City outclass Arsenal; Liverpool-Chelsea draw

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Manchester City did not need Harry Kane or Cristiano Ronaldo to destroy Arsenal.

With four different scorers in the 5-0 win yesterday, maybe the attacking options currently available to Pep Guardiola are enough to defend the English Premier League title.

Or perhaps it is just a sign of Arsenal’s frailties that City so easily dismantled a side that has now lost all three league games without scoring. And the fact that City played against 10 men for 55 minutes after Granit Xhaka was sent off for a two-footed lunge on João Cancelo.

But Arsenal’s defence had already ceded territory easily for Ilkay Gundogan to head in the opener and Ferran Torres to score in the opening 12 minutes. Gabriel Jesus was able to tap in again before half-time and after the break, Rodri curled in and Torres was on target again with a header.

“That is why we did not need to buy a striker,” Guardiola said. “We tried but it was not possible. It is a fantastic squad. I have to say thank you for the players they have given me.”

It was a great end to a week where City had to give up on its attempt to bring Tottenham striker Harry Kane to the Etihad Stadium and thought they could sign Cristiano Ronaldo before Manchester United stepped in.

Having lost their opening game to Tottenham, City were already playing catch-up. But while City moved on to six points, four of the teams with perfect starts dropped points in their third games yesterday.

Title contenders Liverpool and Chelsea drew 1-1 at Anfield. West Ham were held 2-2 by Crystal Palace and Brighton lost 2-0 to Everton. Only Tottenham are still in the running for a third consecutive win when Kane leads the London club into today’s game against Watford.

It is not only Arsenal on zero points after three games. Norwich, who lost 2-1 to Leicester after conceding goals from Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton, are yet to get off the mark. Newcastle picked up their first point in a 2-2 draw against Southampton. Brentford are on five points in their first-ever Premier League season after drawing 1-1 at Aston Villa, with Ivan Toney’s goal wiped out by Emi Buendia’s first since joining the hosts in the off season.

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Kai Havertz’s header was cancelled out by Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah’s penalty after Reece James was sent off for handling. Liverpool’s attack lacked a cutting edge – even with a man advantage – as Chelsea’s defence marshalled by Andreas Christensen proved too robust to break down.

“He started in the central position and finished the game in the right position, because we decided to bring on Thiago (Silva) and stay with the back five,” Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said. “Andreas is very strong, he’s super talented. ... I think he feels the trust, he knows what to do, he can absolutely help, he is a top defender and a top guy. I have the feeling he is growing every week in confidence and personality.”

West Ham twice threw away the lead secured by Pablo Fornals and then Michail Antonio, with Conor Gallagher equalising both times for Palace. But Patrick Vieira is still waiting for his first win in charge of Palace, with two points.