Arsenal take on Sunderland plus reaction to today’s Premier League results: Live updates

Arsenal won the league last season purely because of their defence. Three games in, they look as solid as ever in that department and there is lots of room for improvement further up the pitch.

This can be seen in the visualisation above from Thom Harris, which shows they allow their opposition few goalscoring opportunities compared to the rest of the division.

Bruno Guimaraes is a fantastic signing, Martin Odegaard is purring again and a fit Bukayo Saka will make a big difference. So, Mikel Arteta’s side can get better. Let’s not forget, they won last season’s title by seven points in the end.

There could still be an element of new-voice-bounce post-Guardiola for Man City under Enzo Maresca. I am unconvinced that it will sustain, but they will still be the nearest challengers. The only challengers, in fact.

Chelsea will be much better under Alonso, but you won’t win the Premier League by outscoring your opposition. They are not good enough at the back. Liverpool will be a work in progress in Andoni Iraola’s first season and Manchester United are too inconsistent.