Stoppage time goals, dramatic sending-offs and the most unlikeliest of victories against a club which spent in excess of £300 billion in last month’s transfer window – the only thing predictable about the Premier League is its unpredictability.
That was evident once again during a weekend of Premier League highlights which provided talking points from virtually start to finish.
Nowhere was this clearer than in the opening match of the weekend as Aston Villa hosted deposed league leaders Arsenal.
When the Gunners edged out Manchester United with a late winner almost a month ago, the celebrations amongst the home contingent combined a mixture of relief but also suggested it was a defining moment in the campaign.
A potentially crucial victory in the final reckoning, yes, but some of the talk after that victory (not from the club, in fairness, more the media and fans) suggested the title was theirs to lose.
That appeared premature and, since then, as if to prove a point, they had not won a match and lost their place at the summit.
So a trip to Villa Park and their former boss, Unai Emery, was not exactly the match they would have selected to try and regain that winning feeling.
Less so when Ollie Watkins fired the hosts in front inside five minutes, the fourth consecutive match in which he had netted, to deliver another blow to Arsenal’s chances of claiming a first title in nearly 20 years.
Bukayo Saka smashed in a loose ball from 16 yards to quickly equalise but when a fine team move was finished off coolly by Philippe Coutinho, Villa had the half-time lead and Arsenal had been pretty much second best.
Even when the impressive Oleksandr Zinchenko rifled in a second equaliser just past the hour mark, it did seem as if Mikel Arteta’s men would have to settle for a point in an end-to-end contest.
Yet after Aaron Ramsdale produced a superb save to tip substitute Leon Bailey’s shot onto the crossbar, Arsenal found more fortune from an almost identical situation.
It was the third minute of stoppage time when new arrival Jorginho shot against the bar only for the ball to bounce off the head of Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and cross the line.
When Martinez went up for a Villa corner seconds later to try and rescue his team a point, Arsenal broke quickly and Gabriel Martinelli rolled the ball into an empty net with their former custodian up field.
A real boon for Arsenal and their afternoon improved markedly a few hours later when they stayed top as reigning champions Manchester City conceded late on at Nottingham Forest.
How that happened probably remains something of a mystery to City manager Pep Guardiola after his team dominated the game, completing almost three times as many passes as Forest. They registered 23 shots, six on goal, one of which Bernardo Silva rifled in first time from the edge of the box to give the visitors the lead four minutes before the interval.
At that point it felt almost inevitable that City would go on to secure victory.
Yet uncharacteristic misses cost them and, with six minutes remaining on the clock, home substitute Chris Wood tapped in to score his first Forest goal and equalise with his side’s only shot on target.
If that result defied the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds, there was arguably an even bigger shock at Stamford Bridge as managerless and rock bottom Southampton went to Chelsea and came away with all three points.
A trademark free-kick from James Ward-Prowse in first half stoppage-time earned the Premier League’s bottom club a surprise victory at Stamford Bridge.
His curling effort over the Chelsea wall and into the corner from the edge of the penalty area was his 17th direct free-kick in the Premier League.
Only David Beckham has managed more in the top flight with 18.
A serious-looking injury to Cesar Azpilicueta compounded a miserable afternoon for the home side who were booed by home supporters after the full-time whistle.
It will also increase pressure on manager Graham Potter who deserves time to bed in a raft of new signings at a club where time for managers has been at a premium over the past two decades.
Newcastle also suffered a home blow.
A 2-0 defeat to Liverpool was bad enough but to lose goalkeeper Nick Pope, sent-off after 22 minutes for a handball outside the area following a slip, means a player who has been a key factor in their revival this season will be suspended for next week’s League Cup Final.
The irony is that his replacement, Martin Dubravka, is cup-tied for Wembley having played for opponents Manchester United in an earlier round.
Talking of United, the importance of a good goalkeeper was obvious as they saw off in-form Leicester City at Old Trafford, this after the Spaniard kept out the visitors on a number of occasions on the afternoon he equalled the great Peter Schmeichel’s record of 180 clean sheets for the club.
The Foxes were fresher for spells, hardly surprising given the schedule United are in the middle of, but De Gea showed his class time and time again, as did Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Co to cement United’s place in third.
Just behind them are Spurs whose 2-0 home success over West Ham means Cristian Stellini’s record in charge is played three, won three, in the absence of boss Antonio Conte.
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