1. Arsenal fans were once again left wanting more
The reason Arsenal's signing of Eberechi Eze was so widely applauded was because he provided a viable alternative to Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka. Sunday's showdown with Manchester City was precisely the kind of game where Eze was needed. Ødegaard is injured. Saka is just working his way back. Mikel Arteta kept Eze on the bench until the Gunners were down 1-0 after a turgid first half. Things improved once he and Saka entered, but they still seemed destined for another bitter defeat.
Then Eze did what he does and set up Gabriel Martinelli’s dramatic late goal with a gorgeous pass. City still came away the happier team though. Arsenal can now collect a maximum of seven points from head-to-head meetings with City and Liverpool. City can pick up 10. Liverpool can get 12. That can make all the difference in a title race. Arteta finally has the depth that Arsenal fans have been craving for. He chose not to use it in one of the biggest games of the season until it was too late. It appears that nothing has changed, and that is a problem.
2. Liverpool won't always find a way
Each of the first five games Liverpool played this season (excluding the Community Shield) was tied at some point after the 80th minute. Incredibly, they managed to win all of them. After Saturday’s victory over Everton, they have a perfect record and only one win by multiple goals. Their knack for scoring timely goals has obviously carried over from the Jürgen Klopp era to the Arne Slot one. While they do it way too often for it to be completely random, it is not a formula for sustained success over 50-plus games.
Their inability to put away opponents will cost them at some point. The positive way to spin it is that Liverpool are not playing well and still winning. If coming out on the right side of a stretch of games that were closer than they should be is as bad as it gets, they will have an outstanding season. Overhauling a squad is supposed to come with growing pains, after all. At the same time, their performances aren't good enough for the ridiculous amount of money they spent. They put the expectations on themselves and haven't lived up to them so far.
3. It's time to talk about Chelsea
The following events have transpired in the last 10 days at Chelsea:
They announced the signing of Strasbourg captain Emanuel Emegha, infuriating the fans of their “sister” club even more.
They took one point from three games, losing their Champions League opener and playing down a man for 85 minutes against Manchester United.
Manager Enzo Maresca said training alone is “not hard” and refused to acknowledge the mental toll being frozen out of the squad is taking on Axel Disasi and Raheem Sterling.
The lack of empathy is disgusting. At least Manchester United found new homes for the players Ruben Amorim had no use for. Their strategy still isn't working either. They have one more point than United through five games and don't look like the title contender many thought they'd be. Don't forget about the 74 charges they are now facing from the previous regime too. For the amount of money they've spent and the way they've treated players, the results should be much better.
4. It was a rough start to the Champions League for Serie A
Serie A’s four Champions League clubs collected a total of four points on Matchday 1. That is fewer than the Belgian Pro League as well as the Bundesliga, Serie A and the Premier League. Inter Milan dispatched Ajax on the road, but the other three Italian teams really struggled. Napoli were down a man by the 21st minute, preventing them from putting any kind of pressure on Manchester City. Atalanta saved a penalty and still lost 4-0 to PSG.
Then there was Juventus. The Bianconeri fell behind twice, equalized twice and fell behind again in just 23 minutes. Borussia Dortmund added a fourth 13 minutes after that. Two stoppage-time goals got Juventus a wild 4-4 draw, but it was not exactly a convincing start to the competition in front of their fans. None of the results mean much on their own. They might not mean much collectively. It was a chance to send a message against very good opposition though, and they left a lot to be desired.
5. Leverkusen are a shell of themselves at this point
The Erik ten Hag era at Bayer Leverkusen lasted three whole games. They came back from the international break and got their first victory in the Bundesliga, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 in their first game under new manager Kasper Hjulmand. Game two was their Champions League opener. They went to Denmark and trailed for 79 minutes, coming from behind twice to draw with Copenhagen. On Sunday, they conceded an equalizer in the 93rd minute to winless Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Leverkusen have played three of their four league games at home and sit in 11th place with five points. This is a team that has averaged 2.34 points per game over the past two Bundesliga campaigns and finished sixth in the Champions League league phase last season. With the number of key figures who left in the summer, comparing this squad to the previous two is completely unfair. They were going to take a step back. Based on the results so far, it might be a pretty dramatic one.