10 things we learned from the Premier League: Week 8 of the 2023-24 season

For most of Arsenal’s big Sunday tilt with Manchester City, it seemed like the season’s biggest match to date was destined to disappoint us after a very entertaining weekend around the Premier League.

It was like a meal of all appetizers, and then main course arrives and it’s a head of lettuce and a brick of cheese.

So perhaps it’s fitting that Gabriel Martinelli’s moment was far from perfect — a not-fully-fit sub sending a deflected strike past a wrongfooted Ederson to give Arsenal a huge home win — as the Gunners sent the Premier League into the international break with an absolute mess at the top of the table.

The North Londoners are 1-2 on points, Man City’s next, just a point ahead of Liverpool. And there are a half-dozen or more teams daydreaming that the whole top four fight might be wide open for new applications.

Our writers Joe Prince-Wright, Nick Mendola, and Andy Edwards got stuck into analysis on the 10 games played in England’s top flight before the international break.

Declan Rice proves why Arsenal paid the big bucks

Arsenal 1-0 Man City | Mikel Arteta reaction

In a game where there was so little between these title contenders, Arsenal beating Manchester City to the summer signing of Declan Rice looked even more pivotal. With Arsenal missing the brilliance of Bukayo Saka and Man City without the influential midfield duo of Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri, it was going to be defensive nous and brawn rather than creative genius which won this game. That’s where Declan Rice comes in. There’s a reason why people are talking about a poor display from Erling Haaland. Rice shielded balls into him all game long and with William Saliba man-marking Haaland and Rice shielding the Arsenal back four expertly, City could not penetrate Arsenal centrally like they did to great effect in their 4-1 win at the Etihad in April which effectively won them the Premier League title. Rice was wanted by Man City but he always preferred a move to Arsenal so he could be the main man in midfield and for days like this. He dominated central areas and in a game of very few chances he made sure Arsenal weren’t wide-open and were ready to land the killer blow when it arrived. Rice is ready to do battle with Rodri for the title of the best holding midfielder in the Premier League. - Joe Prince-Wright

Chelsea finding finish, fortune to match form ahead of brutal run

Raheem Sterling’s Saturday wasn’t terribly unlike his other performances this season, aside from one huge difference. His work found its way into the goal. And it did so in a variety of ways. Sterling scored a nice goal in addition to winning a penalty, and also fired a hopeful cross that was deflected by Ameen Al Dakhil for a Burnley own goal. A menace all game, Sterling showed his clinical side while also getting the rub of the green. That hasn’t been happening much for Chelsea this season. And Mauricio Pochettino will now be asked to flex his managerial muscle over the next few weeks as the Blues have to start to take points off some big sides who will be contending with European action. Chelsea’s project will make big waves should they collect decent points off of Arsenal, Brentford, Spurs, Man City, Newcastle, Brighton, and Man United. It’s a huge ask, but imagine the Blues on the periphery of the top seven after the next seven games? Hope would abound at Stamford Bridge with Christopher Nkunku’s return still on the cards. -Nicholas Mendola

Pochettino: Sterling 'was fantastic' v. BurnleyChelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino praises his players following his side's 4-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor.

Comeback papers over Man United cracks, fixes very little

Man Utd 2-1 Brentford | Erik ten Hag reaction

By the time the full-time whistle had blown, Old Trafford was a joyous cauldron of celebration, but the real feeling evoked by the stoppage-time comeback was more one of relief than it was happiness or hopefulness — or, at least it should have been. In the 45 second-half minutes preceding stoppage time — during all of which they were a goal down — Manchester United managed all of 0.33 xG on 10 shots. Brentford, by comparison, put up 0.41 on just three attempts while largely battening down the hatches and defending for their lives. Prior to stoppage time, Man United attempted just two shots from inside the penalty area — both very wide on the left side of the box, totaling 0.09 xG — with everything else coming from 20 yards and out. Their only real scoring chances came from crossing and booting the ball into the box, hoping the Bees would failed to get it clear. A recipe for long-term success, that is not, but it was their get-out-of-jail-free card on Saturday. - Andy Edwards

Maddison’s magic the key to Tottenham’s superb start

Spurs have a new talisman. Down to 10 men and under pressure early in the second half, Tottenham needed someone to stand tall. James Maddison has been the player to do so ever since he arrived this summer. After whipping in a couple of dangerous corners, he then went to collect a short corner from Dejan Kulusevski and his magic won the game for 10-man Spurs. A swivel of his snake hips and a duck of his languid shoulder opened up a gap and with everything swirling around him, Maddison still had the composure to pick out Micky van de Ven in a crowded penalty box to slot home the only goal of the game. It was pure brilliance and with that assist Maddison took the Premier League lead in assists. For many years now his talent has been clear for all to see and with Harry Kane leaving this summer, Tottenham needed a new talisman and a new hero. Maddison will never reach Kane’s levels of incredible output for Spurs but he is proving to be the difference maker right now. Whenever this new-look, dogged Tottenham find themselves in a tight spot, they now turn to Maddison for inspiration. - Joe Prince-Wright

