The New York Times

This felt like a significant result for Arsenal. In the second half against a spirited Sunderland side, they conceded a penalty when Ezri Konsa appeared to grapple with Dan Ballard. It was a decision that incensed Mikel Arteta, who described it as “unacceptable” in his post-match press conference and left the champions facing the prospect of defeat at the Stadium of Light.

David Raya had other ideas. Enzo Le Fee struck a perfectly good penalty, low to Raya’s left, but the Spanish goalkeeper had anticipated it and plunged down tot tip the ball onto the base of the post. It was a stunning save. Even more remarkable: 121 seconds later, Arsenal were ahead, with Bruno Guimaraes scoring a debut goal from outside the area, having come off the bench at half-time.

Sunderland threw everything at Arsenal, but the champions stood firm. Can anyone stop them this season?

Their north London rivals Tottenham, however, endured another tough afternoon, failing to score for a fourth straight game as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton. At the final whistle, boos echoed around the Tottenham Stadium.

Liverpool and Chelsea, two other sides who came into the season full of optimism, were also held to frustrating home draws. Andoni Iraola’s side still do not look like they are clicking and could not find a way past Fulham at Anfield, while Chelsea continued to attack with verve and defend catastrophically in their 2-2 draw with Hull.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was furious after his side’s defeat to Nottingham Forest, believing James McAtee should have been sent off for the challenge that left Ian Maatsen injured. In Crystal Palace’s defeat to Ipswich, Axel Disasi was sent off for a reckless challenge on Jack Clarke.

Amid the goals and the controversy, the two least-fancied promoted teams continue to impress. At the end of the day, Ipswich were sitting in eighth and Hull in third and might have a better chance of staying up than many expected.

This is the latest Premier League Forum, in which writers from The Athletic give their views on the weekend talking points so far, and you can join the discussion in the comments.

This time, they discuss whether anyone can stop Arsenal defending their title, whether Spurs are in trouble again and if Ipswich and Hull might stay up.

Let us know your views and what else you noticed from the weekend’s action so far.

Game week 4 results so far…

Aston Villa 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford

Chelsea 2-2 Hull City

Crystal Palace 2-3 Ipswich Town

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

Tottenham 0-0 Everton

Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal

Can anyone stop Arsenal?

Ahmed Walid: No.

While every other contender is still sorting their weaknesses and adapting to a new manager, Arsenal already have a strong base and have added to it by signing Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa.

With a fully fit Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz — who only started one Premier League game together last season — stopping this team is harder than it seems.

This is a side with no clear weakness, proficient in all phases of play, and has the individual quality to win any match even if they aren’t at their best.

Dan Sheldon: The strength of Arsenal’s squad is undeniable, and their win over Sunderland, which saw Bruno Guimaraes come off the bench to break the deadlock, is evidence of that.

It wasn’t Arsenal’s best performance, but they scored twice, kept a clean sheet and maintained their unbeaten start to the season.

But if anyone is going to be able to catch them, which, over the course of a 38-game campaign seems unlikely, then it will likely be Manchester City.

In Erling Haaland, Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City has the firepower to blow teams away, but they are getting used to life without Pep Guardiola, whose exit left a huge void, and that, along with their squad, is why Arsenal will be difficult to stop.

Greg O’Keeffe: Arsenal have come through a couple of difficult Premier League games, at home to Chelsea and now the Stadium of Light, and still their defence looks fearsome.

Chelsea and Sunderland — not to mention Napoli in the Champions League — all posed different and exacting challenges, but Mikel Arteta’s men are imperious.

Their spine is built of top players operating at their best, with goalkeeper Davd Raya’s penalty save in the second half proving pivotal.

Bruno Guimaraes is fitting in just nicely, and getting that long-awaited title over the line seems to have dimmed not an ounce of Arteta’s intensity (he fumed afterwards about the decision to award Sunderland the spot kick).

Manchester City will push them all the way, and Enzo Maresca’s extra firepower might just make the difference, but it’s only the men from the Etihad who look capable of making the Gunners sweat as they mount their convincing case for a title defence.

Are Spurs in trouble again?

Dan Sheldon: All that money spent in the summer, yet not a single goal scored in six hours of Premier League football is nothing short of an embarrassment.

If there was any momentum heading into this season, buoyed by the promise of a respected coach in Roberto De Zerbi, and significant investment in the transfer window, then it left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

And it left to a chorus of boos as the club’s supporters let their feelings be known.

Although the table currently says otherwise, Spurs should still have more than enough quality to avoid a repeat of 2025-26, but the onus is on De Zerbi to solve their myriad problems sooner rather than later.

Greg O’Keeffe: Everton didn’t spend a penny on strikers, they even ended the transfer window in a goalscorer deficit.

It’s well known that Tottenham, at least on paper, had a far more ambitious summer. They are committed to forking out £60million ($81.2m) on Omar Marmoush, and spent more on attackers such as Savio. They also boast the experience and prowess of Dominic Solanke.

Somehow on Saturday evening, though, Marmoush did not manage a single shot on target in his 77 minutes on the field, and his team tested Jordan Pickford directly just twice as their goalless pain continued.

It was David Moyes’ side who had the greater expected goals too (1.17 to the hosts’ 0.64).

Last week Marmoush said his new team should “not be too hectic” or “pressured” to score goals, and eventually they would arrive. He also had glowing praise for the manager, Roberto De Zerbi.

But after another hapless blank, the pressure on Tottenham to start scoring will only become greater.

De Zerbi didn’t waste a second at the final whistle, running onto the pitch to give Mathys Tel some coaching. He will need to expedite those lessons if he is to convince the booing fans they are not, somehow after all that lavish recruitment, in for another difficult campaign.

Ahmed Walid: Yes, and they need to sort their attack and high press quickly.

Tottenham struggled to break down Everton’s defence, which follows weak attacking performances against Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United — even if they had bright spells in the latter.

Meanwhile, the high press was dysfunctional once more against David Moyes’ side, as was the case in the defeats against Brentford and Newcastle.

Time is needed for this newly assembled team to gel, but without goals — and consequentially wins — pressure is added on a squad that is clearly devoid of any confidence.

