Manchester United’s defensive alarm bells are already ringing, Tottenham’s mega-money rebuild has produced more questions than goals, and is there a little justice for Ange Postecoglou in it all?
Meanwhile, history says newly-promoted Hull City may already be on their way to safety after a stunning start to life back in the top flight.
All of this and more in the latest edition of Premier League Talking Points.
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UNITED’S DEFENSIVE ALARM BELLS
Manchester United’s defensive frailties are already threatening to undermine Michael Carrick’s side just three games into the new Premier League season.
Hopes that a thumping 5-2 win over Ipswich would prove the spark for United were quickly checked at Everton, where Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck in the 96th minute to snatch a 2-2 draw.
It leaves United with just one win from their opening three games, having also suffered a 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City on the opening weekend.
While there have been encouraging signs going forward, particularly against Everton, it is at the other end where the alarm bells are beginning to ring.
United have already leaked six goals through the opening three rounds, with only four Premier League sides enduring a worse defensive start.
More concerningly, it is just the second time in the last 50 years United have conceded at least two goals in each of their opening three league games of a season, having also done so in 2020-21.
For Carrick, the problem, and the solution, is obvious.
“We need to concede fewer goals to give us a better chance of winning games.”
Carrick was left to rue his side’s misfortune at the Hill Dickinson Stadium after twice getting themselves into a winning position.
“They’re two fantastic strikes from in and outside the box, so they don’t go in too often. I thought we did a lot of good things in the game to get us in the position we were in twice,” he told the BBC.
“Some of our attacking play was really good and we looked dangerous and did a lot of things that we were trying to do. And for the most part, I thought we dealt with them quite well.
“It hurts as we came here to win and we put ourselves in a good position.”
United legend Wayne Rooney also saw plenty to like despite the frustrating result, particularly in midfield.
“I thought it was a good away performance. There was a lot more control. The midfield three were really good,” Rooney said on BBC Sport.
“They’ll be frustrated they haven’t won the game, given the performance.”
There was more control for periods, but that will offer only so much comfort given the investment made over the summer.
United spent £155 million reshaping their midfield in part to give Carrick’s side greater control of matches, yet when the pressure arrived late at Everton, it looked like the same old United.
Twice they led and twice they were pegged back, with their defensive vulnerabilities ultimately undoing much of the good work that came before.
And the difficulty is about to ramp up significantly.
United next face Manchester City, who have made a perfect 3-0 start to the season and sit top of the Premier League table.
If Carrick cannot quickly find the balance between United’s improved attacking play and a defence that has already been breached six times, their uneven start could become far more concerning.
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ALL THE MONEY, NO IDEA?
Tottenham finally spent like Ange Postecoglou had hoped, only they did it after the Australian was gone.
More than €350 million (A$564m) has been poured into Spurs’ rebuild this summer, but three Premier League games into the new campaign there is still no sign of a return on that enormous investment.
Tottenham remain winless and remarkably, are yet to score a single league goal.
Their 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest means Spurs have failed to find the net in their opening three league matches for the first time since 1973.
They are not alone in their struggles, either, with Tottenham, Aston Villa and Coventry becoming the first three teams in Premier League history to all fail to score across the opening three rounds of the same season.
But given the scale of Tottenham’s summer spending, their struggles are particularly glaring.
Against Forest, Spurs again found themselves in promising positions without producing the quality required to turn them into goals.
Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy believes there were signs of what is going wrong.
“When Spurs did get in really good areas, they just rushed it and shot when they maybe should’ve passed,” Murphy told BBC Sport.
“They made the wrong choice on pullbacks or crosses when they’re getting in wide areas, taking men on one too many times when they’ve already got the space.
“They were just missing that little bit of calmness and composure that you expect from top quality players.”
Murphy did, however, caution that Tottenham’s heavily revamped squad will need time to develop the combinations required in attack.
“It takes time for some players [to find chemistry],” he said.
“From a midfielder to a forward perspective, you’re not always sure what they’re going to do. Whereas if you played with someone for a while, it comes more naturally. So those relationships will build.”
There is also an uncomfortable Postecoglou subplot to Tottenham’s nightmare start.
