It was indeed a fresh start for Arsenal following a week long international break, as it took them 24 minutes before stoppage time to lift the pressure on manager, Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners picked their first points of the Premier League season with victory over Norwich City at Emirates Stadium, thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half strike.
The Gabonese international got the call in the 66th minute to push away the mounting scrutiny on the Gunner’s boss after a miserable start to the campaign with three defeats; leaving Arsenal at the foot of the table.
Saturday’s victory over the Canaries lifted Arteta’s men two points off the relegation zone, as their current position remains uncertain pending on the outcome of the fixtures involving fellow strugglers, Leeds and Burnley – occupying 17th and 18th positions respectively.
North London rivals, Tottenham had their perfect record in the Premier League this season dented with a 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace after new signing Odsonne Edouard scored twice to add to a penalty by Wilfried Zaha on Saturday.
Nuno Espirito’s men had won their opening three games of the season – all by a 1-0 score – but were without a slew of first-choice players at Selhurst Park and were outplayed.
The defeat saw them displaced at the table top by Manchester United following a convincing 4-1 win at Old Trafford against Newcastle United.
Cristiano Ronaldo had marked his second debut with an astounding brace, with Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard adding the third and fourth goal to ensure the Red Devils maintained their unbeaten record this term.
United are level on points and goal difference, with second place Chelsea who reached a significant milestone after beating Aston Villa 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, thanks to a Romelu Lukaku’s brace and goal from Mateo Kovacic.
The Blues became only the second team in Premier League history to reach 600 wins in the competition (Man Utd have 690).
Atlectico Madrid loanee, Saul Niguez was handed his Chelsea debut, anchoring the midfield with Kovacic, but the Spaniard was taken off at half-time after having struggled to find his footing in the first 45 minutes of the encounter.
Manchester City secured a third straight league win after seeing off Leicester City in an entertaining game at King Power Stadium, as Bernardo Silva’s close-range finish settled a fine contest.
After making a losing start to the season, Guardiola’s side are beginning to hit familiar form.
But Wednesday’s home group game in the UEFA Champions League against RB Leipzig, last season’s Bundesliga runners-up, will provide another big test for City.
