- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Arsenal are back on top of the Premier League after a clinical 3-0 victory at Brentford, with manager Mikel Arteta happy to banish the nightmare of last season.
On a day when Everton beat fellow strugglers West Ham 1-0 to end their winless start to the season, the Gunners surged back to the top with three well-taken goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.
Arsenal had been back at the scene of their dismal 2-0 opening-day defeat last season which pre-empted their worst start to a campaign for 67 years.
But they are a different animal this term and proved it with an organised, inventive display on Sunday.
“I’m really pleased with the performance and to win the match and go top of the league going into the international break,” said Gunners boss Arteta.
“A lot of people described that day as embarrassing but I looked at it as a character-building day.
“You have to learn from those moments and then days like today happen. We are enjoying our football.”
Such was Arsenal’s dominance that Mikel Arteta could even afford to give 15-year-old midfielder Ethan Nwaneri a late run-out as a substitute, making him the Premier League’s youngest-ever player.
The Gunners took the lead in the 18th minute, Saliba’s glancing header from Bukayo Saka’s corner bouncing in off the inside of the far post.
Ten minutes later, Jesus doubled the lead with another header, this time from a neat chip into the box from Granit Xhaka.
The second half began in a similar vein and when Saka laid the ball off to Vieira 25 yards out he took aim and curled a superb finish in off the post.
It was a spectacular way for the Portugal midfielder to mark his first Premier League start since his Stg 34million ($A58 million) switch from Porto.
At Goodison Park later on Sunday, Neal Maupay scored his first Everton goal to lead the Merseysiders to a much-needed win that sent relief around Goodison Park.
Maupay, a recent signing from Brighton, took an excellent touch from Alex Iwobi’s pass and volleyed into the back of the net from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute.
The win ends a run of four successive draws for Everton and moves them up to 13th, while West Ham remain in the bottom three with one victory from their seven games, this loss their 1000th in the top-flight.
Everton boss Frank Lampard said there was still much room for improvement but was clearly a relieved man.
“The reality is we’ve worked hard this season and deserved more,” he told SkySports.
“Hopefully our football can get even better. Nobody is getting carried away. At the moment there’s a decent feeling round the place.”
Meanwhile, Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion have appointed former Sassuolo boss Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach on a four-year contract following the departure of Graham Potter.
The Italian, 43, started his managerial career in the country’s lower leagues before he caught the eye of Serie A side Sassuolo, guiding them to successive eighth-placed finishes in the league before departing for Shakhtar Donetsk in May 2021.
A former Napoli midfielder, De Zerbi led Shakhtar to the Ukrainian Super Cup last year before his time at the club was cut short following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shakhtar were top of the domestic league when it was halted due to the war.
“I am absolutely thrilled Roberto has agreed to become our new head coach. Roberto’s teams play an exciting and courageous brand of football, and I am confident his style and tactical approach will suit our existing squad superbly,” said Brighton chairman Tony Bloom.
De Zerbi takes over from Potter, who left for Chelsea earlier this month after three highly successful seasons in charge.
The Englishman helped Brighton to ninth place last season – their highest-ever finish in the top flight.
“Roberto has shown his undoubted ability with his work in Italy and Ukraine, and what he achieved at Sassuolo certainly stands out,” said Brighton technical director David Weir.
“We look forward to providing all the support he needs to introduce his coaching philosophy and help the players continue their brilliant start to the season.
De Zerbi will be officially unveiled before the media on Tuesday.
Brighton, fourth in the league standings with 13 points from six games, next travel to Liverpool on October 1, after the international break.
© AAP
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.