Despite the millions of pounds spent, it’s ironic that Spurs’ best player in their four Premier League games has been Rodrigo Bentancur.

Ipswich and Hull were favourites for relegation. Can they stay up?

Greg O’Keeffe: Selhurst Park is a notoriously difficult place for away teams, and yet there went promoted Ipswich — boldly sealing victory at the death and finishing the day in eighth place.

Hull City pulled off an even more surprising result, grabbing a well-deserved point from an encounter at Stamford Bridge which they navigated with confidence and ambition.

Sergej Jakirovic’s defensively tough side are now third. Tigers fans may want to print off the league table right now, because while it may not get much better for them this season in terms of league position, it serves as further tangible proof that their many doubters before a ball was kicked this season were premature.

For Gary O’Neill’s side, Zian Flemming always felt like a smart signing. His first goal for the club since his deadline-day move bodes well, as does the patient and potent manner in which they sought the win when other promoted teams may have settled for a point.

It’s early days but you’d be a brave man to bet against at least one of these two, if not both, leveraging their bright starts into survival.

Dan Sheldon: The Premier League is seemingly bucking what was becoming a worrying trend.

In the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, the three promoted teams were all relegated at the end of the campaign, which was the first time in the league’s history that this had happened in consecutive years.

Sunderland and Leeds United bucked that trend in 2025-26, and Ipswich Town and Hull City have shown early signs that they will, too.

It has been a tough start for Coventry City, rooted to the bottom of the table, but their fellow promoted teams have shown enough quality in the opening matches that survival is more than possible.

Ahmed Walid: Maybe — it’s too early to tell.

Hull City and Ipswich Town have put in positive performances, with clear ideas of what they want to do on and off the ball.

The problem, though, is that the rest of the league is stacked with individual talent.

Even if Fulham and Crystal Palace have endured tough starts to the season, they have the player quality and experience to edge Hull, Ipswich and Coventry City.

It’s always good to remember that Hull were third in the Premier League table in late October 2008, and only managed to avoid relegation on the final day of that season.

What next?

Manchester has become one of the most talked-about cities in the world in recent months and today the city hosts its first derby of the season. Enzo Maresca’s side travel to Old Trafford with a 100 per cent record as the transition to the post-Pep era appears to be going smoothly.

Michael Carrick has had a more challenging start to the season, after that surprising defeat to Hull in their first game, but there have been positive signs in recent performances that United are finding their stride.

In the earlier kick-off, Frank Lampard is looking for his first Premier League point as his Coventry side host free-scoring Brighton.

On Monday, Matthias Jaissle’s Newcastle travel to Elland Road to face Daniel Farke’s Leeds, with both sides unbeaten in their first three games.

Premier League fixtures

Sunday Sep 12

Coventry City v Brighton & Hove Albion (2:00pm BST/9:00am ET)

Manchester United v Manchester City (4:30pm BST/11:30am ET)

Monday Sep 13

Leeds United v Newcastle United (8:00pm BST/3:00pm ET)

The problems mount for Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi.

A summer outlay of more than £300million appears to have done little for his team’s attacking output and for a fourth successive game they failed to scored. It was the first 0-0 in a Premier League game since the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was rebuilt.

Savio, Dominic Solanke and Omar Marmoush started as the front three for the first time for Spurs and it was the Brazil forward who was often the brightest spark for the hosts from the off.

But the first half was far from entertaining, not helped by a visibly patchy pitch, and James Garner’s free kick, beaten away by Antonin Kinsky, was the only shot on target. Mateus Fernandes finally tested Jordan Pickford in the opening exchanges of the second period before Kinsky kept out Thierno Barry’s header with his head.

The home fans’ frustration was audible and Kinsky almost gifted Everton the lead when he passed straight to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall but he redeemed himself by saving well. Former Spurs forward Brennan Johnson should have broken the deadlock in the 75th minute from 15 yards but failed to hit the target.

Pickford followed Kinsky’s lead in the closing stages by handing Lucas Bergvall possession but got back to palm the shot wide and Spurs’ challenge fizzled out.

How did Spurs’ new-look front three perform?

One of the concerns when signing De Zerbi to lead Tottenham was how he was going to set up his team to break deep defences. It was one of the problems he had at Brighton & Hove Albion in his previous spell in the Premier League.

The logic was that with the quality of players added to Spurs’ squad, the input of the individuals and their profiles would provide De Zerbi with more solutions in the final third.

However, Tottenham struggled to break down Everton’s defence, which follows weak attacking performances against Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United — even if they had bright spells in the latter.

The front three of Savio, Solanke, and Marmoush, who occupied a narrow position from the left side, didn’t knock on Everton’s door and had no shots on target between them.

Spurs’ main attacking threat came from right-back Archie Gray and midfielder Mateus Fernandes’ runs in the right half-space, which David Moyes’ side were more aware of in the second part of the first half.

Even when Spurs changed the attacking shape by introducing Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall in place of Solanke, Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur, they were still toothless.

Thus far, Tottenham’s inability to break down deep defences remains the biggest question for De Zerbi and his players this season.

Ahmed Walid

What’s going on with Spurs’ pitch?

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is not just a football ground. It has become one of London’s primary venues for music artists and is home to two NFL games per year.

The revenue Tottenham earn through their stadium is, in part, the reason why they were so busy in the transfer market. It is not often that a team that finishes 17th in successive seasons fall behind only Manchester City and Chelsea as the Premier League’s third-biggest spenders, with their total outlay well beyond the £300m mark.

But an unwanted consequence of hosting so many events is that the pitch’s quality may suffer. Last week, American rapper Jay-Z performed two nights in the stadium, which may explain the patches of yellow turf dotted around the pitch.

The pitch at the stadium is retractable, and grow lights are used to keep it in top condition even when it is underground. Tottenham ground staff operate autonomous mowers programmed to cover the entire pitch and ensure it is Premier League-ready.

Still, despite it being just the third game hosted at the stadium this season, Tottenham’s pitch appeared more like one you would expect to see in May.

Elias Burke

Is Archie Gray’s future at right-back?

