season’s déjà vu, with the hosts overwhelming them and their new signings struggling to make an impact.
Goals from Keane Lewis-Potter and Vitaly Janelt put the Bees 2-0 ahead before half-time, while Michael Kayode added another after the break to seal the victory, with Brazilian striker Igor Thiago missing a penalty that would have made it four.
If there was any chance that this new-look Spurs side could challenge for the title because of their lack of European football, Saturday’s performance suggested their ceiling may instead be a battle for European qualification. Even with the new arrivals, the same problems remained obvious.
Enzo Maresca got his Premier League campaign as Manchester City boss off to a winning start with a difficult comeback victory over Bournemouth, ending the Cherries’ 18-game unbeaten run in the competition.
It was, as expected, a challenging fixture for the Mancunians, particularly after they fell behind to a well-worked team move from the visitors, eventually finished by Marcus Tavernier. It was only the second time City had conceded the opening goal on Matchweek 1 in the last 14 seasons.
Fortunately for Maresca, Rayan Cherki came off the bench to inspire the comeback, assisting Marc Guéhi and Joško Gvardiol in the 85th and 92nd minutes respectively to prevent back-to-back defeats following their 3-0 loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield a week earlier.
It was not a convincing performance, but given the form Bournemouth carried into the match, it could eventually prove to be one of Manchester City’s more important victories of the season. Cherki, meanwhile, provided Maresca with another reason to make his name a regular fixture on the team sheet.
Andoni Iraola avoided a disastrous start as Liverpool manager thanks to Dominik Szoboszlai’s last-gasp penalty, which rescued a point away to Newcastle United in a four-goal thriller and extended Liverpool’s unbeaten opening-day streak to 14 matches, the longest active run in the Premier League.
Anthony Elanga fired the hosts ahead following a devastating counter-attack just five minutes in, while the Magpies regained the lead through Joe Willock in similar fashion three minutes before the hour mark, two minutes after Cody Gakpo had drawn Liverpool level.
Newcastle United were denied what could have been their first league victory over Liverpool in 20 attempts since April 2015 after Dominik Szoboszlai converted a late penalty following a foul by Lewis Hall on debutant Vitor Munoz inside the area.
It was a relief for both managers to begin their reigns without defeat, but Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle will be disappointed not to have come away with all three points despite an inspired performance from Yoane Wissa, who assisted both of his side’s goals.
Others Outside the Big Six
League leaders Brighton welcomed their fans to the new Premier League season with a statement victory, beating Europa League winners Aston Villa 4-0 at the Amex to announce themselves as a team to watch.
After securing historic European qualification last season, the Seagulls enjoyed an impressive pre-season campaign and carried that form into their league opener against a Villa side they had failed to beat in their previous four meetings, losing three.
Things escalated quickly as a Pau Torres error resulted in a Victor Lindelöf own goal, before Maxim De Cuyper and a Jack Hinshelwood brace effectively settled the contest inside the opening half-hour. João Gomes’ red card only added to Unai Emery’s side’s misery.
The victory, the biggest of the opening weekend so far, sent Brighton to the Premier League summit on goal difference, while Aston Villa paid the price for several key departures as they found themselves at the bottom of the table, with the prospect of a long season already looming.
Newly promoted Ipswich Town began their Premier League return with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Portman Road, thanks to a 90th-minute winner from substitute Jack Clarke against his former club.
It was the Tractor Boys’ third consecutive win over the Black Cats, sealed despite Nilson Angulo’s sensational free-kick cancelling out Emerson’s first-half opener.
With two newcomers winning, alongside Hull City, it was only the fourth time in Premier League history that two promoted sides had won on the opening weekend, and the first time it had happened in back-to-back seasons after Sunderland and Leeds United achieved the feat last campaign.
Everton emerged 2-0 winners from an otherwise evenly contested game against Crystal Palace, who enjoyed more possession and created the greater number of chances but could not find the finishing touch in Pierre Sage’s first official assignment in charge.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry scored either side of half-time to give the Toffees their first Premier League opening-weekend victory since the 2021-22 campaign, when they defeated Southampton 3-1 at Goodison Park.
Anton Stach scored the second direct free-kick of the opening weekend to break Nottingham Forest hearts as Leeds United became the only away side to win so far in Matchweek 1, with just one fixture remaining.
The goal came two minutes before the end of normal time at the City Ground after Nikola Milenković was penalised for a sloppy foul on the German just outside the penalty area. Stach stepped up and produced an astonishing finish to secure all three points for the visitors.
Closing Thoughts
The opening weekend delivered almost everything the Premier League promises: dominant champions, unexpected winners, costly defeats, late drama and early warning signs for the teams expected to challenge at the top.
Arsenal looked ready, Brighton announced themselves emphatically, while the duo of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were reminded that ambition alone does not guarantee a strong start.
Manchester City survived a scare, Liverpool escaped Newcastle with a point, and the newcomers showed they are not here merely to make up the numbers as Sunderland and Manchester United were victimized by Ipswich Town and Hull City respectively.
Chelsea will be in action later on Monday away to Fulham in a Craven Cottage London derby, where former colleagues at Liverpool, Real Madrid, and the Spanish national team, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa get their respective era underway in the Premier League.
It is only one weekend into the season, but already, the good, the bad and everything in between have made the reality of the new season impossible to ignore.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
