With Aston Villa-Manchester United moments from kickoff, we take a few moments to look back on the Premier League’s first set of Saturday results. Here are the day’s Snap Judgments:
Arsenal 3-3 Fulham - Mark Schwarzer’s save on Mikel Arteta’s 94th-minute penalty perserved the result for Fulham, the Cottagers putting three goals past what used to be the league’s best defense. Defending was the one thing Arsenal could do at the beginning of the season, but having given up 12 goals in their last four games, the Gunner’s defense has assumed the attack’s former struggles.
Impact - Right next to each other. That’s where they started the day, and there’s where they’ll end it. Arsenal and Fulham are seventh and eighth in England, both on 19 points. For Fulham, it’s what they’d homed for when the season began. For Arsenal, it’s reason to improve.
Everton 2-1 Sunderland - What a mixed bag for Sunderland fans. They played much better than why had in recent weeks, but with a goal and an assist from Marouane Fellani in a three-minute span of the second half, the Black Cats were unable to make Adam Johnson’s opener hold up. Sunderland fans can take solace in the fact that, although it seems like we’re well into the season, they have 28 matches in front of them. There’s still time.
Impact - Everton temporarily sit fourth, a lofty perch for the habitual slow starters. David Moyes says this is his best Everton team, and it shows. Sunderland, however, will likely finish the round in 16th place.
Reading 0-0 Norwich City - Perhaps the least surprising result of the day. Reading has been scrappy but ineffective all season. Norwich has been bad with two tinges of good. Their meeting produced only three shots on goal, the Royals left waiting for their first win upon return to the Premier League.
Impact - The Royals have yet to show they belong in the Premier League. They sit 18th, while Norwich, despite a worse goal difference, remains 15th.
Southampton 1-1 Swansea City - Saints manager Nigel Adkins placed a lot of importance on this match, so he’ll likely be disappointed with defender Maya Yoshida, who had the ball taken from him by Nigel Dyer ahead of Swansea’s second half equalizer. It was another decent performance with no victory for Southampton, who may have no choice but to persist and hope.
Impact - Southampton climb out of the basement and into 19th while Swansea, having lost only one in five, stay mid-table.
Stoke City 1-0 Queens Park Rangers - The only other team besides Reading who have failed to win is Mark Hughes’ well-funded Rangers, who fell to 20th place with Saturday’s loss. Time has to be running out for the QPR boss, whereas Stoke appear to have re-group after last season’s struggles.
Impact - Despite scoring only nine times in 11 games, Stoke sits 12th. After today’s result, Hughes may not make it to Saturday’s match at Loftus Road. If he does, the match versus Southampton becomes a must-win.
Wigan Athletic 1-2 West Bromwich Albion - We’re too early in the season to call this more than a hot start, but with three strong points from the DW, West Brom is even with Everton in fourth place. Where did this come from?
Whether you think West Brom can maintain that stature likely influences how you feel about Wigan’s result. If you see West Brom falling back at some point, today was a missed opportunity for Wigan.
Impact - West Brom gave another indication they intend to compete for Europe, while Wigan, regardless of the result, remains ahead of their usual pace (currently sitting 14th).