Key events
This is a nice piece from Sam Dalling on Morecambe, who won their (delayed) opening game of the season yesterday having been saved from extinction just days earlier.
A huge win for the club, for new manager Ashvir Singh Johal and for football.
What else is happening today away from the Premier League?
Well at midday in Scotland it’s a huge fixture for Rangers and under-fire Russell Martin, who really needs three points at St Mirren. There’s already been speculation around his future after an inauspicious start at Ibrox for the former Southampton boss.
There are a few games in La Liga, including for Real Madrid who take on Sid Lowe’s Real Oviedo this evening, while in Italy Juventus take on Parma and Cesc Fàbregas’ Como host Lazio.
Speaking of Manchester United, here’s Jonathan Wilson on the fresh pressure facing Ruben Amorim.
At 2pm today we’ve got the following:
Then it’s Fulham v Manchester United at 4.30pm. And honestly, who can predict any of those games? Palace have lost Eze, but Forest – despite winning their opening game convincingly – appear to be in turmoil. I think the comment below sums the situation up nicely. A new deal for Nuno? Hmm, maybe.
As for the other games, Everton should be bang up for their new stadium debut but Brighton are Brighton. I’ll get onto United a bit later …
Forest have built what is probably the best squads outside of the big 5 plus Spurs. Think they’ll do big things this season, although the situation with Nuno seems a concern. No doubt it would get fixed with a chunky new contract (announced with a photo of Mariakis standing threateningly close to him on the pitch)
(All times are BST)
While Arteta did express concern regarding those injuries to Saka and Ødegaard, he also welcomed the addition of Eberechi Eze, who was beaming from ear to ear after being paraded in front of the Arsenal fans. Eze completed a move from Crystal Palace worth £60m plus £7.5m in add-ons.
On the new signing, Arteta said: “I think he has the capacity to create these magic moments. He’s got that flair, that charisma that is very contagious. We know he can play as an attacking midfielder, right or left. He doesn’t care. He plays shifted off the left, as well. I’m sure we will find the right place for him.”
And what of 15-year-old academy sensation Max Dowman? Arteta was always going to be asked about him after Dowman made his league debut, becoming the Premier League’s second ever youngest player.
“Max has zero hesitation,” Arteta said. “He’s so convinced that he can go at 15 and deliver, which I’ve never witnessed in my life. For us, it brings joy, it brings emotion and something else that makes our jobs so great.”
Before we look ahead to today’s action, let’s drop in a bit of Arsenal reaction. They were at their destructive best against Leeds last night. Here’s Jacob Steinberg assessing the new Mikel Arteta era at the Emirates.
Yesterday’s headlines
Let’s start with a quick reminder of what happened yesterday:
Preamble
Morning all. Welcome to another of these matchday live blogs, the place where we pull together all our weekend football reaction, buildup and general chat around fixtures, and where you’re always encouraged to drop us an email and join the conversation. The idea is that we’re your one-stop-shop on matchday mornings and beyond – well… until the games kick off.
And it feels like the Premier League season really got started yesterday. We had wins for hitherto written-off Burnley and Brentford, an actual 15-year-old starring for Arsenal and a surprise result at the Etihad (if you can call another Spurs win away at Manchester City a surprise – they’ve done it three times in the last three-and-a-half years).
There’s plenty going on today, too. Everton make their league debut in their shiny new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Nottingham Forest travel to Selhust Park amid rumours surrounding Nuno Espírito Santo’s future as manager, and Manchester United will be playing football, which is always entertaining as long as you don’t support Manchester United.
Let us know how you’re taking in today’s action and any wild predictions or theories you’d like to share at this nascent stage of the season. Let’s get into it!
