Welcome to Luis Miguel Echegaray’s brand new column for Yahoo Sports. Each week, LME brings his unique voice and perspective to the biggest stories in world soccer. Today, he breaks down Saturday’s action and the return of the Premier League after the international break — from Arsenal’s impressive squad and victory to Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez standout performance.
Arsenal, nagged with injuries, continue to impress
On Saturday, Arsenal kicked off the weekend’s Premier League action as Mikel Arteta’s men hosted Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees had just said goodbye to Nuno Espírito Santo earlier in the week and almost immediately welcomed Ange Postecoglou so they entered Emirates Stadium in transition, knowing full well that the last thing they wanted was a trip to a place they had never won a Premier League game. It also didn’t help that Postecoglou had only two training sessions before this game, but again, I criticized Forest’s decision to fire and hire so late in the international break so they have only themselves to blame. They were right to be worried about their trip to North London because Arsenal came out victorious with a straightforward 3-0 result, making it a seventh straight home win in all competitions against Forest with an aggregate score of 21-2. With those three points, the Gunners went top of the table, at least temporarily until other results came to surface.
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But here’s my biggest point about the win and how it differs from any other season, hence why I am bullish about Arsenal’s legitimate run for the Premier League title. They finally have a squad that can generate results and create a Championship-level identity. You couldn’t say that last season. Rotation is now a welcomed word.
In this game, for example, Arsenal didn’t have the services of Bukayo Saka or William Saliba — two key players in the starting XI. In addition, Christian Norgaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were also out whilst Declan Rice didn’t even start the game against Forest. To make matters worse, the incredibly important Martin Ødegaard had to come off injured due to his ongoing shoulder problem. So Arsenal do have a waiting list in the treatment table.
But thanks to the great work of their new sporting director Andrea Berta, who did a wonderful job in the transfer market this summer, Arsenal now have new names that not only fill a space, but they can also deliver. Eberechi Eze, in his home debut Saturday, earned an assist, providing a goal for their other summer signing Viktor Gyôkeres, who scored for the third time this season. That was in between two goals from another new player, Martín Zubimendi, who bagged his first-ever brace Saturday, which included a fantastic volley to open the scoring.
Then there’s Noni Madueke, who could just be the pick of the lot. His move to Arsenal from Chelsea was a masterstroke because in every game, he causes so much mayhem on the right wing, a place usually occupied by the aforementioned Saka. With the added fusion of his work with England, he is currently going through the best moment of his career. And to think that just before the transfer, there was actually a group of Arsenal fans who were fully against the move and even made an actual #NOTOMADUEKE petition in order to nullify the transfer. I do believe Noni deserves your apologies.
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And we haven’t even talked about Myles Lewis-Skelly or the impressive new Ecuador center back Piero Hincapié or even the young stars Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.
So you get my point. This is a very deep squad, an impressive one, that hopefully — for the sake of Arteta and Arsenal fans — is ready to face anything thrown at them. The aim, of course, is the Premier League title.
Bournemouth: Andoni Iraola’s Cherries blossoming
Thanks to an Antoine Semenyo penalty (questionable?) and an Alex Scott opener, Bournemouth won 2-1 against Brighton, who did suffer some key injuries in the opening thirty minutes. Regardless, Vitality Stadium was rocking as the Cherries have started their season in wonderful fashion. After losing the first game of the season to Liverpool — a performance, by the way, that pushed the defending champions until the final minutes — they have now won three straight league games and ended the day in fourth**** place in the table.
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To be honest, this impressive start isn’t shocking because we could all see what Andoni Iraola was building from the get-go, especially last season. What is impressive is the manner of the victories and the squad’s level of cohesion and togetherness.
“We’ve got our structure, we all know what we are doing and it’s a credit to the lads that the club have brought in. Unbelievable,” said Scott after the game, speaking of the team and the new arrivals to the club. “They have settled in so well and we are playing like we know we can.”
This summer, Bournemouth spent £120 million on new players, which is around the middle of the table when discussing expenditure, but they also generated approximately £206 million in player sales, notably Ilya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez, who went to Liverpool. So this is a well run club with great ambition but the ultimate key to it all is Iraola, whose system is so well suited to the players he has at his disposal. There’s no superstar at Bournemouth, but there are some really, really talented, extremely agile and technically gifted players with a lot of promise.
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Veljko Milosavljević, the 18-year-old Serbian who came from Red Star Belgrade for £13 million, is a good example. He replaced the injured Bafodé Diakité (also a new arrival and the club’s second most expensive signing) on Saturday and helped his side with a strong win against the Seagulls. And he had only three sessions prior to Saturday. This type of unity and tactical understanding permeates throughout the team. Then you have impressive players such as Antoine Semenyo who on his best day can do just about anything. He earned an assist and a goal. Evanilson is another one who is good at leading the front line. Now, I won’t go on because I know that Iraola wants cold water to be poured on any kind of premature hype.
“It’s a good start, it’s a good amount of points but still we have our moments,” he said after the win. “We will make mistakes. We need to build still. Everyone is getting more minutes but every game is costing us a lot. We are managing well but if we don’t keep the focus these small details can go the other way. We have to stay humble.”
And the Basque manager is correct, there’s a long way to go, especially when you apply a high-press system that often challenges itself in a marathon-esque Premier League season.
But as far as this early start is concerned? The cherries are indeed blossoming.
Villa fans: All is forgiven, ‘Dibu’
If you know me and my work, you will be aware of my unconditional love for Aston Villa Football Club. It’s a good thing that it’s unconditional because this start of the season has been less than desired. On Saturday, Unai Emery’s side drew 0-0 against an in-form Everton and earned a hard-fought point despite the fact that they’re still searching for their first goal, which is an unwanted hunt that stands alone across England’s top four divisions. There’s sadly a desperate need to spark creativity as fans are getting restless and to make matters worse, players that are usually depended on to create this bolt of offensive lightning are not delivering. Morgan Rogers, for example, who had a great international break with England, has been very flat for his club. I think it has come to the point that Emery should bench him, just so he can realize that his place in the starting XI is not guaranteed. But it’s not just him. Ollie Watkins, John McGinn — all leaders of the club need to step up in order to help earn their first victory of the season.
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Regardless, from a defensive standpoint, the draw against Everton was dedicated and committed and were it not for Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez, Villa would have lost Saturday. The Argentine came back to the lineup after his desired move to Manchester United did not happen and to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect once the dust had settled. I posted a video about the situation last week basically stating that the relationship between him and Villa fans was extremely fragile. So this game was very important. He knew he had to deliver.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez clears under pressure from Everton’s Jack Grealish during the Premier League match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool. Picture date: Saturday September 13, 2025. (Photo by Tim Markland/PA Images via Getty Images)
(Tim Markland – PA Images via Getty Images)
And that’s exactly what he did against the Toffees, producing some majestic saves, which were quintessentially Dibu. He denied another former Villan — Jack Grealish — in the first half, as his volley was denied by Martínez’s legs, and then later in the game, he made a remarkable stop from Michael Keane’s header after Grealish’s cross.
His performance helped Villa earn a point and cemented his place once again with Villa’s fanbase. “He played a fantastic match,” said Emery after the game. “He needed before the match to feel comfortable, to feel confident. We were trying to introduce him again in everything starting with his mindset, to be comfortable. He did a fantastic match.”
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At the end of the game, Martínez walked toward the away section, thanking the fans by kissing the badge on his shirt and pointing to the fact that all is well, he’s here and he’s ready to give everything. There’s absolutely no denying that he undoubtedly lived up to this sentiment.