Sometimes the show is the story

There are a lot of interesting tidbits and talking points from this one but the real story of the game is that two top, top managers have set up their teams to play. And in this one, there wasn’t just speed and action but aggression. The Premier League has seen a lot of games with goals and flair, and a lot of slogs with fouls and fights, but this had both. Brighton challenged nearly every ball and, frankly, felt a bit superior on the day. That’s probably shorting Liverpool a little, because Bart Verbruggen’s control of his area — 12 recoveries, 88% passing — snuffed out a lot of would be danger. So thanks to Jurgen Klopp and Roberto De Zerbi for going for it, all the way, from whistle to whistles. -Nicholas Mendola

Klopp shares takeaways from draw v. BrightonJurgen Klopp shares his thoughts on Liverpool's 2-2 draw against Brighton at the Amex.

Magpies maddened by Moyes’ muddle

David Moyes’ West Ham is a special brand of infuriating effectiveness. The Irons have world-class players like Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus who can do things few others can claim. But that has not changed what Moyes demands from his men, who pack it in — especially with a lead — and sit waiting to counter attack. The commitment that Moyes has earned from his players, however, has led to world-class talents that are equal parts dedicated to a system and frothing when unleashed on the counter. Would West Ham be a lot more fun to watch under a lot of other managers? Yeah, but so far they are absolutely bucking the odds and the numbers. And that Kudus goal, wow. -Nicholas Mendola

Villa leave late show too late this time

Yes, they have to juggle Europe and Premier League action this season but Villa are leaving themselves a little too much to do. John McGinn scored a 94th minute winner on Thursday at Villa Park in the UEFA Europa Conference League and they almost scored a winner twice in the 101st and 102nd minute at Wolves. Villa were sluggish to start the game, perhaps a hangover from their Thursday exertions, and Wolves overpowered them out wide and in midfield until Villa woke up in the second half. Unai Emery’s side are pretty unstoppable when they’re in full flow and for the final 15 minutes they dominated the game but couldn’t find a winner. Villa are very good because of Unai Emery’s tactics but there’s also a sense that if he throws caution to the wind a little more often, they could be even better. That is Villa’s next challenge as they aim to break into the top four. - Joe Prince-Wright

Everton better and better as the game went on

Despite the fact they were 2-0 up at halftime, Everton weren’t exactly dominant up until that point. Their two goals accounted for all of 0.16 xG, according to our friends at FotMob.com, as a result of a back-breaking error and an audacious lob that wouldn’t come off on most attempts. Twelve shots for 0.86 xG (0.04 per attempt). The second half was an entirely different story, though, as they took eight (of 13) shots from inside 12 yards and amassed 1.85 xG (0.14 per attempt). Rather than take their foot off the gas and defend the way you might expect a Dyche team to do, Everton simply attacking and, at long last, looked more like the sum of all of their very talented parts. - Andy Edwards

Dyche 'very pleased' with win v. BournemouthEverton manager Sean Dyche shares his initial thoughts on his side's dominant 3-0 win over Bournemouth at Goodison Park.

Fulham finally get attacking balance right

It’s taken a couple of months but it appears Marco Silva has found how Fulham can create more chances and score more goals without Aleksandar Mitrovic. Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Alex Iwobi. and Carlos Vinicius all came into the starting lineup on Saturday and all three provided creativity, cutting edge, and drive to this Fulham attack. This trio deserved their chance to start and with Andreas Pereira getting back to his best too, this was a very comfortable win for the Cottagers. Yes, they won’t be able to replace the goals of Mitrovic with one player but this performance showed they can share the goals and responsibility around and they could have been 3-0 up in the first half. It was a bold move from Marco Silva to leave Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez out but it worked and Fulham’s balance was much better in the final third as they looked dangerous, stretched Sheffield United all over the place, and thoroughly deserved this win. - Joe Prince-Wright

Who was missing led to what was missing

Both sides had absences that led the glaring holes in their attacks. Forest produced plenty, with Morgan Gibbs-White returning to the Starting XI and creating four chances and taking two shots. But Chris Wood was quiet and Divock Origi not much better in his place, as Taiwo Awoniyi’s absence loomed large in London for the visitors. As for Palace, Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta returned but didn’t find themselves in dangerous positions. While they’ve teamed up for a goal or two already this season, they — as well as Jordan Ayew — will always be better with Eberechi Eze and/or Michael Olise on the field. Eze joined Olise on the sidelines Saturday and Matheus Franca is still yet to debut. The playmaking was minimal, and the forwards were almost starved to the extent that Forest keeper Matt Turner was only called into action on maybe a half-dozen or so occasions. Get well soon. -Nicholas Mendola