Arsenal hand Postecoglou a loss in his first Forest game, Bournemouth continue hot start

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Arsenal’s Spanish defender #36 Martin Zubimendi (R) scores the team’s third goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in London on Saturday. (AFP)
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Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade celebrates scoring their first goal during their Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers — St. James’ Park, Newcastle, Sept. 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 14 September 2025
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Arsenal hand Postecoglou a loss in his first Forest game, Bournemouth continue hot start

  • Newcastle United’s new signing Nick Woltemade enjoyed a dream debut, scoring in their 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers for their first victory of their campaign
  • Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 3-0 win over West Ham United

LONDON: Arsenal ensured former Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou endured a miserable return to English football with a 3-0 victory over his new club Nottingham Forest on Saturday, while a late Brentford goal denied Chelsea moving atop the table.

Newcastle United’s new signing Nick Woltemade enjoyed a dream debut, scoring in their 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers for their first victory of their campaign, while Bournemouth continued their strong start with a 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, and Tottenham Hotspur cruised to a 3-0 win over West Ham United.

Fulham recorded their first win of the season by beating Leeds United 1-0 thanks to a late own goal, while Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland and neither Everton nor Aston Villa could find the back of the net in a scoreless draw.

Villa have failed to score in their opening four league games of a season for the first time in their history.

Arsenal dominated at the Emirates as Martin Zubimendi’s double and Viktor Gyokeres’s tap-in gave Mikel Arteta’s men a comfortable home victory, condemning Postecoglou to defeat in his first game as Forest boss.

Spain midfielder Zubimendi struck a stunning volley in the 32nd minute and then Arsenal doubled their lead within a minute of the restart when Eberechi Eze, making his Gunners debut, laid it on a plate for Gyokeres to score his third of the season.

The game was petering out when Zubimendi put it to bed in the 79th minute with a simple header from Leandro Trossard’s cross.

“(Zubimendi) has given us a lot of positive things: his presence, his authority on the pitch, the way he connects with the players and that composure that he’s having,” Arteta said.

“If he starts to add assists and goals like this, then it’s another dimension of a player.”

Arsenal’s victory provisionally moved them to the top of the table ahead of holders Liverpool who play at Burnley on Sunday.

Chelsea looked poised to leapfrog Arsenal to the top of the table after Cole Palmer scored an equalizer in his return from a groin injury to cancel Kevin Schade’s first-half goal, and Moises Caicedo celebrated what he thought was the winner in the 85th minute.

But Fabio Carvalho poked home the equalizer from six yards out in the 93rd after Schade’s long throw-in.

“Delighted with the approach of the group, the character we constantly show,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC.

“The equalizer came very late but it’s what I felt we deserved from the game in terms of the application, the quality the players showed for large parts.”

Newcastle’s new club record signing Woltemade stole the show in Tyneside in their first game since their former hero Alexander Isak departed for Liverpool, scoring in the 29th minute when he arrived at the back post to send a header past Sam Johnstone.

“The fact we haven’t won a game puts more pressure on you in the latter stages,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe told the BBC. “The win was all that mattered but we’d love to win in a better style and score more goals.

“It was great to see Nick score on his debut. Very strong, I was very pleased with him.”

Tottenham left West Ham languishing in the bottom three, with the Hammers suffering another blow as midfielder Tomas Soucek was sent off for a dangerous tackle.

Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Micky van de Ven all scored second-half goals in Spurs’ first game since executive chairman Daniel Levy’s exit from Tottenham.

“So happy that the goal came in the second half because you never know, the momentum can change after half-time but we kept going and scored a good goal after and then 3-0 done,” Spurs boss Thomas Frank said.

“So a very good clear win, a good performance and I think we all know the derby and the importance of the game for the fans.”

At Bournemouth, Alex Scott opened scoring with a brilliant strike from outside the box in the 18th minute.

Brighton drew level in the 48th on a goal from Kaoru Mitoma but Antoine Semenyo sealed the victory for Bournemouth’s third win on the bounce with a penalty in the 61st after Evanilson was brought down.

“The mood in the camp is perfect. We can’t ask for any more, we just have to keep going,” Semenyo told the BBC.

Fulham appeared headed for another draw when Gudmundsson scored a horror own goal from a corner kick in the 94th minute, stooping to head in the ball with great force.

“An own goal in the last minute of the game so we have to feel a bit fortunate,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said.

“It was important for us to keep a clean sheet because we need to create this habit and it allowed us to go on and try to win the game.”


Flick demands more Barca ‘fight’ amid injury crisis

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Flick demands more Barca ‘fight’ amid injury crisis

“It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact — we have a lot of injured players. They are huge players, some of our key players,” Flick said
“I know, we all know, the players know we have to play much better”

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick called on his players on Saturday to show more fight while the club battles an injury crisis and struggles to reach their top level.
The Catalan giants drew 3-3 at Club Brugge on Wednesday in the Champions League and are five points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before facing Celta Vigo on Sunday.
After winning a domestic treble last season Barca have struggled for consistency in Flick’s second term as they try to cope with several absences.
They will be without Raphinha, Pedri, Joan Garcia and Gavi among others at Balaidos, while Flick said Jules Kounde was also a doubt for the game.
“It’s not an excuse, it’s a fact — we have a lot of injured players. They are huge players, some of our key players,” Flick told a news conference.
“I know, we all know, the players know we have to play much better. The important thing is that everyone (gets) back, after two or three matches, they are on a good level and can help us a lot. This is maybe a starting point again.
“Until then, and the match tomorrow is like that, we have to fight. On Wednesday we couldn’t see this fight, that we need. Hopefully tomorrow we will see it.”
Celta Vigo have won their last five games across all competitions and are in a “good mood,” according to Flick.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal was back to his best against Brugge and the coach said he had stepped up his work to recover from a niggling groin issue.
“He changed his discipline, it’s much better now, he’s really training good,” said Flick.
The 18-year-old has been called up by Spain for upcoming World Cup qualifiers and the coach asked his national team counterpart Luis de la Fuente to take care of Yamal.
In September Yamal aggravated his groin problem while with Spain and he was released from the squad for matches in October because of the same problem.
“He comes back to the best level but it’s not over, we have to take care about this injury, not only us but also the national team,” added Flick.