Premier League: Arsenal and Manchester City perfect as Spurs struggle and Hull City surprise

Three matches are not enough to define a Premier League season, but Arsenal and Manchester City have already established themselves as the early pace-setters, while Tottenham Hotspur’s poor start has raised serious concerns. Hull City, meanwhile, have emerged as the surprise package and Newcastle United look far stronger than expected.

Both Arsenal and Manchester City have won all three of their matches. Neither has been entirely convincing, but both are already showing the characteristics of teams others will have to chase.

Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Chelsea in Sunday’s London derby was particularly significant. They conceded after barely a minute at Emirates Stadium, yet recovered to beat the champions and underline their status as early title favourites.

The comeback suggested Arsenal may possess greater resilience than in some of their previous title challenges.

Manchester City are still working through a major rebuild, but remain unbeaten and have collected maximum points despite not yet reaching top gear. Their efficiency has been enough to keep them alongside Arsenal at the summit.

Liverpool are more difficult to assess. A draw at Newcastle United, a two-goal advantage surrendered against Nottingham Forest and a comfortable victory over Ipswich Town have left Andoni Iraola’s side unbeaten, although they still appear to be searching for the right balance.

Manchester United have taken four points from their opening three fixtures. That is not a disastrous return, particularly after Michael Carrick guided them to third place last season, but there are still warning signs around the project.

Their 5-2 victory over Ipswich showed the attacking quality United can produce when their forwards combine effectively. However, conceding twice against Everton and then allowing a 96th-minute equaliser after leading twice demonstrated that their defensive problems remain.

Carrick can point to significant attacking improvement, but United are still conceding too many goals and making matches more difficult than they need to be. The coming weeks should provide a clearer indication of whether this represents genuine progress or another false dawn.

Tottenham’s start has been considerably worse than expected. Roberto De Zerbi inherited a squad that finished 17th, while the club spent more than £300m during a major rebuilding programme. That was always likely to require time, but Spurs have so far offered almost no attacking threat.

They have scored no goals in three league matches and have only one point. Tottenham failed to score against Newcastle and Burnley before Saturday’s goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, where they did not manage a single shot on target.

De Zerbi is right to say a new team needs time to develop understanding, but such significant investment inevitably brings pressure. Spurs were expected to compete near the top of the table. Instead, they are still trying to find a way to threaten goal.

Newcastle have challenged another pre-season prediction. Matthias Jaissle inherited a team undergoing major change, particularly after the departure of three of its biggest stars, and a difficult transition had been expected.

Instead, the Magpies are unbeaten after three matches and have five points. Their performances have not been flawless: they surrendered leads against Liverpool, beat Tottenham and needed a late goal to secure a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. However, their ability to keep finding ways not to lose is encouraging as Jaissle begins to impose his ideas.

Newcastle may not challenge for the title, but they look much less likely to struggle than they did three weeks ago.

Hull City have produced the biggest surprise. The Tigers have seven points from three games, including two wins, three clean sheets and only one goal conceded an unusually strong start for a promoted side.

Sergej Jakirovic’s team held Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw on Saturday despite Villa having more possession and creating the better chances. Hull did not need to be spectacular; they simply made themselves extremely difficult to beat.

The other promoted clubs have offered less encouragement. Sunderland have four points and have shown enough to suggest they can compete, while Ipswich have three points but already appear vulnerable against stronger opposition.

For now, Hull have changed the conversation. Pre-season predictions remain useful only until the competitive football begins: Newcastle were expected to struggle, Tottenham were tipped to recover and the promoted clubs were widely expected to fight for survival.

Three weeks into the campaign, Hull are the surprise package, Newcastle are healthier than anticipated and Spurs are in serious trouble. Arsenal and Manchester City remain perfect, Manchester United are still a work in progress, and Liverpool continue to search for their identity.

The title race is far from decided, but the opening rounds have already shown which teams may surprise us and which predictions may quickly look foolish.