Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend, featuring a momentum swing in the title race and the Aston Villa forward out to make a statement.
Kluivert sends Iraola a reminder
Justin Kluivert has been oddly out of favour at Bournemouth this season, despite a career-best campaign in 2024/25. Last season, the Dutchman scored 12 goals in the Premier League but he has been restricted to just one league start so far this season.
Kluivert came off the bench in the 3-1 win over Fulham on Friday night to send Andoni Iraola a reminder of his quality. A stunning strike from the midfielder proved to be the winner, as Kluivert blasted home from distance after surging forward in possession.
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Are Arsenal the title favourites?
Has the momentum of the Premier League title race shifted this weekend? Arsenal climbed above Liverpool at the top of the table after a routine win over West Ham at the Emirates, with the champions having slipped to a second straight league defeat.
Mikel Arteta has built a side that has fallen agonisingly short of the big prizes in recent campaigns, but added depth has provided Arsenal with a squad capable of competing on all fronts. While the jury remains out on the reliability of the club’s frontline, Arsenal are arguably Europe’s best defensive side and recorded a fourth clean sheet of the campaign this weekend.
With league-leading threat from set-pieces and summer recruits Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres likely to improve after a period of adaptation, Arsenal look well-equipped. Certainly, Arteta’s outfit look more solid and dependable than their potential rivals.
Liverpool missing Alexander-Arnold craft
For all the talk of Liverpool’s record-breaking investment in the summer, it was easy to overlook those the champions lost. Luiz Diaz and Darwin Nunez brought unpredictable spark, Caoimhín Kelleher as the perfect Alisson deputy, while the tragic passing of Diogo Jota is a loss that extends far beyond the football pitch.
From purely a playing perspective, the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold has perhaps been most felt. Alexander-Arnold might have soured relations with the Reds given the circumstance of his move to Real Madrid, but there’s no doubt that Liverpool could do with him now. In successive losses to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea, Liverpool have lacked quality in their build-up. Arne Slot has not settled on a successor to Alexander-Arnold, with neither Jeremie Frimpong or Conor Bradley convincing and the auxiliary experiment of Dominik Szoboszlai yielding mixed results.
Alexander-Arnold, despite his flaws, is a unicorn of a full-back. Replacing his passing range from deep was an impossible task, but with neither Bradley nor Frimpong high-quality distributors, and right-sided centre-back Ibrahima Konate similarly struggling to break lines, it has left Liverpool lacking when progressing from the back.
Could the issue also part-explain Mohamed Salah’s struggles? The Egyptian and Alexander-Arnold had a formidable connection, but last season’s Player of the Year has been largely anonymous in recent weeks.
Malen makes his point
Donyell Malen must be wondering what more he can do to earn Unai Emery’s trust. After arriving from Borussia Dortmund in January, the Dutchman was unceremoniously left out of the Champions League squad and restricted to just two league starts last season.
Malen scored three times in the Premier League despite his limited involvement, and shone during the club’s pre-season campaign. Despite that, he has had a peripheral role in the opening weeks of the 2025/26 season but stated his case for regular inclusion this weekend.
Two brilliantly-taken goals earned Villa a much-needed 2-1 win over Burnley, with Malen showcasing just what he can bring to a goal-shy side. He’s now averaged a Premier League goal every 132 minutes since joining Villa. His involvement needs to increase.
Rodri issue a major worry for Manchester City
You did not need to be a body language expert to understand Rodri’s emotions on Sunday. Slumped to the turf in the first half of Manchester City’s 1-0 win at Brentford, the midfielder had an exasperated look on his face.
Having missed the bulk of last season after an ACL injury, it now looks likely that Rodri is facing another spell on the sidelines. While the extent of his hamstring issue is yet known, his expression indicated he knew another stint out is imminent. ACL recovery is an arduous road, with the requirement of the rehabilitation impacting other areas of a player’s physique.
To perform an optimum level, every chain in a player’s physical make-up needs to be right. City will hope this is not the start of another long absence for a player who has proven impossible to replace.
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