A weekend of Premier League action saw goalkeeping heroics from Donnarumma and Martínez, managerial insights from Iraola and Farke, and debut impacts from Woltemade. West Ham’s defensive woes continue, while Carvalho and Madueke seize their opportunities.
The Premier League weekend delivered its usual dose of drama, surprises, and talking points. From goalkeeping heroics to managerial masterstrokes, here are ten key takeaways from the latest round of matches:
1. Donnarumma's Presence Lifts City
Is Gianluigi Donnarumma a Pep Guardiola goalkeeper? He may or may not be, but he is an exceptional goalkeeper. Manchester United didn’t offer enough of a test even to begin to assess whether Donnarumma is good enough with the ball at his feet to allow City to play as Guardiola would like them to. Nor did they test whether his starting position is advanced enough to sweep up behind a high defensive line and prevent the sort of chances City yielded up to Tottenham and Brighton. But his save to keep out a Bryan Mbeumo volley, hurling himself to his right to push the ball wide, was spectacular, and drew congratulations from pretty much all his teammates. Even if he is not the perfect stylistic fit, Donnarumma’s presence, his commanding stature, the aura he projects, makes him the right goalkeeper for now as City begin the process of rebuilding with a notably young squad. Jonathan Wilson
2. Kerkez Causing a Dilemma for Slot
Since the days of Franny Lee, the art of diving in football has been difficult to perfect. With cameras covering every angle at Premier League grounds, if simulation is to be performed in the hope of winning a penalty, it has to be perfect. Milos Kerkez’s effort at Burnley was desperate, throwing himself down in the box, fearful that Josh Laurent was breathing in the vicinity and this might be worthy of a foul. Kerkez was cautioned by Michael Oliver and it put the Hungarian under pressure, leaving him another yellow card away from being dismissed. A foul soon after was not worthy of a second booking and dismissal, but Arne Slot realised he had to act to avoid needlessly losing a man. Kerkez is yet to impress at Anfield and is at risk of losing his place to Andy Robertson, who replaced the former Bournemouth defender at full-back. It will be interesting to see who will start against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday and how long it could take Kerkez to win back the spot. Will Unwin
3. Hammers’ Dismal Defending Goes On
Graham Potter hunted for positives. The good news, he reckoned, was that West Ham defended the first nine or 10 set pieces from Tottenham pretty well. Hooray! Progress! Unfortunately the zonal marking system was utterly abysmal when the unchallenged Pape Matar Sarr headed Spurs into the lead after 47 minutes. It was a pathetic concession; West Ham’s fourth from a corner this season. What are they doing at Rush Green? Mads Hermansen is not commanding his area and the centre-backs are poor. There is no organisation. West Ham are also conceding from second phases and are vulnerable to crosses (they have conceded six headers this season), while they offer next to no threat at attacking set pieces. Something is amiss. West Ham lag behind other clubs when it comes to innovation. With direct football making a comeback why have they not considered hiring a set-piece coach? Jacob Steinberg
4. The Verdict on Woltemade’s Debut
The good news for Newcastle is that Yoane Wissa, their new £55m attacking signing from Brentford did not, as feared, suffer an ACL injury while on international duty with DR Congo last week. Instead, a less serious knee problem will sideline Wissa for around six weeks. While that is not an insignificant blow for Eddie Howe, at least his other new striker, Nick Woltemade, has hit the ground running. Not content with scoring the winner against Wolves – a fabulous header following Jacob Murphy’s cross – the tall, angular, thoroughly unorthodox Germany striker shone throughout his 65-minute stint against a still pointless, yet far from hopeless, Wolves. Moreover Woltemade’s clever feet, ability to hold the ball up and penchant for dropping deep to link play suggest that he could operate as a highly effective No 10 behind Wissa one day. More immediately, he is set to lead the line against Barcelona at St James’ Park on Thursday night when the Catalan side must find a way of neutralising Howe’s imperious midfield dictator, Italy’s Sandro Tonali. Louise Taylor
5. Madueke Enjoys Dream Week
Noni Madueke capped a great week with an eye-catching display in Arsenal’s one-sided victory over Nottingham Forest. Four days after scoring his first England goal, the winger’s direct approach frequently placed the Forest defence on the back foot and helped supporters forget the absence of the injured Bukayo Saka as Arsenal made it three wins from their first four Premier League games. A penny for the thought of those Arsenal fans who took to social media in the summer to complain about the player’s arrival in a £52m deal from Chelsea. Another big winner on Saturday was Arsenal’s sporting director, Andrea Berta, who saw the summer signings Martín Zubimendi, Viktor Gyökeres, Eberechi Eze, Cristhian Mosquera and Madueke impress. Last season, the absence of Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz, William Saliba and Saka would have severely tested Arsenal, now there’s not an obvious weakness in their squad. Stephen Flynn
