An Arsenal star had VAR to thank for masking his egregious error, while a Newcastle midfielder’s ability to play on the edge remains a serious bone of contention.
Elsewhere, Liverpool’s expensive forward continued to misfire but a club legend pointed to another area on the field that the Reds desperately need more help in.
Foxsports.com.au reviews the weekend that was in the latest edition of Premier League Talking Points!
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Scenes as Diaz scores meaningful leveler | 00:46
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ARSENAL GK ‘ALL OVER THE PLACE’ AS VAR MASKS MAJOR ERROR
Much of the focus from Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle was around VAR.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta raged about it in his post-match interviews, the club backed him up in a stern 112-word statement and fans were left to vent their fury on social media.
But it’s all a happy distraction from a hot topic that’s becoming more of a worry for Arsenal.
With Aaron Ramsdale already established as their first choice goalkeeper, Arteta made the bold move to bring in Brentford’s David Raya on loan.
Although the England international started the first three games, Raya took over in Arsenal’s fifth league game of the season has remained between the sticks since.
Yet the Spaniard has never looked an assured presence and cost Arsenal a goal in their 2-2 draw against Chelsea.
And when Newcastle scored the only goal of the game against the Gunners, Raya was once again called into question.
He was standing in line with his near post once Joe Willock crossed the ball in from just outside the 18-yard box, meaning he was always going to be on the back foot as soon as the cross came in.
Unsurprisingly, Willock’s cross was floated in over the back of Raya’s head as he completely flapped at the cross.
Newcastle’s Joelinton was there at the back post to nod the ball back across goal for Anthony Gordon to smash home.
Luckily for Raya, much of the focus around Newcastle’s goal was whether Willock actually kept the ball in as opposed to the Spaniard’s error.
But he has not escaped all criticism.
“What the controversy should not be allowed to mask, though, was that it was another mistake from the Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya, who came for and badly missed an attempted punch in the build-up to the goal, which meant Gabriel had to try to intervene to stop Joelinton,” The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards wrote.
“If he had cut out the cross there would have been no danger of conceding from it.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher went even further.
“Have Arsenal got a centre forward and/or a goalkeeper who can win the league?” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
“I’m not sure they have, I don’t think they have. And when you think of vital positions where teams win leagues, it’s [in] both boxes.
“Right now, I’ve said this before, it wasn’t a mistake as in looking to replace Ramsdale. For me, Ramsdale’s not going to win you the league.
“But the guy he’s (Arteta) chosen right now to come in, Raya, is absolutely all over the place.”
Arsenal cop controversial defeat | 01:46
TOON STAR’S RECKLESSNESS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has been a standout figure for the Magpies ever since he joined from Lyon.
But the silky Brazilian was extremely fortunate not to have cost his team by being sent off in the first half of Newcastle’s match against Arsenal.
Guimaraes attempted to snuff out a Ben White pass via a sliding challenge that the latter managed to evade.
In his efforts to continue chasing down the ball, Guimaraes looked to harass Jorginho who also passed the ball away just in time.
However, Guimaraes somehow escaped a red card when he elbowed Jorginho in the side of the head.
Although VAR looked at the incident, they did not deem it worthy of a sending off.
Guimaraes had another moment of madness late in the first half when he smashed a ball at Kai Havertz from point-blank range.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice didn’t take kindly to Guimaraes’ actions and went over to confront him, only for the latter to push him in the chest.
Remarkably, Guimaraes was given nothing more than a warning from referee Stuart Atwell.
In fact, the midfielder did not receive a yellow card until the 88th minute when he pushed Fabio Viera in the face.
Arsenal great Perry Groves described Guimaraes’ ability to escape punishment as “amazing.”
“He’s one of those brilliant players on the ball, his passing range is great,” Groves said on talkSPORT.
“We like that player with an edge. He has to probably commit four, five or six fouls before he even gets a yellow card. He’s very, very clever at it.
“The one he got booked for, that wasn’t (a yellow). It was far less than what he did on Jorginho.”
‘I feel SICK’ Arsenal coach unleashes | 01:11
REDS ‘NOT READY TO WIN THE LEAGUE’
For the fourth time in a row, Liverpool failed to win an away game at a newly-promoted team. This time it was a 1-1 draw at Luton Town, with a late goal from Luis Diaz cancelling out Tahith Chong’s opener.
Liverpool’s inability to win against the league’s relatively weaker teams – those who operate on a fraction of the budget of the big-hitters and are in the relegation mix – proves that the Reds aren’t title challengers.
Legendary Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports after the game: “Liverpool are not ready to win the league. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool supporters know that right now.
“They want to get back into the top four.”
It’s a bold claim so early in the season, especially with the team in third and just three points behind Manchester City. But there are clear problems with the team, particularly their vulnerability on the counter-attack and their failure to convert chances up top – especially their first-choice striker Darwin Nunez.
Nunez had nine shots at Luton without scoring, with a second-half miss from close range extremely poor.
Never the most clinical striker in his 18 months in the league, the Uruguayan has been vastly improved this season but still lacks a first-class finishing touch.
Klopp APOPLECTIC after horror miss | 00:40
Carragher said: “He’s dangerous, he’s a handful, he’s never going to be the most clinical … But he just got to stop the memes on social media and people looking at the big chances that he misses. He’s got to be more clinical in those situations.”
And for all Liverpool’s attacking woes – credit must also go to Luton’s defence – there remain other issues across the park.
A more dangerous attacking rival could have punished Liverpool’s open defence in transition.
“Liverpool still aren’t as good as Man City at stopping counter-attacks,” the ex-Red said.
“Liverpool are a team who dominate possession, they have a lot of the ball, but they’re not quite as good as Man City off the ball so there are more turnovers and they lose the ball.
“Opponents do seem to find spaces a lot more to and attack and get in behind Liverpool. Luton didn’t have the quality to really punish them, except for the goal we saw.”
New signing Alexis MacAllister is sensational on the ball but doesn’t provide elite cover in front of the defensive line to shut down counter-attacks, while the defensive frailties of star fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold have been a major point of contention for multiple seasons.
So while Darwin Nunez must be more clinical in front of goal, for Liverpool to stand atop the Premier League podium again, Liverpool might need to bolster their issues further back the park first.
Carragher said: “In terms of challenging again, I think they need a holding midfielder and a top-class defender.”
WORRYING TREND EMERGES FOR DARK HORSES
Prior to their fixture against Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa had a chance to go clear into third place with a win at the City Ground.
Many would have expected Unai Emery’s side to pick up three points, too.
After all, they had rightly earned plenty of praise for their free-flowing football that had scored 26 goals this season, an equal-first figure in the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
But 90 minutes later and Villa remained in fifth as Forest secured a deserved 2-0 win at home.
“We took this match as a challenge to get into the top four teams, we didn’t achieve it and there is still work to do,” Emery said.
Result aside, the defeat to Forest continues an alarming trend Villa must buck at some stage this season if they are to turn their Champions League dreams into reality.
Of the four games the Midlands side have not won this season, all four have come away from home.
Granted, they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge and Burnley 3-1.
But the inability to beat teams like Forest and Wolves could come back to bite them.
A 5-1 opening day defeat away to Newcastle also paints a grim picture, but Villa lost Tyrone Mings to a serious injury in the first half and had a large mental impact on the team.
Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Anfield also proved Villa have a lot to do if they are to truly prove themselves worthy of a Champions League place.
Villa’s next league fixture is against Fulham at Villa Park, followed by a daunting visit to the high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.
There’s no better stage for Emery’s troops to prove they can play away from their home comforts in Birmingham after all.