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Hello! You’re never too young to fight for your club — especially on derby day.
On the way:
🔴 Arsenal’s bragging rights
🧑⚖️ Man City vs EPL begins
🤩 The U.S. celebrity clash
👀 Miss of the season (so far)
Stuck in a corner: Postecoglou’s Spurs lose to Arsenal after same set-piece failing
Ange Postecoglou is one of those people who won’t be told that black is white, even when it appears reporters questioning him might indeed be onto something.
Back in May, he was brushing off criticism of Tottenham Hotspur’s inability to properly defend set pieces, a discussion brought on by two goals from corners costing Spurs a derby against Arsenal. Fast forward to September, and here he is again.
It was only one goal this time — a Gabriel header in the 64th minute — but that finish was all Arsenal needed yesterday. It was also the product of a tried-and-tested means of examining Spurs: hang a corner in the airspace of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and let the good times roll. Not by accident did Ben White decide to get into Vicario’s head the last time these clubs met.
Spurs conceded 16 goals from dead-ball deliveries in the 2023-24 season. Postecoglou was adamant he didn’t require a specialist set-piece coach (something Arsenal have in Nicolas Jover) but it’s a recurring theme, and he insisted that Tottenham “work on them all the time”. Corners give Vicario the guise of a man tip-toeing on thin ice.
Once Spurs were breached, the game was Arsenal’s. There was no way through their defence, and David Raya’s clean sheet would have held had Spurs kept the possession counter climbing until sundown. Once again, north London is red.
Getting shirty
Postecoglou was slightly tetchy with Sky Sports’ interviewer after full time. He’ll know Spurs missed a trick.
Mikel Arteta was down on numbers with Declan Rice suspended and Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino injured. It’s a measure of his coaching and Arsenal’s self-assurance that their 4-4-2 defensive shape held up as rigidly as it did.
Saying they wanted it more would be cheap, but without doubt they wanted it. Their (heavily outnumbered) mascot was squaring up to his counterparts in the tunnel beforehand. Arteta’s players were all in during a first-half scuffle. Leandro Trossard had a hole torn in his shirt. En masse, they got into the trenches.
Arteta is an elite manager, and while it didn’t take a masterclass like yesterday’s to justify the contract extension he signed last week, he’s fundamental to everything Arsenal are doing.
The discipline required to keep Spurs out was ideal practice for Manchester City away this Sunday. Arsenal could have gone there five points behind. Instead, the gap is two. Under pressure and depleted, yesterday’s result goes down as a huge hold of serve.
Here comes Haaland…
The key for Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium — do what nobody else is capable of doing and face down Erling Haaland.
The 24-year-old scored with his first shot of the season. So far, he has nine goals from 20 attempts. He bagged another two against Brentford on Saturday and was the width of a post from a third hat-trick in a row, a feat last recorded in England’s top flight in 1946.
The only thing as predictable as him is the Premier League table. Liverpool’s defeat to Nottingham Forest — a first under Arne Slot — means we’re four fixtures in and already, it’s City and Arsenal, positions one and two. After the last two seasons, we’re about to complete the trilogy.
News round-up: Manchester City’s case over financial charges begins
(Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
The most hotly-anticipated legal case in Premier League history — the 100-plus financial charges levied against Manchester City — is scheduled to start today. After so much talking, it’s down to business — and we’ve explained it all for you.
The weekend saw some high-profile injuries. Bukayo Saka limped out of Arsenal’s win at Spurs, Alexander Isak hurt an eye in Newcastle United’s 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Dani Olmo tweaked a hamstring as Barcelona maintained their perfect La Liga record by beating Girona 4-1.
The U.K. government has long been planning to create an independent football regulator to oversee the English game. UEFA is warning that England could be barred from Euro 2028 — a tournament they are co-hosting — if that happens. Hmm.
Speaking of Euro 2028, Casement Park in Belfast was due to be staging matches during the tournament. That won’t happen now — because cash needed to redevelop the ground isn’t available.
After leaving Juventus, Adrien Rabiot was minus a club at the end of the transfer window. Two weeks on, he’s joined Marseille on a free.
Conor Gallagher got his first Atletico Madrid goal last night. That’s him up and running.
Brady vs Reynolds 🥊
In the blue corner, Birmingham City. In the red corner, Wrexham. That’s your match-up for tonight; a League One tussle like very few others.
Both clubs are indicative of the extent to which football has become a celebrity playground. Tom Brady is on the scene at Birmingham. Wrexham are squeezing everything out of the Hollywood connections of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Will Ferrell tipped up at a Leeds United game on Saturday. They all want a piece of the action.
McElhenney described Birmingham versus Wrexham as “an absolute banger” — something never normally said about third-tier fare. He’s right. It’s got a prime-time slot on Sky Sports in the U.K. It’s live on CBS in the United States, the result of CBS muscling in on EFL broadcast rights. Be as cynical as you like about the celebrity influx but the brush with showbiz is opening new frontiers.
📺 League One: Birmingham City vs Wrexham, 3pm ET/8pm UK — CBS, Fubo/Sky Sports
Quiz answer
Did you get the four players who have turned out for Arsenal and Spurs in the Premier League? They were: Emmanuel Adebayor, Sol Campbell, David Bentley and William Gallas.
Inevitable Messi
Does Lionel Messi ever tire of his trade? The reason I ask is that it’s all well and good being the greatest of all time but there’s got to be a point at which easy is too easy.
Messi, you’ll recall, was injured in the Copa America final and left the field in tears. That was two months ago. He made his comeback for Inter Miami on Saturday — and marked it by scoring twice (including this nifty finish, above), assisting another goal and cantering through a 3-1 win over Philadelphia Union.
In total, he’s played 13 times this season. He’s got 28 goal contributions. Inter are cruising towards the Supporters’ Shield and let’s be real, the MLS Cup is theirs to lose provided Messi stays fit. Injury is the only thing capable of holding him back, and even that is dealt with like a minor inconvenience.
Around The Athletic FC
The scoreline at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday was Bournemouth 0 Chelsea 1. But the real point of note was the stack of 14 yellow cards — the most in a Premier League match ever. That doesn’t include the cards shown to both managers either.
Nottingham Forest’s win over Liverpool was their first at Anfield for 55 years. Paul Taylor has written about their superb, out-of-possession composure which made it happen.
I liked Tim Spiers’ latest piece on club nicknames because it mentions the famous Heart of Midlothian. And between the Lepers and the Rat-Stabbers, I was reminded that South America has the best monikers anywhere.
Aston Villa aren’t winning on the PR front at present. How did some of their season-ticket holders turn up at Villa Park to find they had no seats?
The top line from Mauricio Pochettino’s first press conference as USMNT head coach was cast in some quarters as him saying the U.S. can win the 2026 World Cup. He didn’t say that — he just wants his players to think like that.
Most clicked in Monday’s TAFC: Player X, the footballer accused of sexual offences who can’t be named.
Catch a match
La Liga: Rayo Vallecano vs Osasuna, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+/Premier Sports.
Serie A: Parma vs Udinese, 12.30pm/5.30pm — Paramount+/OneFootball; Lazio vs Hellas Verona, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+, CBS/OneFootball
And finally… an expected goal
If you’ve got that Monday feeling, be glad you’re not Derby County’s Ebou Adams. This was his chance in the 97th minute of Derby’s 1-0 win over Cardiff City — having done all the hard work and chased down a long punt forward after a corner.
Our friends from Opta Stats say the expected goals (xG) value of the opportunity was 0.75. In layman’s terms, that’s deep inside the territory of ‘no excuses’. He’ll have enjoyed reporting back in for training this morning.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)