Arsenal refuse to give in AGAIN and Aston Villa see off Man City to prove they’re the real deal, but Ange Postecoglou’s tactics are starting to cost Spurs… 10 THINGS WE LEARNED from the Premier League

The first round of Premier League midweek fixtures this season has flown by and it has produced a number of intriguing storylines.

Arsenal retained top spot with a last-gasp 4-3 win over Luton, while Liverpool remained hot on their tail, seeing off Sheffield United 2-0 in Chris Wilder’s first game at Bramall Lane.

But defending champions Manchester City lost 1-0 to Aston Villa to extend their winless run to four matches, while top four contenders Tottenham and Newcastle also suffered defeats.

Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United bounced back from their weekend defeat at St James’ Park to win 2-1 at home to Chelsea.

After 30 goals were scored in 10 top-flight matches, Mail Sport picks out 10 things we’ve learned over the past few days.

Arsenal are late again

Tuesday evening almost turned out very poorly for Arsenal. Playing in a hostile atmosphere at Kenilworth Road, the Gunners twice squandered the lead before falling behind due to two errors by goalkeeper David Rye.

In the past, they may have given up and admitted that it wasn’t their night. But not this Arsenal team. Kai Havertz equalized on the hour mark and they then continued to battle for the winner until stoppage time arrived.

They finally got their reward in the 97th minute as Declan Rice headed in Martin Odegaard’s cross to seal all three points.

Mikel Arteta’s men have made late winners their calling card this season, fueling belief that this could be the season Arsenal end their title drought.

The jubilant scenes after the final whistle certainly suggested that the north London side felt they were in for something special.

Manchester City are vulnerable

Gary Neville accused City of complacency after the weekend’s draw with Tottenham, but Pep Guardiola’s side still had more than enough chances in that game to win.

The same could not be said after their defeat at Villa Park. City had just two shots all game – both in the same passage – while Villa had 22 shots on target.

In truth, the 1-0 score flattered City. They were thoroughly outplayed from start to finish, and the balance of the team looked completely wrong.

The team looked lost without the suspended Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne’s return from injury cannot come soon enough for the champions.

City look vulnerable right now and will need to turn things around quickly if they are to become the first Premier League team to win four titles in a row.

Aston Villa is what you need

Let’s not take anything away from Villa. They were exceptional on Wednesday night and have remained that way for most of the season.

It was always going to look like a defining week for Unai Emery’s side, with the Villans hosting City and Arsenal over three days.

They played the first of these two tough matches impressively well and should have put the game away well before Leon Bailey saved the winner in the 74th minute.

Villa overwhelmed City, pressing them all over the pitch and forcing them into uncharacteristic mistakes. It seems unfair to select individuals – this is a well-trained team that knows exactly what is expected of them.

They are currently just four points off top spot and have a chance to move within a point of Arsenal if they can beat them on Saturday night. Challenging for the title may be a step too far at this stage, but Villa are certainly in contention for a top-four finish.

Ten Hag gets his answer

United performed horribly against Newcastle on Saturday, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial particularly criticized.

The mood around Old Trafford has shown little improvement over the week, with some reporters banned from Erik ten Hag’s press conference for failing to contact the club for comment before publishing their stories.

Ten Hag really needed a reaction from his players against Chelsea and he got it.

Having brushed aside Rashford and Martial, Ten Hag watched as Scott McTominay’s brace either side of Cole Palmer’s goal gave United a narrow victory.

It wasn’t a perfect game and United still looked too open at times, but it was an important result and an improved performance. The Red Devils now need to confirm that when they host Bournemouth on Saturday or the pressure will increase again on Ten Hag.

Chelsea still have a long way to go under Pochettino.

While United can take heart from their performance at Old Trafford, Chelsea have played very poorly.

Pochettino described Chelsea’s performance in their 4-1 defeat to Newcastle last month as their worst since he arrived in the summer and this was little better.