Archie Gray wants to be a central midfielder, but, on the evidence of his performance against Everton, his qualities may be better suited to a right-back role under De Zerbi.

Tottenham opted against replacing Djed Spence as Pedro Porro’s back-up right-back, after the England international moved to Inter in a deal worth around €30m (£25m; $34m). Part of that is down to Porro’s outstanding record of availability — he has comfortably played more minutes than any Spurs player since he signed permanently in 2023.

It was also down to the faith De Zerbi has in Gray, to whom he handed the armband throughout pre-season and for their season opener against Brentford.

But with Porro sidelined with a minor injury — something that may become more commonplace as Tottenham switch to preventive measures to limit the chances of another injury crisis — the 20-year-old got another chance.

Defensively, Gray dealt well with the trickery of Tyrique George, and later Jack Grealish, who replaced the 20-year-old in the 65th minute. But it was on the offensive side where he looked most natural, rotating with Fernandes in the right half-space and demonstrating his athleticism and passing range.

When playing in midfield, Gray has occasionally struggled with the speed of the Premier League. From right-back, he was able to charge forward into space with and without the ball, which suits his qualities much better at this stage of his career.

The Premier League is stacked with electric wingers, so he may face tougher defensive tests down the line. But, overall, it was one of his more complete displays in a Spurs shirt.

Elias Burke

Did both teams need a Richarlison?

Had things turned out differently, he might have been in Rio de Janeiro. But the man who could have made a difference for both these teams was still at the Tottenham stadium on Saturday — if only as a disconsolate onlooker.

Clad in casual black shirt, shorts and trainers, Richarlison watched as his current(ish) and former teams traded blows but suffered from mutual woe in front of goal.

It was a contest that showed how both Spurs, who have found scoring so painfully hard, and Everton, with only one senior centre forward on their books, may regret not having him in their ranks. The Brazil forward’s 11 Premier League goals last term made him Tottenham’s top scorer and would, had they come in royal blue, have meant the same on Merseyside.

Instead, De Zerbi left the 29-year-old out of his top-flight squad after losing patience with his wantaway outbursts, and Everton’s attempts to re-sign a player who was so popular during his spell as a Toffee faltered on deadline day.

At least the visitors can say their failure to have Richarlison in their ranks was out of their control. He decided against a return to Merseyside, as part of a reported deal in which the numbers made little financial sense anyway, even if his goals would have been much welcomed.

For the second game running Barry, who Moyes must hang his hat on solely, failed to convert a strong chance as he headed Tyrique George’s teasing cross straight at Kinsky.

Richarlison has said he was close to getting the move he wanted to Vasco de Gama on loan until December, but the move broke down.

Limbo for him then — and just as many question marks for both of these clubs in terms of goalscoring.

Greg O’Keeffe

What did De Zerbi say?

“I’m honest. I’m always honest with you, no? Because when we play bad, I say we play we played very bad. But when I come in to the press conference, 99 per cent I’m honest, like with the players, like with the club. I said we started this season late in many many reasons. Many players for the World Cup, many problems, injuries in Australia. Mateus Fernandes, Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke. Not our responsibility or the club’s, but we bought two players late: Savio and Marmoush. I started to work with this group two Thursdays ago. We do not have the right physical condition yet.

“We played very well the first 30 minutes, and then maybe the energy, maybe the fact we didn’t score, maybe we lost in some players a little confidence. We have to be not positive but realistic. If we extend that part of the game 30 minutes to 70, 80, 90, my belief is that we’re gonna win many games. We have to improve in the last third of the pitch. The last decision, the last pass. We have to shoot more times, especially when we have space and time to do. We have to do with the right spirit. But I can’t say nothing bad because I know how the players are working very well.

“It’s tough to explain because four games without goals is tough to accept. We are sorry for the fans, but the fans they went today behind the players. When the players in the first 30 minutes they played very well, it was a hot, hot stadium. And then, like me, like every fan of Tottenham or the people inside of the club, we were sad because we were 75 times in the goal area and did not shoot enough.

“But what is the problem? The problem is the goal. The real problem, the most important problem, is the players have to be focused on the first 30 minutes and on the improvement we can do and we have to do. Not about the media, social media, not about the the journalists, because today, if we had we won today we’d have stayed in a different way with a smile. Great first half, great spirit. The second half: great, great, great. But the result changed the opinion. My opinion, no. Because I’m a coach, not a journalist. I’m not a fan.”

What next for Spurs?

Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison has said he was “very close” to joining Vasco da Gama before the Brazilian transfer window closed on Friday.

Addressing Vasco fans in a video posted to his personal Instagram account, the 29-year-old said he had made it clear during negotiations he wished to join Vasco on a loan deal through to December — the end of the Brazil 2026 club season — but claimed the deal broke down over Tottenham’s demands.

It comes after the ex-Watford and Everton striker, who was Tottenham’s leading scorer in the Premier League last season with 11 goals to help the club avoid relegation, was omitted from their Premier League squad for the season.

“Other offers were made to me but I made it very clear I wanted to join Vasco until December,” Richarlison, whose family support the Rio de Janeiro-based club, said.

“Unfortunately, Tottenham set a limit on the loan, which is why it didn’t work out.”

Richarlison added in his video that a move to the Brazilian club may happen in the near future: “I think I’ll be at Sao Januario (Vasco’s stadium) soon, and in Barreira (the Rio district in which they play), and you know how fond I am of you all.

“One day I’m going to make this dream come true; it’s my dream, my grandfather’s dream, and my family’s dream. I’m speaking from the heart here because I really wanted to play for Vasco.”

A move back to Brazil is now off the table, with the nation’s transfer window closing at 11pm local time on Friday (4am UK on Saturday).

On Friday, Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi said Richarlison was a “very good guy” but added on his future: “I spent time to convince him to stay, but if you ask me, I know the truth.

“I know what happened in the last month, the last 45 days, and it’s clear, but I’m not frustrated.

“If I had decided myself to leave him outside of the squad, I would have regrets, but the decision has not even been taken by the club. It has been a consequence of what I told you already that he has decided (to leave).”

The Athletic reported earlier this month that Turkish club Trabzonspor had made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Richarlison. The deadline for Turkish clubs to register players was September 4, three days after the UK window closed, but no deal came to fruition.

