Online Reporter
SOMETHING has to give when Arsenal host Chelsea in the English Premier League football this weekend, with both teams putting their 100 percent records on the line, while Tottenham are desperate to stop the rot.
Defending champions Arsenal and Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea are among four sides to have won their first two league games this season, along with Manchester City and newly-promoted Hull.
Spurs are bottom of the table as they prepare to face Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal have started their Premier League title defence as they finished last season — looking impenetrable.
Last week’s 1-0 win at Aston Villa, following their opening 3-0 victory over Coventry, was a sixth clean sheet in seven league matches.
Another bonus for manager Mikel Arteta is the form of England winger Bukayo Saka, who has scored twice already following an injury-disrupted 2025/26 campaign.
Chelsea have launched the Xabi Alonso era with three wins in all competitions, looking dangerous in attack but vulnerable at the back.
The club’s new attacking trio of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have scored five of the team’s seven league goals in victories against Fulham and Brighton.
But former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss Alonso will be keen to tighten up his team’s defence, which has conceded five goals in those games.
Recent history is against Chelsea, who are winless in nine Premier League games against Arsenal ahead of tomorrow’s clash at the Emirates.
Roberto De Zerbi is certain Tottenham will avoid another embarrassing relegation battle despite a calamitous start to the season.
The north London club, who have finished a lowly 17th in successive campaigns, lost their opener against Brentford 3-0 before a 2-0 defeat by Newcastle.
The club spent more than £350 million in the summer transfer window in an attempted reset, with a clutch of high-profile arrivals including Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio.
But there is scant evidence that things are improving as they prepare to face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground today — a team that beat them twice last season.
De Zerbi, who arrived in late March, remains upbeat despite his team’s woes.
“After two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons,” he said.
“I have no doubt it’s not like this. I think I can’t change my opinion after two defeats. I have a big, big confidence in the qualities of my players.”
Meanwhile, Richarlison may have played his last match for Tottenham after he was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad list on Thursday.
Spurs manager De Zerbi, speaking following a 2-0 home defeat by Newcastle on Saturday, insisted Richarlison had “said too many times he wants to leave” and could bid farewell to the London club before the summer transfer window closed.
The Brazil forward released an incendiary social media post on Monday where he claimed “never again will anyone decide my future for me”.
But talks over a potential return to Premier League rivals Everton, where he played from 2018 to 2022, stalled before Tuesday’s deadline in England.
Other transfer windows around the world remain open, however, and Trabzonspor have been linked with Richarlison ahead of yesterday’s deadline in Turkey.
Richarlison, who currently remains a Spurs player, made his feelings clear on Monday, with a remarkable outburst 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,” he said.
“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 have been through far worse, believe me.
“I’ve always made it clear, every time I had the chance, that leaving for another club would only happen if it was also good for the club. If it wasn’t, I would never accept it. Just like I didn’t accept it when everything was going badly and they needed me.
“I stayed and gave everything. So, I hope they treat my situation with the same respect I’ve always shown Spurs and everyone who worked with me during this period. Just don’t try to decide for me.”
The 29-year-old has struggled to make an impact at Tottenham since his move to north London four years ago.
Richarlison, who has been candid in the past about his mental health struggles, scored 12 goals during the 2025/26 campaign as Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
FIXTURES (all 4pm GMT unless stated)
Today: Newcastle v Bournemouth (1:30pm), Brentford v Sunderland, Brighton v Leeds, Fulham v Crystal Palace, Manchester City v Coventry, Nottingham Forest v Tottenham, Hull v Aston Villa (6:30pm)
Tomorrow: Everton v Manchester United (3pm), Arsenal v Chelsea (5:30pm) — AFP Sport.
