We are now 7 weeks into the Premier League campaign and Arsenal are in third place on 17 points. In those 7 matches, Arsenal won 5 and drew 2. Now let’s take a look back at the details, highlights and things to watch out for in these exciting matches.
Arsenal 2-0 Wolves
Arsenal started the 2024/25 Premier League season almost perfectly with a 2-0 win over Wolves. In contrast, this was a historic loss for Wolves. For the first time in their history, the Wolves lost on the opening day of four consecutive league seasons. Let’s review the thrilling Arsenal match in the first week of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
First of all, in the first half, Arsenal’s players grabbed the upper hand. In the 25th minute, Kai Havertz received a precise pass from his teammate Bukayo Saka and scored the opening goal.
In the second half of the match, the Wolves tried to change their tactics to improve their attack. However, Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya made several great saves. For example, he reacted quickly to deny a header from Jorgen Strand Larsen just as it looked set to go in.
As the game progressed to the 74th minute, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka once again worked perfectly together. Havertz assisted Saka, who scored to seal the victory.
This win marks a strong start for Arsenal in the new season and is their third consecutive win in opening matches.
According to the post-match interview, despite Arsenal’s victory, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta pointed out that there was a clear lack of control by the Arsenal team in the second half. They need to make adjustments in the upcoming matches.
On the other hand, Gary O’Neil, the manager of the Wolves, thought that although the Wolves didn’t win, their tactics posed a threat to Arsenal’s players and it was a good performance.
Arsenal’s victory in this match could not be achieved without the players Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. They assisted each other on the field of play and worked seamlessly together. Bukayo Saka had previously suffered a loss in the final of the European Championships. However, it was clear that the previous failure did not affect him. He still showed his excellent skills and powerful attacking force in the game.
This game also puts Arsenal in second place in the EPL table after the first week.
Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal match with Villa was Arsenal’s first away match. They won 2-0 against Aston Villa, continuing their winning start in the Premier League. This victory puts Arsenal at the top of the EPL table with Manchester City and Brighton. Aston Villa, meanwhile, is in 12th place of the EPL table.
Coaches’ Duel: A Rematch
Another point of interest in the Arsenal match with Villa is the duel between the two managers again. Earlier in April, Mikel Arteta‘s side (Arsenal) lost 0-2 to Unai Emery‘s side (Aston Villa) at home. And, interestingly, Emery is a former coach of Arsenal. This means that he will be immensely familiar with the Arsenal match tactics and players’ style. Therefore, whether Arteta can effectively guide Arsenal and successfully avenge Emery has become one of the biggest attractions of this Arsenal match with Villa. Facts tell us that Arteta’s tactics are effective. Arsenal kept its control ability and fast counterattack style, and finally won in a tense match.
Arsenal Match Details with Villa
In the fist half of the Arsenal match with Villa, Arsenal did not show their best. Aston Villa’s defense seemed unbreakable. But Arteta quickly adjusted his tactics in the second half and brought on substitute Leandro Trossard. Leandro Trossard didn’t let him down. He scored just 110 seconds after he came on with a great edge of the box shot. This was also his opening goal.
Thomas Partey then collected a pass from Bukayo Saka in the 77th minute. He took a stunning long range shot and managed to score to seal the set piece for Arsenal. Martin Odegaard had a great chance to score. However, after receiving a pass from Declan Rice, his shot from inside the box was too high to score.
For Aston Villa, they had a number of scoring chances in the game but failed to capitalize on them. In the first half, Ollie Watkins’ header was parried away by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Historical Significance
This was Arsenal’s ninth away Premier League match in 2024. It was also the first time in Arsenal’s history that they won their first league match in three seasons. Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka became the third youngest player to win 100 Premier League matches at the age of 22 years and 354 days.
Arsenal 1-1 Brighton
Arsenal vs Brighton let Arsenal fail to take all three points in their first game of the season. They drew 1-1, marking their first dropped points in 2024. Arsenal had won their previous two games, so the draw meant their winning streak was broken.
What happened?
Arsenal’s loss could be linked to Declan Rice‘s red card. Arsenal were leading the game at the first half of the macth. Kai Havertz scored a goal in the 38th minute, assisted by Bukayo Saka, to make it a one-point game. This lead, however, was compromised by two yellow cards for Declan Rice. After the 38th minute of the game, Declan Rice was shown a yellow card for a clumsy late challenge. Then, just three minutes into the second half, Declan Rice was shown a red card for two yellow cards. After that, Brighton took advantage of the extra player. João Pedro scored, earning Brighton a point. Both teams have seven points from three games, with Brighton sitting top of the EPL table on goal difference.
