Arsenal information: Premier League title verdict as membership admits there was ‘no plan’ after switch
Arsenal are back in the thick of the Premier League title race as holders and Erling Haaland has had his say on the Gunners’ chances of winning back-to-back titles, while Newcastle admit the Bruno Guimaraes transfer was not part of their summer plan
Mikel Arteta’s side continued their undefeated streak
Arsenal continued their electric start to the Premier League on Sunday afternoon as they came from behind to beat Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
And the Gunners are now just one of two teams who remain undefeated – alongside their title rivals from the last handful of seasons, Manchester City. Even without Pep Guardiola, City appear poised to challenge them every step of the way once more.
City and Arsenal will have to wait to meet on the pitch, but Erling Haaland is already drawing the battle lines, after City’s 1-0 win over Coventry. And Daily Star Sport has looked at all the biggest stories from the Emirates over the past 24 hours.
Erling Haaland’s Arsenal assessment
Erling Haaland has drawn the battle lines
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Following his strike that maintained City’s title pursuit, Haaland has discussed where Arsenal rank alongside his team this campaign, reports the Mirror.
Not only has Guardiola departed, but City are managing a transformed squad following significant alterations during the summer. Arsenal, by contrast, have stayed relatively unchanged and implemented several improvements to the team.
Haaland has highlighted how the two clubs find themselves in vastly different circumstances following the transfer window: “Arsenal have played together for a long time and have built this up over a longer period, a bit like City had when I first joined.
“We’re still in a kind of rebuilding phase, but the transfer window has been fantastic, I have to say. Well done to the club and the people at the club. First and foremost, they’ve brought in fantastic footballers, but also great people who fit in really well. So well done to the whole club, and especially Khaldoon [Al Mubarak].”
No plan for Bruno Guimaraes exit
There was no plan for Bruno Guimaraes to leave the club(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA, Getty Images)
Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson has admitted that offloading Guimaraes to Arsenal was never in the club’s summer blueprint. The revelation underlines just how determined Guimaraes was to link up with the Gunners following two campaigns leading the Magpies.
Since his £40million switch from Lyon in 2022, Guimaraes developed a cult-like following in the north-east. It appeared Newcastle would stand their ground over their captain after Sandro Tonali’s £100m departure to Tottenham, only to cave in and sanction a £75m sale to Arsenal.
Wilson admitted on TNT Sports: “Anthony Gordon was always in the plan that he was going to move on. We were delighted for him to get such a prestigious move to Barcelona, that was great.
“I think it was pretty clear most of the second part of last season that Sandro Tonali was going to move on. And for Bruno Guimaraes, I think it’s well documented that wasn’t a transfer that we were really comfortable with.
“So there’s no point in us saying here today that it was or wasn’t. I thought it was something we had to react to, that was the question, because football is all about reacting to different challenges, and that was a new challenge for us, but one hopefully we reacted to as part of our plan.”
