Arsenal’s treatment of Gabriel Martinelli has been questioned by Ian Wright after the Brazil forward was left out of their squad for Friday’s opening game against Coventry. Martinelli turned down a move to Galatasaray last week after Arsenal had agreed a fee with the Turkish club and the former striker Wright revealed on Sky Sports after the Coventry game that no one at the club has spoken to the 25-year-old to discuss his future. “I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say: ‘Yeah, it’s time for him to move him on.’ But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave,” said Wright. “He’s done enough with this squad to be treated with a little bit more respect than he’s being treated with at the moment.”
It was only one game after 278 for Aston Villa, accumulated over the previous six seasons – a period in which Ollie Watkins has scored 108 goals and made himself one of the most popular players in the club’s Premier League history. But the rules are the rules. Nobody can refuse to play and emerge without a mark against their character. This is the charge against Watkins, brought in none-too-subtle fashion by Unai Emery after Villa’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton – a match that Watkins missed as he considers an approach from Al-Hilal. We do not yet have Watkins’s side of the story. Or that of his agent. But given Emery had no other available No 9, it feels pretty clear the manager did not choose to omit Watkins. Villa claim they are not close to any agreement with Al-Hilal, having rejected more than one offer from them. Perish the thought that this could drag on. Villa have one more game before the window shuts – against Arsenal at home next Monday night.
Michael Carrick was limited in his options during Manchester United’s opener because Benjamin Sesko was unable to feature at any point in pre-season but Matheus Cunha was completely ineffective as a false 9. Hull’s back three enjoyed a very quiet lunchtime as they returned to the Premier League. Cunha did not embrace the physical battle and went missing, leaving United with barely any presence in the final third as they failed to threaten their opponents. Sesko was brought on to change the dynamic but was equally ineffectual, while his fellow striker Joshua Zirkzee was left on the bench, implying how little trust the coaches have in him. Carrick needs to get Sesko up to speed and sell Zirkzee soon, freeing up funds to find a better alternative if United are to compete this season, especially with the false 9 tactic looking flawed.
Manchester United were impressively unthreatening in their approach to losing at Hull. There was the odd half-baked attempt at scoring or putting a cross into a dangerous area but nothing that made the highlights reel. This was unfortunate for the Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, who had an impressive, if somewhat uncomplicated, debut between the sticks. United should have made a greater effort to test the £20m signing from Olympiakos. What duties the Greek international was forced to do were carried out with ease, instilling confidence in the defence in front of him. If he continues to look so calm and assured, Tzolakis could prove himself one of the smartest signings of the season. “We bought him and we spent some money there,” Sergej Jakirovic said. “He’s a national-team player of Greece, an Olympiakos player. If you’re following Greek football, Olympiakos, it’s a huge stress, huge pressure there, and he’s used to it. For him, I think this is like a cup of tea.”
Rayan Cherki wrested the three points in a cameo that consisted of the corner for Marc Guéhi’s equaliser and the cute pass for Josko Gvardiol’s winner. Enzo Maresca gave an insight into the Frenchman’s disquiet at not starting. “Rayan is quite a nice and clear boy, if he is not happy he wants to show it. If he’s next to me and he’s not happy, you all realise that he is not happy because he is doing anything just to show that he is not happy. I know that he was not happy today but at the end I had to take a decision,” said the manager.
At a time when some Premier League are willing to spend more than £100m on midfielders there is unlikely to be a better bargain than Mamadou Sangaré. Brentford’s new signing was excellent for Lens last season and was outstanding on his debut against Tottenham. Sangaré dominated midfield, even with Spurs able to field upwards of £175m worth of talent in Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, and his performance raised the question of why the league’s bigger clubs are not willing to look further afield for signings. Brentford, after all, paid only £39m for Sangaré. Yet it seems inevitable there will be clubs willing to pay double the price if he has a good first season in England.
As gut-wrenching as it must have been for Newcastle fans to see their side concede a stoppage-time penalty to Liverpool, at least they can take comfort that it wasn’t Alexander Isak that scored the Reds’ dramatic equaliser from 12 yards. The former Newcastle striker had a torrid time on his return to St James’ Park – booed at every touch, crunched by Lewis Hall in the tackle and sending his only real chance of note into orbit – but he would surely have fancied taking his revenge with the last kick of the game before Dominik Szoboszlai converted the 99th-minute spot-kick. Worryingly, Isak is lacking the fluency that convinced Liverpool to spend £125m last summer and with Hugo Ekitiké still sidelined with a long-term injury, Andoni Iraola doesn’t have a natural replacement at No 9. If Liverpool are to be successful this season, Isak has to turn it on.
A defensive tactical shift from the Ipswich Town manager, Gary O’Neil, demonstrated the changing nature of the Premier League. O’Neil, an astute reader of the game, chose to play the tall centre-back Dara O’Shea at right-back to counter the threat of set pieces that have become so prevalent, in Ipswich’s surprise win against Sunderland. “Aerially the Premier League is such a test now, from long throws and set pieces,” O’Neil said. “To have three centre-half types in your back four helps us from set pieces, size-wise.” In the first season since Pep Guardiola departed, the top flight is already shifting away from its neat, passing football to a different beast.
David Moyes felt his young Everton team might have been uncomfortable chasing the game against Crystal Palace and were therefore indebted to Jordan Pickford’s save from Eddie Nketiah, plus Jean-Philippe Mateta’s finishing, for not having to do so. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s guidance was instrumental too. The performance of both teams altered once the midfielder imposed himself, while his superb strike beyond Dean Henderson underlined the quality of a player who will be crucial to Everton’s aspirations. “I want to be better than last season,” said Dewsbury-Hall, who delivered eight goals and four assists in his first Premier League campaign at Everton. “That’s not just goals and assists, it’s my overall play. A couple of years ago I probably wasn’t getting goals and assists but was influential in play. I want to mix that together and when you do that that’s when you become a complete midfielder. I know I have the ability to do it so fingers crossed I do.”