6. Carvalho’s Chance Arrives at Brentford
At Brentford, it is hoped Fábio Carvalho’s late equaliser against Chelsea can be a building block towards reviving what was once a highly promising career. “With Fábio, I’ve just asked for a little bit of patience, because I truly believe he’ll be a big player for this club,” said Keith Andrews. Signed in the summer of 2024, he has found chances restricted by injuries and the form of Thomas Frank’s favoured frontline of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade. Mikkel Damsgaard is also a high-grade playmaker. Two of those players have been sold off. Meanwhile, the new manager Andrews developed a working relationship with the former Fulham starlet as Frank’s set-piece coach. “Fábio probably hasn’t had as many minutes as he deserves, because his application to his craft and his dedication to his craft is pretty special.” Mutual respect is clear. “Keith is making his mark, the team are on board,” said Carvalho. “We’ve got enough quality to do well this season.” John Brewin
7. Incisive Iraola the Complete Package
When Bournemouth sold Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez – three-quarters of last year’s first-choice back-four – along with Dango Ouattara, their relentless progress looked set to stall. But after four games they sit fourth in the table with three wins, their performance at Spurs one of the league’s best so far this season, and one defeat, at Anfield in a game they were drawing until two minutes from time. Part of the credit for this must go to their recruitment team, with Bafodé Diakité – absent injured against Brighton – Veljko Milosavljevic, who replaced him, and Adrien Truffert looking smart additions. But at the centre of it all is Andoni Iraola, his brave, calculated and intelligent aggression reflected perfectly by his team. Part of the excellence is tactical – Iraola is an incisive, original thinker about the game – but without the ability to communicate and inspire, it would mean nothing. Or, in other words, he is the complete package, which is, unfortunately, a double-edged sword: predators will surely be circling. Daniel Harris
8. Martínez Back to Being Villans’ Hero
Emiliano Martínez spent deadline day waiting patiently at Aston Villa’s training complex for a call from Manchester United that never came. A fortnight later, Martínez earned Villa a point at Everton via stunning stops from Jack Grealish and Michael Keane. Was Unai Emery ever really going to leave the Argentinian out? Nope. “I am so, so happy. We need him,” Emery said. “We struggled in his situation, but we have to get [our] feelings together and feel the collective objective. Today, his comeback has been fantastic. We have to protect him and feel him inside the group, so he is comfortable and confident. He was fantastic.” The supporters who assumed they had seen the last of the man they christened “the world’s No 1” were belting out his name again come 5pm on Saturday. Sam Dalling
9. Leeds Looking Lightweight Up Front
To misquote Mötley Crüe, Daniel Farke has “goals, goals, goals” on his mind and with very good reason. Four games in and Leeds have scored precisely one – and that a penalty in their first match of the season. The German watched his players score 95 times on their way to winning the Championship but, sensibly, he is not expecting the same thing this year. He knows they will have to adapt their approach. “It’s not like this team that was outstanding in the Championship, with 100 points and nearly 100 goals and dominating, will cut the Premier League into pieces,” he said. “We know we don’t have the best individual quality so we have to come with other skills. Fitter, tighter, show fighting spirit.” Farke signed Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the summer on a free transfer from Everton and, after defeat at Fulham, he highlighted what he expects of his centre-forward. “He will need to play a crucial part in our survival. We need him in top form and top shape in order to achieve our goals.” Conrad Leach
10. Roefs Is on Fire for Sunderland
Sunderland’s excellent start to the season has been all the more impressive given the number of new arrivals there were in the summer. Nine of them started at Selhurst Park on Saturday as a committed defensive performance earned a deserved point for Régis Le Bris’ side, with the goalkeeper Robin Roefs enjoying an outstanding afternoon. Nordi Mukiele – who joined from Paris Saint-Germain for £12m – also put in a solid display in central defence and the France international believes they will only improve as the season progresses. “The beginning has been really good and to be honest, I don’t think the team is 100% yet,” he said. “We have new players, like I have just come now. We have done some positive things already but we haven’t known each other for a long time, so I’m waiting for the future to see how we do because we are doing well for the moment but we will get better.” Ed Aarons