Talking Points, Manchester City attack, Erling Haaland, Andre Onana howlers, how much did Andre Onana cost, Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham, latest, updates

As Erling Haaland and his Manchester City teammates squabbled with a member of Arsenal’s security team after the final whistle in their damaging 1-0 defeat on Sunday, it was tempting to suggest that was the most fight shown by the champions all afternoon.

Toothless City mustered just four shots, which ranked as the fewest a Pep Guardiola side had managed in a top-flight game since Barcelona had the same tally against Espanyol 13 years ago.

City’s second successive league defeat — the first time they have suffered that indignity since December 2018 — won’t necessarily be fatal to their bid for a fourth successive title.

But Arsenal undoubtedly exposed a few chinks in the treble winners’ armour, not least the lack of contribution from Haaland, as they moved two points above City.

Haaland started the season with a flurry of seven goals in five league games, but since then the striker has scored just once in his last five appearances in all competitions, including three in a row without a goal.

He barely had a significant touch in the Arsenal penalty area as Gunners centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel subdued him in a manner that might give Guardiola a few sleepless nights as he ponders City’s slump during the international break.

$84M SIGNING STRUGGLES AGAIN AS VICTORY PAPERS OVER CRACKS

United were hurtling towards a third embarrassing home defeat in eight days until McTominay proved an unlikely hero despite not setting foot on the field until the 87th minute.

Erik ten Hag hailed the academy graduate as “the heart” of a club that continues to lurch from crisis to crisis.

Ten Hag was keen to suggest a dramatic victory could prove a turning point in a troubled season.

But many of the same old failings were on show against a Brentford side that have not won since August.

Andre Onana made another goalkeeping error for the Bees’ goal and United were largely toothless in attack in their search for an equaliser.

Indeed without the help of Brentford stopper Thomas Strakosha on his Premier League debut for both goals, United would have fallen to a seventh defeat in 10 games.

Despite the win, the spotlight burns bright and remains fixated on Onana.

The Telegraph’s James Ducker even wonders if it’s best for the $AUD84 million summer signing to come out of the team.

“Onana continues to plumb new depths, his abysmal attempt to keep out Mathias Jensen’s shot arguably worse than a similar blunder against Bayern Munich, and it has already reached the stage where a period out of the team might not do Ten Hag’s $84 million summer signing any harm,” Ducker wrote.

“His confidence is on the floor, he is breeding panic and, according to Opta’s xG metrics, he has conceded almost two league goals more than would be expected given the quality of shots on target he has faced, the second worst record in the top flight this term.”

With the international break, Onana and United will have a much-needed break from the pressures of the Premier League.

But don’t expect either to escape the firing line of criticism once the international break is over.

ALARMING LIVERPOOL TREND THEY SIMPLY CAN’T SUSTAIN

Granted, Liverpool’s frustration at how they lost to Tottenham was extremely valid given the VAR error that cost them a goal.

But against Brighton, the Reds only had themselves to blame for the opening goal.

Towering centre-back Virgil van Dijk played the ball to Alexis Mac Allister, but the Argentine was caught napping as Brighton’s Simon Adingra pounced on the ball and fired past Alisson from range for the opener.

Adingra’s goal made it the seventh time in their 11 games across all competitions Liverpool had conceded the opening goal.

Talismanic winger Mohamed Salah managed to turn the game around with a double, but Brighton came bagged a 78th minute equaliser through Lewis Dunk and were unlucky not to have had a penalty themselves for a Van Dijk handball.

Although Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has found himself and his team somewhat re-energised with a slew of summer signings, the fact they concede first on so many occasions is worrying.

Surprisingly, they’ve only lost just once in the Premier League this season but to keep coming back after conceding the first goal is simply unsustainable for a full season.

Whether Liverpool have enough to challenge for the title with what they have at the minute is one question, but if they continue to start slowly, they can kiss their chances of winning the league goodbye.

MALIGNED SUMMER SIGNING SPARKS BLUES’ TURNAROUND

It’s far too early to start claiming Chelsea are back but with two league wins on the trot, the mood is slowly lifting at Stamford Bridge.

Central to the turnaround in form is Cole Palmer, who joined from Manchester City in a fee slightly north of the £40 million Tottenham forked out for England international James Maddison.

Although many poked fun at how much Chelsea paid City for Palmer, the youngster is showing glimpses of exactly why the Blues wanted him so badly.

Starting as a right winger against Burnley, Palmer drifted from his side of the field into dangerous central zones and constantly played in Raheem Sterling behind Burnley’s backline.

Not only that, but he displayed a calmness on the ball rarely seen by a Chelsea player in recent years as he took his time on the ball to pick out the ideal pass.

Given Palmer’s electric display, some early critics might be forced to eat their hats if he maintains this form in the coming months.

“To some within English football’s transfer industry, Chelsea were the joke of deadline day and Palmer was the punchline,” The Athletic’s Liam Twomey wrote.

“Those gut reactions look more misguided with every performance like this one, and it is very hard for Pochettino picking a Premier League starting XI that does not include him as long as current form and fitness levels hold.”

A clash against Arsenal awaits Chelsea once the Premier League resumes after the international break in what will be a true marker of how much Pochettino’s side have improved.

Expect Palmer to have a big say in how that match transpires.

IS IT TIME FOR SPURS TO START DREAMING?

Eight games into their first league campaign under Ange Postecoglou and having sold Harry Kane, there are precious few Tottenham fans who would have believed they would sit top of the table heading into October’s international break.

Not for the first time since Postecoglou took charge, Spurs were forced to go the hard way round getting three points at Luton.

Yves Bissouma’s dive that brought a second yellow card left his side down to 10 men for the entirety of the second-half.

Yet, they still found a winner through Micky Van de Ven and showed a steel to see out an aerial bombardment that would have undone many more talented Tottenham sides of the past.

Postecoglou has already installed a winning mentality that has seen him lift league titles in Australia, Japan and Scotland in his coaching career.

Doing so at Spurs would dwarf any of those achievements, but with no European football to drain their energy, Tottenham are entitled to start dreaming about what could be possible.