Mikel Arteta hailed the “empathy” of his Arsenal players after what he hopes was a game-changing goal from Kai Havertz in their win at Bournemouth.
The £65million summer signing from Chelsea had not registered a goal or assist in his first nine games for the Gunners but finally hit the target as he converted a penalty in a 4-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium.
Arsenal were already two goals to the good through Bukayo Saka’s header and a Martin Odegaard penalty when an on-field decision handed responsibility for a second spot-kick of the afternoon to under-fire Havertz.
He tucked away his chance to break his duck, as his team-mates and the away end greeted the goal with jubilant celebrations.
“I’m really happy for the win, but I’m even happier to be part of a team that shows the human qualities that they did today,” Arteta said.
“Without me telling them nothing, to show that empathy to a player that has some question marks to resolve externally, they warmed me even more today. They’ve done it in a really natural way.
“I’m delighted they made that decision. And so thankful as well to our supporters for the way they sung his name and made him feel today. If there’s a player who deserves that it’s Kai Havertz, so happy for him.
“We have all tried to give him support and the right tools. He’s doing so many great things in the game. It was about that moment, that was the question that had to be resolved and today he has done it.
“To show that level of empathy and understanding, worrying and caring for somebody is just great.”
Arteta referenced Olympic champion Usain Bolt when discussing how Havertz deserved his moment in the south coast sunshine following his hard work in recent weeks.
“Probably it will change everything,” the Spaniard replied when asked what the goal could do for Havertz.
“If he had any question marks about how we feel about him, about what he does, I think they are out.
“I think in sport – Usain Bolt said it once – ‘I have to train four years to run nine seconds’. Sometimes you have to do a lot and you don’t see that.
“In that moment you see it. I think after everything he’s been through in the last few weeks that moment is worth all of it, so really happy for him.”
The one sour note for Arsenal came as Saka limped off injured for the second game in a row, raising the possibility he could miss next Sunday’s showdown with champions Manchester City.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, remain winless in the Premier League under new head coach Andoni Iraola.
The Cherries have come close on previous occasions but that was not the case here, with Iraola admitting the hosts did not deserve a result.
“It was the first time we were not at the level the competition required and we did not finish the game well,” he said.
“For sure this game leaves the worse sensation for me. You can lose against this type of team because they are really good but it is the first game this season where I have felt that we were not at the level.
“You have to be at your best to compete against these teams and we weren’t after the first goal. We cannot concede two penalties and also the first goal is a bit strange, we should be there but we lost the positioning of Saka.
“We started really well, were doing well but after 1-0 I think they were better than us.”
Elanga hoping Forest can keep clinical edge against Brighton
Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga praised their clinical nature for their shock win at Liverpool and is hoping to carry into their trip to Brighton.
Forest have made an impressive start to the Premier League season, with a 1-0 victory over Liverpool – their first win at Anfield in 55 years – the pick of their results.
They are unbeaten so far, with two wins and two draws under their belts, leaving them seventh in the table.
Despite the positivity currently surrounding the club, Elanga is not getting ahead of himself.
"Since the start of pre-season, the atmosphere has been good," Elanga told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We went to Liverpool and not many teams can beat them and play the way we did – we got rewarded with it at the end.
"We have started the season well, but we have still got 35 games left – we have to go game by game.
"Last season we played the big sides and played well, it was marginal difference, and they were clinical. [On Saturday], we were clinical."
They face a Brighton side also yet to lose this season, and the Seagulls sit just one place above them in the table having scored more goals.
Brighton followed up their last-gasp win over Manchester United with two draws but bounced back with a 3-2 victory over Wolves in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Evan Ferguson returned to the starting line-up for that match, and though he failed to get on the scoresheet, Fabian Hurzeler backed him to get back to his best soon.
"I think we saw in some situations how good he can be," Hurzeler said.
"He had some shots in the first half, he worked hard against the ball. He can't be on the level already that he wants to and like he was before in the Premier League in the prime of his individual performance.
