Arsenal and Chelsea put perfect Premier League starts on the line

Arsenal and Chelsea will put their 100% Premier League records on the line when they meet at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, while Tottenham Hotspur are seeking an urgent response after a disastrous opening to the season.

The defending champions and Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea are among four teams to have won both of their league matches so far, alongside Manchester City and newly promoted Hull. Tottenham are bottom of the table before their trip to Nottingham Forest, while Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola is still waiting for his first victory.

Arsenal have begun their title defence in the same uncompromising fashion with which they ended last season. Their 1-0 success at Aston Villa last weekend followed a 3-0 opening-day win against Coventry and represented their sixth clean sheet in seven Premier League matches.

Manager Mikel Arteta has also been encouraged by the form of England winger Bukayo Saka. The forward has scored twice already after an injury-disrupted 2025/26 campaign.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have made an impressive start to the Alonso era, winning three matches in all competitions. They have looked threatening in attack but less secure defensively.

The new attacking trio of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have scored five of Chelsea’s seven league goals in victories over Fulham and Brighton. However, former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid manager Alonso will want his side to improve at the other end after conceding five times in those two games.

History also favours Arsenal. Chelsea have failed to win any of their past nine Premier League meetings with the Gunners before Sunday’s fixture at Emirates Stadium.

Tottenham’s attempt to halt their slide comes at City Ground on Saturday, where they face a Nottingham Forest side that defeated them twice last season.

Spurs, who have finished 17th in each of the past two campaigns, began this season with a 3-0 loss against Brentford and then followed it with a 2-0 defeat by Newcastle. More than £350m was spent during the summer transfer window in an effort to reset the club, with high-profile arrivals including Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Savio.

Despite the poor results, manager Roberto De Zerbi remains confident Tottenham can avoid another relegation battle.

“After two defeats, maybe somebody can think it’s the same story, the same as the last two seasons,” he said.

“I have no doubt it’s not like this. I think I can’t change my opinion after two defeats. I have a big, big confidence in the qualities of my players.”

Liverpool are also yet to win under new manager Iraola after draws against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

France forward Bradley Barcola could make his debut against newly promoted Ipswich on Friday, having joined Liverpool from Paris Saint-Germain this week in a deal worth up to £124m.

He is the latest major addition to an expensive Liverpool attack that also features Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, while Hugo Ekitike is currently injured. Yet Liverpool have conceded four goals in their first two matches, pointing to concerns elsewhere in the team.

“It does not look like a balanced squad,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. “Liverpool are short in the full-back areas and probably a midfield player as well.”

Iraola said earlier this week that he was pleased the summer transfer window had closed.

“Once the market is closed, we know who we are,” he said on Thursday. “I think we have a lot of talent in this group of players.

“Now we have to perform, we have to do our job and we have to start from tomorrow.”