Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland continues to make a mockery of Premier League defenders, while Liverpool built momentum with a stunning win at the death over Newcastle United.
But it’s Arsenal atop the ladder as their incredible start to the season rolls on – and fans are dreaming of something special.
Here’s all the latest analysis in our Premier League talking points!
EPL WRAP: ‘Outrageous’ freak shatters record with ‘scary’ statement; Reds stun in 98th minute chaos
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HAALAND’S STUNNING START
We’d be remiss not to start with Erling Haaland. Two hat tricks in as many games, this time guiding Man City to a 6-0 romp over Nottingham Forest. Nine goals in his first five appearances – a new Premier League record, beating the eight scored by City legend Sergio Aguero and Micky Quinn.
Pep Guardiola said: “Sergio is the legend. Nobody can break the position in the hearts of City fans, scoring the most important goal in the modern history.
“Erling has the quality to be there. It’s not about him or Sergio. What Sergio has done is amazing. But Erling has this talent.
“When City bought Erling, everybody talked about what he has done in the past. What we wanted to do is help him. Hopefully he can enjoy and score more goals.
“What he has done in Norway, Austria and Germany he tries to do here. He’s talented, we knew it.”
Andy Cole and Alan Shearer hold the record for 34 goals in a Premier League season – something which might be under threat from the 22-year-old superstar.
“I think what we want is win the titles. If the record and the goals help to win it will be perfect,” Guardiola said.
“Knowing him a little bit, I don’t know if he’d be happy breaking records if we didn’t win titles.
“I think he wants to be part of that. The better we play, he’ll have more chances to score goals.”
If he does, City might just be unstoppable.
TRANSFER NEWS
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LIVERPOOL’S INCREDIBLE RECORD
For the first time this season, we’ve witnessed Jurgen Klopp’s trademark fist-pumping celebration.
Recent signing – and newly-20-year-old – Fabio Carvalho scored in the 98th minute to seal a second win in as many games to send Klopp wild. It was Carvalho’s second goal in just five days.
“It’s a massive result, which we will remember it for years and years,” Klopp said.
“It’s a massive boost from a frustrating night,” he added. “One of the best nights we ever had, that’s how football is.”
It was night and day compared to their 9-0 win over Bournemouth last time out, but the same result.
Carvalho said: “To be fair, it’s within our DNA, we just keep going and we’ve shown that today with the fans, they’ve helped us so much.”
The late goal has truly become a part of Liverpool’s DNA under Klopp – but it stretches back beyond the German manager.
That was the 40th winning Premier League goal scored by Liverpool in the 90th minute or later – by far the most of any side.
However, for the eighth time in their last nine league games, Liverpool conceded first. It’s a serious problem, but the club is still building momentum.
Next up is a massive Merseyside derby with Everton.
GERRARD ON THE BRINK
Liverpool might have claimed victory, but it’s a very different story for club legend and Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard.
Villa lost 2-1 to Arsenal, leaving them 19th in the league and in danger of dropping to the bottom of the ladder when 20th-placed Leicester face Manchester United.
Gerrard’s men beat Everton 2-1 in their second match of the new season, but have lost all four of their other matches.
Jeers from the Arsenal fans loudly declared: “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” and Gerrard knows his job is on the line.
Asked if he worries over his future, Gerrard told BT Sport: “Of course I do.
“I am really honest and critical of myself. If I stood here and said I wasn’t concerned I think you’d look at me as though I was from a different planet.”
He was heavily backed in the transfer market and the owners must be running out of patience. Bournemouth already won the proverbial ‘sack race’ by dumping manager Scott Parker after just four matches, and rebounded with a 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Parker’s last match was a 9-0 drubbing by Liverpool. Next up for Villa is an ominous clash with Manchester City. A similarly vicious beat down could be Gerrard’s last.
GUNNERS STAY PERFECT
Invincibles 2.0?
Arsenal have gone five wins in a row to open the campaign for the first time since 2004-05, one season after their incredible unbeaten campaign in 2003-04. That year, the Gunners won their first six matches as they went on to dominate the entire competition.
You get the feeling this time around might be a little different. Perhaps more like 2004-05: that year, they finished second to a record-breaking Chelsea despite their hot start.
Still, the signs are good – very, very good. Gabriel Jesus gave Arsenal the lead with his sixth goal involvement in his first five league games for the club, breaking Mesut Ozil’s previous record of five.
After Douglas Luiz equalised, the Gunners showed plenty of guts to hit back 151 seconds later through 21-year-old Gabriel Martinelli (his third in five games).
“We are obviously really happy because we are winning football matches that we deserve to win,” Mikel Arteta said.
“The way we are performing and playing, we need to continue. Again, there are a lot of things that we have to improve and you could see that in the second half, but the way we played in the first half, the amount of chances, how much we generated, how dominant we were and the energy that we generated is really pleasing as a coach.”
Remarkably, Bukayo Saka’s cross gave him a 17th Premier League assist. Only Cesc Fabregas (38), Wayne Rooney (22) and Michael Owen (18) boasted more before their 21st birthday.
Saka turns 21 on September five, and he’ll have one more chance to add to his already impressive record.
Arsenal visit Old Trafford for a massive match against Manchester United (1.30am AEST on Mon Sep 5).
Victory could deliver a massive statement of intent from the Gunners.