Tottenham agreed a deal with Everton for the transfer of Richarlison before the UK deadline but he declined the personal terms on offer, before making a series of cryptic remarks on Instagram.

“After everything I’ve been through in the last few years, I’ve decided that never again will anyone decide my future for me,” Richarlison wrote. “I went through a lot of bad things, and almost all of them happened because decisions were made by other people. Pressure, threats, retaliation — none of that scares me. I’ve been through far worse, believe me.”

Richarlison is into the final 12 months of the five-year contract he signed upon joining Tottenham from Everton in 2022.

The Brazil international was pushed further down the pecking order by the arrival of Omar Marmoush from Manchester City, and has not been involved in a matchday squad since the opening-day defeat at Brentford.

Lucas Bergvall has signed a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur.

Friday’s announcement comes after the 20-year-old midfielder’s future was uncertain throughout the summer. The Athletic reported in June that the Sweden international had expressed a preference to leave, with Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United submitting bids which were rejected by Spurs.

At the start of Spurs’ pre-season tour of Australia and New Zealand, head coach Roberto De Zerbi said the pair had not spoken and that anyone “who is not happy, is not proud to stay here, has to leave”.

De Zerbi performed a U-turn after a productive conversation with Bergvall during the tour. The Swede was never unhappy in north London but wanted a clear development plan. De Zerbi then said in public he knew what Bergvall’s best position was and he had “needed time to understand the characteristics of the players” in the squad.

“I think we’re building something great here. It’s an exciting time for the club and that’s why I’m happy to extend my contract,” Bergvall said in a club release.

De Zerbi added: “Every day in training you can see Lucas’ desire to learn, improve and push himself to the highest level. I believe his best football is still ahead of him and we want to give Lucas the platform to reach his full potential.”

Bergvall started Spurs’ opening two games of the season, the 3-0 defeat by Brentford in the Premier League and the 5-1 victory over Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup. He was substituted at half-time against Brentford after making a mistake which led to Vitaly Janelt scoring and has not come off the bench in their last two top-flight fixtures against Newcastle and Forest.

Bergvall joined Spurs from Swedish side Djurgarden in the summer of 2024. He previously signed a contract extension in April 2025, which ran until 2031. This latest deal reflects how Spurs view Bergvall as an important member of the squad right now and for the long term.

Bergvall’s future sorted – now he needs to kick on

A strange sequence of events has led to a positive outcome.

Bergvall became frustrated towards the end of last season at being played out of position in training and due to restricted game time. At the beginning of the summer, he expressed a preference to leave Spurs despite enjoying the majority of his time in north London and having a strong connection with the fans. Spurs’ record-breaking signings of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali appeared, on paper, to signal the end of his time with the club.

Spurs rejected bids from Forest and Newcastle. Then Bergvall impressed De Zerbi on tour and the pair’s relationship improved following a productive conversation. Bergvall wanted, and was given, a clear development plan. This new deal reflects how all parties think he can be a force for Spurs right now and in the long-term.

Bergvall’s pathway to more consistent game time is still not going to be easy. He has not featured in the Premier League since the opening day of the season when he underwhelmed against Brentford and was taken off at half-time. Along with new signings Fernandes and Tonali, he needs to compete with Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison and Archie Gray for minutes.

However, Bergvall showed during the 2024-25 season that he can be a positive influence when he plays regularly. Bergvall won multiple player of the year awards in his first season in English football after leaving Sweden at only 18.

With his future finally settled after months of uncertainty, hopefully Bergvall can kick on and show people why Spurs had to fight off interest from Barcelona to sign him in 2024.

Richarlison is considering legal action against Tottenham Hotspur to try to cancel his contract.

The Brazil international has been in limbo ever since he was left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad for this season, which was announced one week ago.

Attempts to find a move for Richarlison have so far failed. He was close to a return to former club Everton at the end of the Premier League window, only to fail to agree terms. He was then subject to interest from Trabzonspor, just before the Turkish window closed.

In the final days of the English transfer window, Richarlison made a series of cryptic remarks on Instagram regarding his future.

“After everything I’ve been through in the last few years, I’ve decided that never again will anyone decide my future for me,” he wrote. “I went through a lot of bad things, and almost all of them happened because decisions were made by other people. Pressure, threats, retaliation — none of that scares me. I’ve been through far worse, believe me.”

Roberto De Zerbi, who picked Richarlison for the opening game of the season at Brentford, but has not picked him since, has been clear in his position that it was Richarlison’s responsibility to find a solution.

“Richarlison decided everything alone,” De Zerbi said in his press conference last week. “He spoke with me at the beginning of pre-season and told me his desire was to leave. I want to keep just the players that want to stay and be proud, with the right passion to stay here.”

Now Richarlison and his team are exploring the possibility of trying to take legal action to cancel what remains of his Tottenham contract, following his sidelining from Spurs’ Premier League squad for this season. Richarlison still has one year remaining on the deal he signed when he joined from Everton in 2022 for an initial £50million.

Under FIFA’s updated ‘Regulations on the Status and Transfers of Players’, parties can in theory cancel a contract when they have ‘Just Cause’, defined as “any circumstance in which a party can no longer reasonably and in good faith be expected to continue a contractual relationship.”

The FIFA regulations state that no club may “abuse the registration or de-registration of a player as a means of pressure” or “separate a player in an abusive manner from training with the team”.

In Brazil, Richarlison has been linked with a move to Vasco da Gama by local media. If he was released from his Tottenham contract then he would be free to join Vasco on a short-term deal without their having to negotiate a fee with Spurs. The Brazilian transfer window shuts early on Saturday morning.

Mauricio Pochettino believes that his Tottenham Hotspur team should be awarded the 2016-17 Premier League title because of Chelsea’s 74 breaches of financial rules.

Chelsea were fined £10million by the FA this summer, and given a suspended transfer ban, after admitting breaching agent regulations during the Roman Abramovich era, specifically regarding signing players between 2011 and 2018.

But there was no sporting sanction and Pochettino, who managed Tottenham to a second-placed finish behind Chelsea in 2016-17, believes that title should be stripped from Chelsea and re-awarded.