The Argentine pointed to fatigue as a factor and it was a quick turnaround for the team after the weekend win over Brighton, in which they played more than half the game with 10 men following Conor Gallagher’s red card.

But it still wasn’t enough and Chelsea still look soft at times, especially away from home.

They travel to a loaded Everton on Sunday and if they don’t step up their game they will also leave Goodison Park empty-handed.

Everton ready to fight

In the first game, Everton were taken out of the wind by a wonder goal from Alejandro Garnacho that took them 10 points off.

But they bounced back against Nottingham Forest at the weekend and deserved to win at Newcastle on Thursday.

They were admittedly helped by Kieran Trippier, who had a night to forget, but the Toffees created plenty of chances and, to a roar from the home crowd, they eventually got their reward.

Tempers ran high at the final whistle, with Jordan Pickford taking on Bruno Guimarães before others quickly stepped in, but it was the win that took Everton out of the bottom three that mattered most.

Pickford and Everton showed no signs of giving up either during or after the game, and this attitude gave them every chance of staying in the league despite the 10-point penalty.

Newcastle look exhausted

Newcastle fell apart in the final 15 minutes at Goodison Park, which is not surprising given their injury problems and fixture schedule at the moment.

They put in three amazing performances in a week against Chelsea, PSG and Manchester United, but it was a step too far.

Playing with the same squad for the fourth game in a row – without the injured Nick Pope – Newcastle ran out of steam in the closing stages and Everton took full advantage.

The Magpies have been very unlucky with the number of long-term injuries they have suffered this season, with Eddie Howe reluctant to return to the bench for the last four matches, instead relying on the starting XI to get the job done.

That may have to change soon as the team looked exhausted on Thursday. Fresh legs are needed and Howe may have to consider including some squad players and academy prospects in some games to prevent his top players being knocked down.

Postecoglou’s one-dimensional style comes at a cost

The mood changed at Tottenham on Thursday.

The team had gone four games without a win before West Ham visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there was still widespread optimism that Ange Postecoglou’s ultra-attacking style of play would pay dividends. However, it didn’t work against the Hammers.

For the fifth game in a row, Tottenham started well and took the lead. They failed to win the fifth game in a row.

The longer the game went on, the more West Ham became immersed in it, and Spurs seemed to be running out of ideas in the second half. David Moyes’ men then took advantage of Tottenham’s defensive mistakes to turn the tide of the game.

Postecoglou is facing an injury crisis at the club, but his tactics are still questionable. There were times when his side seemed to give the ball away for the sake of the ball, and the lack of width was worrying at times.

Spurs have been very entertaining this season and deserve the plaudits they have received, but Postecoglou may have to make some adjustments as teams seem to be figuring things out at Tottenham.

Liverpool are having great times, but Klopp is not.

Liverpool weren’t at their best against Sheffield United but still managed a comfortable 2-0 win.

Perhaps the highlight of the match was when Trent Alexander-Arnold inadvertently showed his bum just before taking a corner, setting up Virgil van Dijk’s first goal.

The fans certainly saw the funny side of it, but Jurgen Klopp didn’t look in the best mood after the game.

The Reds boss snapped at Amazon Prime presenter Marcus Buckland after he tried to shrug off the fact that Liverpool have another game on Saturday at 12.30pm, this time against Crystal Palace.

He was also not pleased with the news that Joel Matip is likely to miss the rest of the season due to a serious knee injury.

Cooper on the brink

Steve Cooper may have expected to be sacked after his Nottingham Forest side suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat at Fulham on Wednesday.

It was Forest’s fourth defeat in a row and their worst by a long shot.

However, he has been given one more game to keep his job, with Forest traveling to Wolves on Saturday.

Cooper apologized to the traveling fans at Craven Cottage and it appears most of them still support him.

But defeat at Molineux will undoubtedly spell the end for him at Forest and owner Evangelos Marinakis appears ready to move in a different direction.