"We will try to get him there; he needs to train at 100%, and he needs to use every training session to get as fit as possible, and then I'm sure that he will help us."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brighton – Jan Paul van Hecke
Jan Paul van Hecke has made the most ball carries (116) in the Premier League this season, and subsequently carried the ball the furthest distance (1149 metres) of any player so far.
Nottingham Forest – Morgan Gibbs-White
Morgan Gibbs-White has created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season (11).
MATCH PREDICTION: BRIGHTON WIN
Brighton are unbeaten so far in the Premier League this season (W2 D2) – they have never remained without defeat in their first five games of a top-flight season, last doing so in any division in the 2015-16 Championship.
Hurzeler's men have drawn their last two Premier League games. Indeed, of all teams to have played in more than one campaign in the competition, the Seagulls have seen the highest share of their games finish level (32.2% - 87/270).
Brighton have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four home league games against Nottingham Forest (W3 D1), having lost the previous two while conceding three goals each time.
Indeed, having been unbeaten in eight top-flight meetings with Brighton between 1980 and 2023 (W6 D2), Forest lost home and away against the Seagulls last season.
Forest have won their last four Premier League away games, including their 1-0 win at Anfield last weekend, more than they had in their first 36 on the road following their return to the division in 2022 (W3 D9 L24). They last won five consecutive away games (in any division) in January 1994, and last did so in the top-flight in March 1989.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brighton – 52.3%
Draw – 24%
Nottingham Forest – 23.7%
Women's Super League predictions: Will Bompastor make winning start with Chelsea?
The Women's Super League returns with a bang this weekend, with upheaval at the top of the table offering the promise of another thrilling campaign.
Chelsea gave Emma Hayes a triumphant send-off by edging out Manchester City on goal difference for their fifth straight title, but will former Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor be able to replicate her success?
Aston Villa are the opponents for her first game at the helm on Friday, while Sunday's action features a huge clash between potential title challengers Arsenal and City.
Elsewhere, Manchester United start their bid to improve on last season's disappointing fifth-placed finish against West Ham, while newly promoted Crystal Palace face a tough trip to Tottenham.
But who does the Opta supercomputer expect to start 2024-25 with three points?
CHELSEA V ASTON VILLA
Unsurprisingly, given their recent dominance of the division, Chelsea are overwhelming favourites to beat Villa – who finished seventh in 2023-24 – in Friday's curtain-raiser.
They won 85.1% of the supercomputer's pre-match simulations, with Villa given just a 5.5% chance of victory and the draw deemed a 9.5% likelihood.
Kingsmeadow was a real fortress under Hayes, and Bompastor will be desperate to retain the fear factor in her debut season. Chelsea have won 35 of their last 37 home league games, drawing one and losing one.
The Blues have, however, only won two of their six opening matches of a WSL campaign as the reigning champions, drawing two and losing two. One of those victories did come last term, though, as they beat Tottenham 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
MANCHESTER UNITED V WEST HAM
Old Trafford plays host to the first of two games on Saturday, as Marc Skinner's United take on West Ham, looking to kick on after ending a largely disappointing 2023-24 campaign with FA Cup glory.
They are assigned a 71.5% chance of a win, with West Ham victorious in 12.6% of our pre-match simulations and 15.9% finishing all square.
This will, of course, be United's first league game since Mary Earps departed for Paris Saint-Germain. The Red Devils suffered their heaviest-ever WSL defeat in her final game, going down 6-0 to Chelsea on home soil on the final day of last season.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce will hope for a quiet outing after stepping up to replace Earps as number one, and she may get her wish against a West Ham side that accumulated a miserable 15 points last term. Their seven away losses in 2023-24 was a joint-high among all WSL teams (also Bristol City).
BRIGHTON V EVERTON
Just one place and four points separated Everton from Brighton in the final standings, and the supercomputer struggles to separate them ahead of their clash at Broadfield.
The Toffees are slight favourites with a 40.6% win probability, compared to Brighton's 33.7%, while 25.7% of the supercomputer's pre-match simulations finished level.