While the club he once led is winless and goalless after finally spending heavily on the squad, the Australian has made a flying start to his latest chapter alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
Three games is far too early to write off a €350m overhaul, and there have been glimpses of what Tottenham are trying to build.
But after spending big to transform the squad, zero wins and zero goals is about as concerning a start as Spurs could have imagined.
HISTORY SAYS HULL ARE ALREADY SAFE
Three games into their Premier League return and history suggests Hull City may have already taken a giant step towards survival.
The newly promoted side sit third with seven points from their opening three matches and remain the only Premier League team yet to concede a goal this season.
More importantly, no promoted side in Premier League history has ever been relegated after collecting at least seven points from its opening three games.
Only three teams overall have gone down after making such a strong start, putting Hull in remarkably encouraging territory just weeks into their return to the top flight.
Their success has been built on an extraordinary defensive record.
Hull’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa delivered a third consecutive clean sheet, making them just the third promoted side to achieve that feat at the beginning of a Premier League campaign after Charlton in 1998-99 and Huddersfield in 2017-18.
And Australian young gun Lucas Herrington continues to play his part.
The defender was introduced in the 71st minute against Villa and completed all five of his passes while adding a block and tackle to help preserve another clean sheet.
Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic has been glowing in his assessment of the Australian.
“For me he is excellent, great potential,” Jakirovic said of Herrington.
“I don’t have any fear when he is on the pitch.”
Hull’s start becomes even more remarkable considering how they are doing it.
Herrington’s Hull draw with Villa | 03:21
They have averaged just 29 per cent possession, with only one Premier League side recording less since possession records began in 2003-04.
Instead, Jakirovic has built a side comfortable defending without the ball and brutally difficult to break down, with Hull yet to concede across 270 minutes of Premier League football.
The club backed its promotion by making 18 signings for around £150m during the summer, more additions than any other Premier League club, and Jakirovic was rewarded with a new two-year contract extension on Friday.
There is an awfully long way to go, but seven points, three clean sheets and third place represents a dream return to the Premier League.
And if history is anything to go by, Herrington and Hull may already have done something no promoted side has previously come back from, put enough early points on the board to beat the drop.
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ARSENAL MAKE LONDON RIVALS THEIR OWN
Arsenal laid down an early marker in the Premier League title race by coming from behind to end Chelsea’s promising start under Xabi Alonso and keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the table.
The Gunners’ normally impenetrable defence was breached inside two minutes by the Blues, but they roared back for a 2-1 win to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Chelsea had kicked off Alonso’s reign in free-scoring fashion, beating Fulham and Brighton in the top flight while netting seven times and easing past Luton in the League Cup.
And when Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead with a stylish early volley, it appeared the Alonso revolution was in full swing.
In fact, the goal saw Chelsea become the first team in Premier League history to score inside the opening five minutes of each of their first three games of a season.
But Arsenal are a far tougher proposition than Chelsea’s previous opponents, as they proved with a stirring fightback.
Kai Havertz exposed the flaws in Alonso’s three-man central defence as he drifted to the edge of the area for a low drive that eluded Emiliano Martinez’s attempted save.
Chelsea’s vaunted attack of Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro was largely held in check after its opening salvo by an Arsenal defence featuring a first start for Ezri Konsa.
The maturity and cutting edge of Mikel Arteta’s men came to the fore again in the 50th minute when Martin Odegaard capped a flowing move with a clinical winner.
Arsenal rally as Everton stun United | 02:05
Perhaps most ominously for Arsenal’s title rivals, they are doing it despite failing to land the marquee attacking addition they chased during the summer.
The Gunners missed out on Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez during the transfer window, leaving questions over whether they had enough firepower to defend their Premier League crown.
So far, the answer has been emphatic.
Odegaard, Havertz and Bukayo Saka are all fit and firing again, helping Arsenal reel off three consecutive Premier League victories without the big-name attacking arrival many felt Arteta needed.
And their latest victory also continued a remarkable shift in one of London’s biggest rivalries.
The Gunners are now unbeaten in their last 10 Premier League meetings with Chelsea and have won five consecutive home league games against the Blues.
It is another indication of just how far the balance of power has shifted in the capital, with Arsenal turning a once fiercely contested rivalry increasingly in their favour.