Controversial second yellow card
Declan Rice was unfortunately shown a red card. Declan Rice’s second yellow card sparked controversy. The referee penalized him for disrupting Joel Veltman’s free kick. However, a Brighton defender kicked Rice afterward but did not receive a yellow card. The referee’s action caused offence to some fans.
Afterwards, Declan Rice said that he was not unhappy with the referee’s decision despite the controversy.
Arsenal unfortunately lost their chance to make it three wins in a row. But this small defeat will not affect their performance in the coming matches.
Spurs 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal beat Spurs 1-0 in a crisis. Despite Spurs attempted to score at the start of the game, they failed to broke Arsenal’s excellent goalkeeper’s strong defense line. Besides, Spurs’ player Kulusevski was still trying in the final stages of the game, but his shot just missed the crossbar. In the end it was not enough to equalise and score.
Arsenal returned to winning ways. But it wasn’t a easy win. They faced huge potential risks. Firstly, Declan Rice was sent off for a red card in matchweek 3. In the previous game, this incident led directly to Arsenal’s loss. Secondly, there are the injuries to players. New signing player Mikel Merino is out with a shoulder injury. And, Martin Odegaard suffered an ankle injury whilst representing Norway at international level. Unluckily, Bukayo Saka, who had assisted in four consecutive matches, was also injured. He expressed worries about the upcoming schedule, especially the match against Man City.
Man City 2-2 Arsenal
Manchester City, as the other favourite to win the Premier League, is definitely a tough opponent for Arsenal. Especially, Arsenal have a huge disadvantage in this match. They only had 10 players. Actually, with 10 men against City, 2-2 is a very good result. I believe if they meet again in the following matches, Arsenal will probably beat Man City. Now, let’s briefly review the details of this match.
Erling Haaland scored a goal in the first 9 minutes, assisted by Sovinho. However, Arsenal fought back immediately, scoring two goals in quick succession from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Martinelli. Unfortunately, in the final seconds of the half, Leandro Trossard was controversially cautioned for delaying the restart of the game and shown a second yellow card. This caused Arsenal have to play for 45 minutes with only 10 players. In the end, Arsenal scored six goals in the seven added minutes before half time but John Stones equalised to prevent Arsenal from winning.
The match was exciting, intense and trhlling. The atmosphere was tense, with frequent clashes between the two sides, and Arsenal’s quick attacks and tactical time delays infuriated City. I’m looking forward to the next Man City v Arsenal game.
Arsenal 4-2 Leicester
It was another thrilling race. Both sides had come close to winning many times and were chased down by the other side. So, let’s take a look at how the Arsenal scored a 4-2 win over the Leicester in the intense match.
Arsenal reached a 2-0 lead at half time. Goals were kicked by Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard at 20th minutes and 45th minutes of the game respectively. If you had only watched the first half of the game, you might have thought that Arsenal were going to win this game. But what you didn’t expect was that Leicester didn’t let the unfavourable first half affect them at all. They showed their amazing strength in the second half.
In the second half, James Justin helped Leicester to equalise with two shots on target. Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen was outstanding in the second half, making several saves from Arsenal’s shots to keep his team on level terms and forcing Arsenal into extra time.
However, Arsenal came back to win 4-2 with two goals in extra time. A perfect end to the afternoon.
Arsenal 3-1 Southampton
Arsenal have never lost to Southampton before. But last week’s match seemed to highlight the possibility of a Southampton victory at the start.
Arsenal failed to score a single goal in the first half. Southampton seemed to have a solid defence, and Arsenal’s attempts at attack were unsuccessful. And shortly after the start of the second half, Southampton’s Cameron Archer kicked a goal, and the situation was tense. Luckily, Kai Havertz got an assist from Bukayo Saka to equalise the score for Arsenal. It’s worth noting that this is Bukayo Sak’s seventh consecutive game with an assist.
The Arsenal players at the back seemed to be motivated. Goal after goal. Firstly another assist from Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli managed to score. Then, two minutes before the end of the game, Bukayo Saka scored another goal. Bukayo Saka’s performance in this game was perfect. The injury he sustained a while ago didn’t seem to affect his form at all. If you ask me who is Arsenal’s best assist, I would say Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal are currently holding on to third place in the table, and a win in this game would mean their 400th EPL home win.
Next up for Arsenal is the International Day. For more on Arsenal’s fixtures check here:
Arsenal Match in Premier League: Full Schedule and Latest Fixtures
