Premier League window: Arsenal up a level, Brighton still getting used to Europe

The British Isles are still alive with Arsenal’s win over Manchester City and the 15th part of our weekly column, in which we analyse interesting facts from the world of English football, will not forget the match of the round. Alongside this, we’ll look at Brighton and the relegation zone.

Arsenal up a level

The Gunners took the game of the round at the Emirates in the final minutes. Arsenal broke their streak of 12 league losses against the Citizens in a row, leapfrogged their rivals in the table, but most importantly, they finally proved that they can score points in each other’s games.

If anything cost the Gunners the title last year, it was definitely the tactical mishandling of the reciprocal matches. Arsenal were probably better at home, but made three mistakes that a team of Citizens’ quality took advantage of. This time the football chess game was clearly won by Mikel Arteta.

Clearly in the sense that he didn’t let the opponent into any scoring chances, at the same time his four substitutes did the scoring action. And the Citizens really aren’t that strong yet. They have lost two league games in a row for the first time since December 2018.

Newcomers and early adopters down

Surprisingly, the newcomers are struggling so far. Sheffield and Luton were expected to struggle for survival, but we also find Burnley in the bottom four. The company of the three promoted is provided by Bournemouth, who are struggling after the departure of coach Gary O’Neill.

While none of the newcomers were relegated last year, this year so far it looks like a battle for all three plus Bournemouth. Burnley have the squad to improve, but so do Bournemouth. Nottingham are picking up at least a draw for worse performances. And Everton? He’s kicking it as usual.

Too many Brighton rotations

Praise at the start of the season, not so much now. Brighton are needlessly losing points, which goes for Robert de Zerbi as well. He rotates the goalkeepers, who then make mistakes. He’s bringing back Adam Webster at fullback, who’s not suited to a combination style of football.

All in all, there’s been too much rotation despite the English weeks. When Pascal Gross is sitting, the midfield is half as good. The absence of Mitoma is also extremely noticeable, some players just can’t sit. De Zerbi is a great coach, but the European cups will teach him something again.

Source: Premier League