Everton will hope to continue their momentum from the end of 2023-24, having ended the season on a four-game unbeaten streak (two wins, two draws), their longest of the campaign. They could go five without losing for the first time since October 2020.
Brighton's major arrival ahead of the new season is Chelsea great Fran Kirby, who has five goal involvements in eight WSL appearances against Everton, scoring on both of her starts versus them.
ARSENAL V MANCHESTER CITY
The headline fixture of the opening matchday takes place at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, as two of the sides most likely to challenge Chelsea for their crown – Arsenal and City – go head-to-head.
The supercomputer makes the Gunners favourites on home soil, with Jonas Eidevall's team winning 42.6% of our pre-match simulations. City are assigned a 30.7% chance of victory, and a 26.7% chance of earning a point.
Vivianne Miedema's move from Arsenal to City has added further intrigue to this fixture. She netted 80 times in 106 league appearances for Arsenal to become the WSL's all-time leading scorer, netting against all 15 opponents she has faced in the competition. Arsenal will be the 16th different team she has faced – will she return to haunt them?
City have won each of their last eight away league games, with the only longer such run in WSL history also being by City – a 12-match sequence between July 2016 and January 2018.
Arsenal, though, have won each of their last three WSL meetings with City, and they boast the most prolific player in the history of the opening matchday in the competition, with Beth Mead previously hitting seven goals on the first weekend, including two braces.
TOTTENHAM V CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace edged out Charlton Athletic to win the Women's Championship title last season, reaching the WSL for the first time. They will be the 19th different team to compete in the division and the first debutants since Leicester City in 2021.
Excluding the inaugural 2011 campaign, only one of 10 teams has ever won their first WSL match, Sunderland beating Liverpool 2-1 in 2015 (one draw, eight defeats).
The Eagles are not given much hope of replicating that feat by the Supercomputer, which assigns them just an 11.5% chance of victory to Tottenham's 72.7%. The draw is given a 15.8% likelihood.
Tottenham have a decent record on the opening day, too, only starting one of their last four WSL campaigns with a defeat (two wins, one draw), which came against champions Chelsea last season.
LIVERPOOL V LEICESTER CITY
Matt Beard is the only coach among the 12 WSL teams to have previously won the title, and his Liverpool side ended a promising 2023-24 campaign in fourth. They will be confident of getting underway with a win this term, with the supercomputer giving them a 60.2% chance of beating Leicester.
The Foxes, who would have been in relegation trouble if not for Bristol City's struggles last term, are given an 18.9% chance of victory, and a 20.9% likelihood of earning a draw.
Liverpool and Leicester also met on the final day of last term, the Reds winning 4-0. Seven teams have previously met on the final matchday of one WSL campaign and the opening weekend of the next, but only three have won both such meetings (Man City v Notts County, Tottenham v Birmingham, and Tottenham v Leicester).
Only Arsenal (nine) and Chelsea (seven) have won their opening game of a WSL season more often than Liverpool (six), who have started four campaigns with a victory under Beard (one defeat).
Red Star Belgrade 1-2 Benfica: Turkish delight for visitors as Akturkoglu and Kokcu earn win
An early goal from winger Kerem Akturkoglu and a superb free-kick by his fellow Turkey international Orkun Kokcu earned Benfica a 2-1 Champions League victory at Red Star Belgrade on Thursday.
Akturkoglu opened the scoring for the Portuguese side in the ninth minute, converting a cross from close range at the back post.
His compatriot Kokcu then doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark with a meticulously placed free-kick from 25 yards out, picking out the top-right corner.
Red Star reduced the deficit when Felicio Milson was played through and scored from close range four minutes from time, but they were unable to find an equaliser at the death.
Data Debrief: Turkish first for Benfica
Goals from Akturkoglu and Kokcu ensured this was the first time two Turkish players had ever scored for a non-Turkish club in a Champions League match.
Kokcu, meanwhile, is on his way to earning a reputation as a dead-ball specialist.
Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, no player has scored more direct free-kick goals in major European competitions than Kokcu's two, with this his first in the Champions League.
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