“I’ve said that we should win one title, one Premier League,” Pochettino told reporters. “We should have been awarded it. If that was true, and that happened, for sure we deserve to be champions for that year. Because we were the second best.”

Tottenham finished the 2016-17 campaign with the fewest defeats in the Premier League, and having scored the most goals and conceded the fewest, but ultimately seven points behind Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.

Chelsea’s new ownership found irregularities in the accounts during their purchase of the club in 2022 and self-reported to the authorities, and then admitted to the 74 breaches of FA Rule E1.2. But Pochettino believes that Chelsea and Tottenham were fundamentally playing by different rules during the affected years.

“They were punished, they admitted (it), so that’s it,” Pochettino said. “The title should be for the team that was second. We didn’t compete with the same rules. OK, now we can say that they scored goals, they won games. But it’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card. Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could have signed some players that would have made the team better, or scored more goals. It’s not me complaining. It’s the truth.”

The FA’s case centres on millions of pounds of payments made to unregistered agents in connection with signings, including Eden Hazard, David Luiz and Nemanja Matic, all of whom were part of Chelsea’s title-winning side in 2016-17. Pochettino believes that Hazard may have made the difference that year.

“The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this,” said Pochettino, who managed Chelsea in the 2023-24 season. “But if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules, I would admit the same and say, ‘Look, we don’t deserve the title because we broke the rules’. It’s impossible if only some clubs play with offside and another plays with no offside. Or one plays with VAR and another plays with no VAR. No. For everyone, it needs to be the same rules, and the capacity to create the best team.”

Pochettino made clear that his issue was not with the players or coaches. “I don’t say that they did not play well. Conte, the coach, was great. I don’t want this message twisted. But if you broke the rules, in the moment, then ‘ciao’. You need to give it to another team.”

English football has traditionally been reluctant to strip titles in cases of wrongdoing but Pochettino believes this sends the worst possible message to clubs.

“What is being promoted and incentivised is to break the rules,” he said. “If you don’t punish the way that you need to punish, I say ‘yes, but I lost my job because we didn’t win the title.”

And Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham in November 2019 without winning anything, thinks that his work should be viewed differently in that context. “We were fighting with clubs (who worked) in a completely different way to us. I think we deserve more. We operated in a different way.”

For Mauricio Pochettino, it all comes down to human connections.

That is how he sees the world, sees football, and sees his own role in it. All of the best work of his career has been built on that foundation; making players work together, making fans believe in the team, trying to leave a legacy bigger than just wins and losses.

That is how Pochettino wants to look back at his summer, when he took the United States to the last 16 of their home World Cup, invigorating a football nation, before it all ended acrimoniously.

It is why Pochettino says he recommitted to the job, signing a new four-year contract, to repay the trust he feels from U.S. Soccer, and from the American public. There was some surprise in September 2024 — four months after he left Chelsea — when Pochettino was announced as the new head coach of the U.S. side. Before then all five of his jobs were in club football.

But he was recruited, after a huge effort by U.S. Soccer, to take the team into the World Cup. When Pochettino signed that contract, as he explained in detail to reporters in central London earlier this week, he knew that he was fully committed until after the tournament. He wanted to be a man of his word.

“When we gave our word to the federation, it was about starting and finishing, after the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “For us, it was impossible to think about coming back, or going to another club. Because we received some calls from different clubs. But we cannot go away. First, because we didn’t want to go. But in the moment I think it wasn’t right for us to create all these situations and expectations.”

Pochettino is determined to keep the good feelings from the summer going. It was because of that sense of trust and human connection that he decided, against expectations, to sign a new deal last month. It had widely been assumed he would return to the club game this summer instead.

“The one thing that changed our mind: the people,” Pochettino said. “The human beings in the federation.” Even before the World Cup kicked off, the U.S. Soccer board offered him a new deal as a sign of trust in his work. As Pochettino tells it, they respected the fact that he gave them his word and stayed, even when he was attracting interest from the club game. “This type of people, I like to be with them.” Even Pochettino did not expect to generate this much enthusiasm from players and fans, but now he wants to build on it.

Pochettino still clearly values his unique bond with Tottenham Hotspur fans, a relationship that means the world to him. But you can detect some of the same sense of pride when he talks about his bond with the fans Stateside. The way his team played in the World Cup, especially in those thrilling wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia and Herzogovina, was integral to generating a sense of public momentum behind his team. Pochettino feels that his team helped to “change the view” of the American public, to feel that soccer is no longer “a boring game.”

“I think, through our messaging for nearly two years, people started to buy that this is completely different,” he said. “You can feel proud to be American, to show your flag, your country. It’s a sport that is about being brave. We started to provide them the possibility to see that sport in a different way. They started to see in a different way, they started to buy the idea. Amazing.”

The U.S. campaign ended in controversy and disappointment, though, with Folarin Balogun’s overturned suspension dominating the build-up to the last-16 game, in which Belgium was clearly the superior side. Pochettino denied again that it was why the U.S. lost. “What I don’t like is to put an excuse,” he said, “Belgium was much better.”

This is a delicate political matter, and Pochettino acknowledged that it was a “rare” and “unique” situation, but pointed out that this was not the only time FIFA overturned a suspension for this World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo got the same treatment, too.

But there is now a chance to start fresh, with plenty to play for over the next four years. There will be a Concacaf Gold Cup next year and potentially a Copa America the year after, which would help to fill the buildup to the 2030 World Cup. But Pochettino also made clear that while his first contract, leading up to this summer, was unbreakable, this situation is slightly different.

Simply put, there are circumstances under which he could leave between now and June 2030.

“Now it’s a four-year contract, it’s different,” Pochettino said. “We can next season lose the Copa America, or the Gold Cup, and they’re not happy with us, they can sack us. Or we can say ‘OK, it’s not the way that we think.’ Four years is different. Maybe now if someone calls in the future, it’s a different type (of situation). We are excited, we are thinking to spend four years, to the next World Cup. But now it’s a long period.”

