Arsenal's Perfect Title Defence Continues with 2-0 Win at Sunderland

Arsenal’s perfect title defence rolled on with a ruthless 2-0 win at Sunderland, lit up by a thunderbolt from Bruno Guimaraes and underpinned by David Raya’s nerve from the spot.

Four games, four wins, four clean sheets. A three-point lead over Manchester City already in the bank. The champions are wasting no time.

Guimaraes stunner and Raya’s resolve

Arsenal had to work for this one. Sunderland, roared on at a packed Stadium of Light, sensed an upset when Enzo Le Fee stood over a penalty. Raya killed that hope, plunging to deny him and preserve Arsenal’s flawless start.

The punishment was immediate.

Just over two minutes after that save, Guimaraes stepped forward and ripped the game away from Sunderland. His first Arsenal goal was worth the wait – a searing long-range strike that arrowed into the top corner and silenced the ground.

From there, Mikel Arteta’s side controlled the tempo. Sunderland chased, Arsenal waited. With the final kick of the game, Bukayo Saka buried a penalty to wrap up another composed, clinical win.

City can haul themselves back alongside Arsenal if they win the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday. But a gap – psychological as much as mathematical – is already opening between the champions and the rest of the supposed contenders.

Alonso’s Chelsea still too wild

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea delivered the same chaotic mix that has followed them since Xabi Alonso walked through the door: attacking fireworks, defensive frailty, and points dropped.

Hull, newly promoted and fearless, left west London still unbeaten and sitting third after a 2-2 draw that said as much about Chelsea’s imbalance as it did about the visitors’ resilience.

Chelsea’s front three of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer sparkled again. The numbers under Alonso tell the story: 16 scored and 12 conceded in just five games against top-flight opposition.

“(It’s) maybe entertaining, but I hope one day you’ll say it was a boring game and we win and we don’t give these entertaining moments,” Alonso admitted, his side now five points off the top.

Hull arrived as the last team in the Premier League yet to concede this season, but that record disappeared on seven minutes when Rogers drilled in at the near post. The response was sharp. Mohamed Belloumi twice cashed in on slack Chelsea defending before the break, turning the game on its head.

Chelsea rallied again after the interval. Joao Pedro smashed a Palmer cross into the top corner just after the hour to make it 2-2 and set up a siege. The winner never came.

Hull’s early-season honeymoon continues. Chelsea’s search for something more stable goes on.

Liverpool stalled, Fulham finally off the mark

At Anfield, the mood was flat. Liverpool remain unbeaten under Andoni Iraola, but a goalless draw with struggling Fulham drew boos at full-time and underlined how quickly optimism can fray.

A forward line built around three £100 million signings – Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak – never truly clicked against a defence that has leaked goals all season.

“When you draw, especially at home, you can’t be happy,” Iraola said, pointing to fatigue after Wednesday’s Champions League exertions against Atletico Madrid. “Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference.”

Fulham, under Alvaro Arbeloa, finally have their first point of the campaign. Liverpool, in sixth, already trail Arsenal by six.

Tottenham’s drought drags them towards trouble

Tottenham spent big to avoid another season of dread. Around £300 million on new faces was supposed to banish memories of back-to-back 17th-place finishes.

The goals still haven’t turned up.

A goalless draw with Everton extended Spurs’ wait for a first league goal of the season and left them hovering just above the relegation zone. The anxiety is no longer theoretical. It’s on the table, in the standings, every time they misfire in front of goal.

Delap justifies the fee as Forest sting Villa

Aston Villa are stuck in the bottom three as well, beaten late by Nottingham Forest in a result dripping with a bit of revenge.

Forest had gone out to Villa in last season’s Europa League semifinals. This time, they struck the decisive blows in the league. Eyebrows were raised when Forest reportedly paid a club-record £45 million to bring Liam Delap from Chelsea after he failed to make the grade at Stamford Bridge.

He answered that debate with one swing of his boot, drilling a long-range effort into the bottom corner to open the scoring.

Villa finally registered their first league goal of the season through Alysson, who levelled to offer a glimpse of relief. It didn’t last. Igor Jesus stepped up to secure Oliver Glasner’s first win as Forest boss and push Villa deeper into trouble.

Glasner’s former club, Crystal Palace, fared no better. Their poor start continued with a 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich, a wild contest turned by Axel Disasi’s first-half red card. Down to 10 men, Palace cracked in stoppage time as Zian Flemming’s first goal for the Tractor Boys stole all three points.

Schade keeps Brentford unbeaten

On the south coast, Brentford quietly kept their own unbeaten run intact. Kevin Schade struck twice in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, another reminder that while the giants wrestle with identity and expectation, Thomas Frank’s side just keep ticking over.

The early table already has a familiar shape at the very top. Arsenal are out in front, City in pursuit. The real intrigue may be this: which of the chasing pack can steady themselves quickly enough to make that gap mean something more than just an early-season snapshot?