For Alonso, it was an early lesson in the level required to challenge the Premier League’s leading sides.
For Arsenal, three wins from three without the marquee summer signing they wanted is an ominous reminder that the champions remain the team to beat.
$655M SPREE… BUT IS IT ENOUGH?
Chelsea spent £349 million ($655m AUD) during the summer transfer window, but Sunday’s defeat to Arsenal exposed an uncomfortable question over whether Xabi Alonso has enough in the areas that matter.
The Blues ended the 2-1 loss with Reece James and Malo Gusto, two players who began their careers as right-backs, playing alongside each other in midfield.
James has spent time in midfield before and Alonso believes he has the ability to become one of the world’s best in the position, but being forced to turn to Gusto highlighted the lack of depth behind Chelsea’s first-choice options.
“Chelsea don’t have European football this season so they’re playing less games and can concentrate on the Premier League,” former England international Ashley Young told BBC Sport.
“But the worry is you’re finishing a game against the champions, and you’ve got two right-backs in midfield.”
Young believes the issue could become increasingly apparent against the Premier League’s better sides.
“The front line are going to send fear throughout the league but behind that you see the midfield and they’re playing right-backs there,” he added.
The absence of Moises Caicedo has quickly exposed Chelsea’s lack of midfield depth, particularly after selling Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125m without securing a direct replacement.
Caicedo’s return from injury lasted just 11 minutes against Brighton before he suffered another setback, with Alonso admitting Chelsea may have brought the midfielder back too soon.
“Probably last week we brought him back too early and I don’t want to make the same mistake again,” Alonso said.
Chelsea tried to add another midfielder before the window closed, with a £47m move for Monaco’s Lamine Camara collapsing late, while bids worth up to £64m for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott were also rejected.
Their attacking firepower has helped cover some of the cracks early in Alonso’s tenure, with Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro giving Chelsea plenty of threat going forward.
But the numbers at the other end are less convincing.
Alonso’s side have now conceded seven goals across their opening three Premier League matches, while Arsenal were able to punish the spaces in Chelsea’s midfield and defence to hand the new manager his first defeat.
“We want to be tighter,” Alonso admitted.
The lack of European football this season should give Chelsea more room to manage a squad that suddenly looks thinner in key areas than its enormous summer spending would suggest.
After spending another $655m in the summer, Chelsea certainly aren’t short on talent.
But Sunday showed they might still be short where it matters.
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ISAK’S HOT START CONTINUES
Alexander Isak’s three Premier League goals this season already match his tally from an injury-disrupted first campaign at Liverpool.
The Swedish international struggled to live up to expectations following his English-record £125 million (A$234m) move from Newcastle, with his difficult debut season playing a role in Liverpool’s fall from champions to scraping into the top five.
But after showing flashes of his best at the World Cup, a full pre-season appears to have made all the difference.
Isak struck twice inside the opening nine minutes against Ipswich on Friday night to secure Andoni Iraola’s first victory as Liverpool manager and continue his impressive start to the campaign.
“This year finally I had a normal pre-season. Last year was not easy. It was a long injury, a difficult season in general,” Isak said.
“I was thinking just to have a good World Cup, and have a pre-season. Last season now behind me, and it’s good.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk believes there was never any doubt over Isak’s ability.
“I don’t think the quality is anything that we doubt,” Van Dijk said.
“We’ve seen how good he is playing against him and now he’s going to show the world with a Liverpool shirt as well.”
There are also early signs that Iraola’s system could unlock the striker who terrorised Premier League defences during his time at Newcastle.
“Absolutely [it suits me],” Isak said of Iraola’s style.
Isak double leads Reds to 1st win | 01:52
“Partly, I like that we counter and attack when the team is a bit organised. But it also feels a bit like Liverpool’s identity, always attacking and exploiting counter-attacks. So it suits us all.”
And Isak is not the only Liverpool attacker enjoying the new era.
He and Cody Gakpo have combined for seven goals and assists through the opening three Premier League matches, providing an encouraging foundation for Iraola’s new-look attack.
After a nightmare first year at Anfield, Liverpool might finally be seeing the £125m striker they thought they were buying.