But before any of that, Pochettino is ready for the USMNT’s four high-interest friendlies this forthcoming international break, against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada. It already feels very different from Pochettino’s start in the job, when it was a struggle to always get U.S. fans into home games. But this was always part of the attraction, “to make history, to change football there.”

After so much time working in club football, this is why the international game is so appealing. “It’s more pure,” Pochettino said, because the players are more motivated and less distracted. “The players are not toxic, they come because they want to enjoy, they want to enjoy, they don’t have time to become upset or disappointed.” And for Pochettino, who sees himself as a manager born in an analogue era, now working in a digital one, it allows him to build those human relations, to work on the chemistry of football, that means so much to him.

While Pochettino and his staff were working hard to prepare the U.S. for the World Cup, Tottenham, the club closest to his heart, was in crisis. The appointment of Thomas Frank had not worked and Spurs were, in the winter and spring of last season, heading for relegation. For many fans, Pochettino was the saviour, the king over the water, and his name was often sung last season, including during Frank’s final game, a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United in February.

There have been various points in recent years when it felt as if a Pochettino return to Tottenham might happen. Perhaps the closest was in May 2021, when there was a push at Spurs to bring him back, only for PSG to say no, just six months after Pochettino started there. Then two years later, after Pochettino had left PSG but before he signed for Chelsea, there was plenty of public enthusiasm for him to return, but no approach from Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. And then most recently earlier this year, when Pochettino says that he got a call about the Tottenham job, but at a moment when his full focus was on the World Cup. There was never any prospect of his walking out before the tournament.

“The problem was that the timings were never the best,” Pochettino said. “When I was free, I never received a contact. And then when I was working, I received a contact, but I cannot make the decision to come back. It was a little bit unlucky. Maybe one day the stars will align, and it can happen. But the problem was that when we wanted and we were free, we didn’t receive the approach. When we were working, we received the approach.”

In the end, Spurs sacked Frank in February, tried and failed to get Roberto De Zerbi, appointed Igor Tudor and then sacked him when De Zerbi became persuadable to take the job. And the only way to get someone of De Zerbi’s calibre was with a five-year contract. “They were under pressure to bring another coach, to give him the possibility to stay for a long period like happened with De Zerbi,” Pochettino explained. “It was an obvious situation.”

Pochettino joked that there was nothing special about him getting a call. “In this moment they called everyone, they called all the coaches! Free and not free!” But when De Zerbi signed that deal in March, the prospect of Pochettino taking over even after the World Cup was gone. But Pochettino leaves no doubt that he would have been delighted to take over had he not been committed to the U.S. “If I was free, of course I come,” he said. “But I wasn’t free, I was preparing for the World Cup.”

During this period of uncertainty there was a question about what Spurs would do if they were relegated, and who might manage them in the Championship. In the end it remained a hypothetical. But Pochettino does not mind this sort of speculation, and he jumped at the chance to clear it up. So would he have taken it in the second tier? “Yes of course,” he said. “It’s the only club that always I am open to help. Whatever division. Another club, no. But Tottenham, yes.”

Clearly that connection for Pochettino is as strong as ever. (That in part is why he believes that Tottenham ought to be awarded the 2016-17 Premier League title, given Chelsea’s breaches of rules over payments between 2009 and 2022.) But he also knows Tottenham is a very different place from the club he left in 2019. In part because Levy, who ran everything at Spurs throughout Pochettino’s tenure, was dismissed one year ago. Pochettino and Levy are still close. And so it was with genuine kindness rather than any schadenfreude that Pochettino said that Levy must now know what it is like to be sacked, with the sudden switch-off that implies.

“Now he knows the feeling,” Pochettino said. “The way that I felt in this moment, that we felt, you receive the letter, you are sacked, pick up your things and you can never come back. And the people, maybe 200, 300 people that were your family, you cannot say goodbye, you cannot send a text, you cannot do nothing. That was really, really tough for me. I was talking with him about that. Of course I am not happy that now he feels the same. Because I am not a person who has bad feelings. I am so sorry for him and for everyone.”

The post-Levy changes at Tottenham led to the club embarking on their boldest transfer window, spending more money on fees and wages this summer than ever before. It is a far cry from the era during which Pochettino worked, when Tottenham famously did not sign a single player in the 2018 summer window. But Pochettino’s love for Tottenham, his enthusiasm for them to do well, means that he is pleased that De Zerbi has this opportunity to build the team that he wants.

“I am happy if Tottenham now have the possibility to spend and to bring proven players, who have already played in the Premier League,” he said. “It’s good for the club. Because after the last two or three years, what the club is trying to find, is to improve, and not suffer. Now it’s about performing. I am happy because I feel Tottenham. It’s still my club and I want the best for them. And if that happens, it’s good. I’d be so happy for the fans and for the people.”

Tottenham Hotspur loanee Mykhailo Mudryk has suffered an ankle injury in training and is expected to be sidelined until after the September international break.

Spurs signed the Ukrainian on a season-long loan from rivals Chelsea on summer transfer deadline day and he made his first competitive appearance in 646 days as a substitute in their 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

But Mudryk’s chances of settling quickly in north London have been dealt a blow after he picked up an ankle injury in training.

The 25-year-old is expected to be sidelined until after the internationals, which would rule him out of Tottenham’s home league games against Everton and Aston Villa, which fall either side of the Carabao Cup third-round tie at Liverpool.

Mudryk had not played competitively since November 2024 when he joined Spurs, having been banned for 20 months for breaching the Football Association’s (FA) doping rules.

On July 31, a resolution between the FA and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was reached over an anti-doping violation, allowing Mudryk to return to club training and selection.

The 25-year-old had to train away from all Chelsea facilities on his own during that 20-month period, having returned an adverse finding in a urine sample. He was provisionally suspended and then handed a four-year ban by the FA in April this year, a verdict he lodged an appeal against to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Spurs are currently without forwards Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons, who are recovering from anterior cruciate ligament injuries, while James Maddison has missed the last two matches with a shoulder complaint. Richarlison has been left out of the club’s Premier League squad.

But Dejan Kulusevski is back in full training in a boost to head coach Roberto De Zerbi, while the club boosted their forward options with the signings of Savio and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City during the window.

What does this mean for Mudryk and Spurs?

It’s a frustrating start to life in north London for Mudryk, who Tottenham recruited on deadline day to provide depth at left wing.

Mudryk was signed to compete with Mathys Tel on the left of De Zerbi’s attack, after Spurs were beaten to the signing of Iliman Ndiaye by Manchester City.

Having not played competitive football since scoring in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League in November 2024, there was an acceptance that it would take Mudryk a while to get up to speed, but after De Zerbi handed him an opportunity from the bench against Nottingham Forest on the weekend, it suggested the Italian, who coached Mudryk at Shakhtar Donetsk, was willing to fast-track his involvement with the team.

While the Ukraine international did not make much of an impact in his short cameo from the bench against Forest, he did provide a slight glimmer of what he could offer De Zerbi’s side from the left this season, winning a free-kick on the edge of the box after dribbling past his marker.

His injury leaves De Zerbi slightly short of left-wing options, with Tel, whom the coach said “takes too many wrong decisions”, competing with Omar Marmoush for a starting spot.

As for Mudryk, it represents yet another frustrating setback. He will have undoubtedly harboured ambitions of returning to the Ukraine national team over the international break, but this injury will prevent that.

And with Tottenham preparing to travel to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup next week — a game he could have been in line to start or play significant minutes in — he will have to wait longer than planned to make a real impact in Spurs colours.

However, with just two league games remaining before the extended international break, Mudryk has time without a run of matches to recover.

In his post-match press conference after his Tottenham Hotspur side were convincingly beaten by Brentford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season, with the home side scoring their final goal of a 3-0 win from a corner, Roberto De Zerbi brushed off the suggestion that set pieces and a lack of physicality in the team would be a persistent concern beyond that game.

“Listen, Brentford, in set pieces, are maybe the best team in the Premier League,” the Italian said. “So it’s normal to suffer. I think we suffer(ed) more in the duels, more in the second ball, than in the set pieces.”

A week later, in Tottenham’s first home fixture of the campaign, Newcastle United got their second goal of a 2-0 win from a corner. Like at Brentford’s Gtech Stadium, Spurs failed to win with the first contact from a deep corner, allowing the ball to be headed across their penalty area to an unmarked Yoane Wissa, who acrobatically converted past Antonin Kinsky.

These moments represent a marked departure from last season, when set pieces were one of the few things Tottenham consistently did well.

Set-pieces coach Andreas Georgson was the mastermind behind their effectiveness from dead-ball situations, with the club scoring 19 of their 48 league goals via that route — the highest percentage in the Premier League (39.6 per cent). Spurs were also incredibly effective at keeping sides out from them, finishing second to Arsenal in set-piece goals conceded (nine). At just 15.8 per cent of the total (nine of 57), they were also the division’s best defence from set pieces relative to their total number of goals conceded.

The 0-0 draw away to Nottingham Forest on matchday three at the weekend was a step in the right direction in the wider sense, keeping a clean sheet and earning their first point of the season, but Tottenham remain ineffective in both boxes in set-piece situations.

As spoils of their territory and possession, the visitors won 10 corners but created just one chance, an awkward Micky van de Ven header from close range which he could not direct goalwards. With last season’s squad, a team in which strength and power in both midfield and defence were not in short supply, Spurs would typically have fashioned more from these opportunities.

In recruiting players to execute De Zerbi’s style over the summer, they have lost an edge in the physicality department — a potential flaw when you consider the Premier League today is perhaps more physical than it has been since the turn of the century.

Tottenham’s local north London rivals Arsenal became Premier League champions in May on the back of their set-piece dominance, while last season’s second- and third-placed sides Manchester City and Manchester United have both spent big since to solidify their midfields with athletes.

Of the 10 players Spurs recruited in the transfer window just ended, it’s difficult to argue that any have a stellar reputation for their aerial ability, including Tosin Adarabioyo and Jan Paul van Hecke, despite them being centre-backs listed as 6ft 5in (195cm) and 6ft 2in (188cm) tall, respectively.

While De Zerbi references Brentford as an almost-unique case regarding aerial and set-piece capability, a glance down the table leaves you wondering if any other clubs have not been built their teams with dead-ball situations in mind.

Tottenham fielded the fifth-shortest starting XI in the Premier League at the weekend (an average of 183.1 cm — just over 6ft), but height is far from the only factor.

Club captain Cristian Romero departed for Atletico Madrid in the summer, having been among Spurs’ best players in both boxes over recent seasons; Joao Palhinha scored five Premier League goals during his year on loan from Bayern Munich, including the decisive one in the 1-0 win against Everton on the final day — he is now at Benfica; Richarlison netted 11 times in the Premier League, and was often the man positioned to make the first contact at defensive corners and other set pieces; then head coach Ange Postecoglou hailed Kevin Danso as a player who “enjoys the whacks”, and the Austrian defender described himself as a “warrior” after signing for Sunderland on deadline day last week.

These players were arguably Tottenham’s most dominant physical profiles and headers of the ball last term. All are now either gone or, in Richarlison’s case, unavailable in the Premier League, having been left out of De Zerbi’s official squad.

His team selection against Forest suggests the head coach is cognizant of Tottenham’s declining effectiveness as a set-piece animal.

Conor Gallagher was a surprise pick in the starting XI, preferred to £85million summer signing Mateus Fernandes, with De Zerbi referencing how he knows English football better and that he was aiming to find the “right balance” in the team. The day before, De Zerbi namechecked Gallagher as a player who can help his team from a set pieces and physicality perspective.

“We have the centre-backs with physicality,” he said. ”Listen, to defend the set pieces, first of all, you have to have blood and the right speed to defend. Because, sometimes, it’s the duel. You have not to lose all duels because you are smaller than the opponent. We have Allan Dixon (the club’s beefy player liaison officer). We put Allan Dixon in the set pieces on the pitch, if you want?

“But I think if you do not have the spirit to fight in duels — this part makes the difference. Also, the structure, the physicality, for sure. But we have Van Hecke, Van de Ven, (Destiny) Udogie, (Rodrigo) Bentancur and (Dominic) Solanke (as options). Gallagher is very good in the set pieces. Why? Because he fights.”

But perhaps falling short in some areas, at least in the early stages of De Zerbi’s rebuild, is an inevitable trade-off as he prioritises others.

Notably, Spurs amassed 10 corners against Forest, something they did in the league only four times last season before his appointment at the end of March (the fifth and final occasion was in the 1-1 draw with Leeds United in May), reflecting how they are improving in sustaining pressure in the opposition team’s half.

In a standout display, Bentancur was at the heart of everything good about Tottenham at the City Ground, bringing a maturity and tactical discipline to the midfield. And with the aforementioned outgoings, the Uruguay international is also probably Tottenham’s best player in the air now, rendering him near-undroppable.

Another of the newcomers, Sandro Tonali, was improved, looking closer to the athletic level required to play in the Premier League than he did against Brentford, and Spurs are now stacked with talent, if potentially a little short on evidence of Premier League production, in the final third.

In transitioning the team from physical to technical, De Zerbi is, in theory, raising the ceiling.

Last season, set pieces propped the floor up just above the relegation precipice. To keep it there, he may have to divert more attention to ensuring the 2026-27 version of Tottenham have the robustness to compete in what’s become a hyper-physical Premier League.

This summer Tottenham Hotspur bought Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United in a deal that could be worth £100m ($133m) and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United for £85m. In January, they saw off competition to sign Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for £34m. Last summer they bought Xavi Simons — currently recovering from a knee injury — from RB Leipzig for £51.8m to play as the No 10.

A lot of money, then, has been thrown at the Tottenham midfield conundrum over the past year or so, not just in fees but in salaries to attract these players to the club.

And yet right now it feels as if perhaps the most important midfielder, the one who has to play, is someone who has been at the club far longer.

It was Rodrigo Bentancur who got the most fulsome praise from Roberto De Zerbi on Saturday evening after Spurs had emerged from the trip to Nottingham Forest with a 0-0 draw, their first point and first clean sheet of the league season. “Great game, great game,” De Zerbi said of the Uruguayan, who had just made his third consecutive start and given his best performance of the season.

Over the course of the afternoon, Bentancur had shown again that Tottenham do not have anyone quite like him in the middle of the pitch. His awareness, understanding and ability to read the game faster than anyone else, was integral to Spurs stopping Forest from attacking through the middle.

That special sense he has, that picture in his head, also makes Bentancur integral when Tottenham have the ball and are trying to move it forward. There is no one better at showing for the ball, receiving a pass to feet from the centre-backs and, under pressure, bouncing it first time out to a full-back. (Remember when Spurs went to Forest last season, Archie Gray took an extra touch in precisely that position, Ibrahim Sangare stole the ball and Forest went 1-0 up.)

The fascinating thing about Bentancur’s role right now is that at the start of the season fans might not have expected him to play such an important part. The expectation was that Tonali and Fernandes would be first choice in the middle of the pitch, with Gallagher likely to continue in the No 10 role he held at the end of last season. Spurs turned down big money for Lucas Bergvall this summer, but given that they decided to keep him, he was set for a prominent role too. James Maddison, who recovered enough from a knee injury to play at the end of last season, has also been knocking at the door.

But as De Zerbi has tried to find the right combination so far this season, he has turned to Bentancur three times out of four. At Brentford on the opening day, it was Tonali, Bergvall and Gallagher, but those three were unable to cope with the physicality of their hosts. It was only when Fernandes and Bentancur came on that Spurs got any sort of foothold, but they were already out of the game.

So when Spurs hosted Charlton Athletic in the League Cup, Bentancur came in, anchoring for Bergvall and Fernandes to get forward. And — against a much-changed Championship side — they comfortably won 5-1. Bentancur then kept his place for the Newcastle game, alongside Tonali and Fernandes, when Spurs started well but were unable to sustain it and were eventually picked off to lose 2-0. And then again on Saturday, with Tonali and Gallagher.

Of course, at this stage of the season it is only natural there will be some rotation, some experimentation, as De Zerbi tries out new players and different combinations, attempting to find the right balance in the middle of the pitch. This is a fairly new team after all. At the same time, no one is better suited to the anchoring job, the role that allows other players to shine, than Bentancur. It almost feels as if the formula is Bentancur plus two others, at least until they have more attacking options at No 10.

But maybe this should not be so much of a surprise. Bentancur has made himself one of the great survivors of this Spurs squad. Behind the unique Ben Davies, now into his 13th season at the club, Bentancur is the joint longest-serving outfield player. He arrived at the end of the January 2022 transfer window, Fabio Paratici picking him and Dejan Kulusevski up on the cheap from Juventus (Bentancur only cost £15m, Kulusevski joined on an 18-month loan that was made permanent in 2023).

We are not far from the fifth anniversary of Bentancur’s arrival, and over that time he has made 151 Spurs appearances. Remember that he started off as half of the two-man engine room for Antonio Conte, driving Spurs towards their last top-four finish in his first few months at the club. He missed most of 2023 with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and when he came back, found himself playing a very different style under Ange Postecoglou. But he became an integral player again during Postecoglou’s second season, anchoring the team during the injury crisis, starting six of Spurs’ seven Europa League knockout games. He was as important as anyone in lifting the trophy in Bilbao, again showing the value of his experience and awareness in those huge games at the end of the season.

And even last year, Bentancur started the season playing alongside Joao Palhinha for Thomas Frank, with people wondering whether those two together could ever make the team progressive enough in the middle of the pitch. Bentancur missed three months in the middle of the season with a hamstring injury and yet when he returned, his value to the group was clearer than ever. And it was with Bentancur and Palhinha reunited in the middle for the final games that Spurs stayed up. The same nous and game intelligence that helped to lift the Europa League contributed to keeping Spurs in the Premier League in 2026.

There may always be midfield options who excite people more, who are more eye-catching or faster or more incisive. Yet Bentancur has found time and time again over the past five years that managers usually want him on the pitch. So many of his former team-mates have left the club in the intervening period and yet the 29-year-old remains, one of the last links to an era that has been moved away from at pace. Until anyone else can match his experience and football brain, he will remain as important as ever.