Chelsea’s long-standing edge over Fulham remains clear on paper as the two sides prepare for their 2026/27 Premier League opener. Yet the most recent campaign showed how narrow the margin has become between the neighbours.

Last season ended with both clubs level on points, leaving Chelsea ahead only on goal difference. The split was fine enough that each team won its own home fixture, underlining how little separated them over the course of the league season.

Fulham also had one small statistical advantage in the overall defensive record. They conceded one fewer goal across the campaign, a detail that adds another layer to a fixture that has historically leaned Chelsea’s way but was much more even last time out.

That context gives the opening match of 2026/27 added relevance. Chelsea may still carry the stronger record in the rivalry, but the previous season suggested Fulham are closer than the historical trend would imply. With both clubs having taken a home win apiece and finished tied on points, there is little reason to expect a one-sided contest on current evidence.

The numbers from last season point to a matchup defined by fine margins rather than a clear hierarchy. Chelsea’s edge came down to goal difference, while Fulham’s slightly better defensive return offers a reminder that the balance between these sides has shifted considerably from the old pattern of dominance.

Gabriel Martinelli has moved closer to an Arsenal exit after becoming the latest player to clash with Mikel Arteta’s uncompromising approach to squad management.

Reports now suggest the Brazil international is “open” to leaving the Premier League champions, after Arteta made clear where he believes the winger stands in the pecking order this season. The Arsenal manager has shown little flexibility, leaving Martinelli out of the matchday squad for the first two games of the new campaign while the player has continued training with the first team.

Dialogue between the pair has reportedly been limited, but the message from the club remains plain: Martinelli’s future is likely elsewhere. That marks a change in stance for the 25-year-old, who had previously resisted interest from Turkish champions Galatasaray. At that stage, he was said to be prioritising a move to one of Europe’s leading clubs if his prospects in north London disappeared.

His omission from Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Coventry City appears to have sharpened the situation further. The Athletic reported that Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal have now entered the picture and that Martinelli is “open to the possibility.” Arsenal are also understood to be prepared to do business for about $81.8 million (£60 million). Fabrizio Romano later added that “official club-to-club contact” has already been made.

Martinelli would not be the first high-profile Arsenal player to fall out of favour under Arteta. The manager’s tenure has been marked by the departures of Mesut Özil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Emi Martínez, Nicolas Pépé, Bernd Leno, Mattéo Guendouzi and Aaron Ramsdale, among others.

Arsenal have often accepted those exits despite financial damage, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s $47.2 million move to Liverpool in 2017 still their record sale. Martinelli could surpass that figure if a transfer is completed.

The club have already invested more than $260 million on four first-team arrivals this summer, and Arteta and chief executive Richard Garlick have said Arsenal will only pursue players who can “change the dial.” As Arteta put it: “I think for the margins to improve, there are very few players in the market that are available to do that and bring that to the club,”

Andoni Iraola has dismissed the idea that Liverpool’s problem can be solved simply by signing a specialist defensive midfielder. After Newcastle United repeatedly exposed the space through the middle on Sunday, the new boss insisted the issue runs deeper than one position.

The warning signs were plain in the 2-2 draw. Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz were both caught ahead of the ball before Newcastle’s second goal, while Dominik Szoboszlai was in place but unable to prevent Yoane Wissa moving forward. Former defender Jamie Carragher called the situation “madness,” saying: “This midfield cannot work, I said it before a competitive ball was kicked.”

Iraola took a different view. “It’s not just personnel,” he said after the match. “There were different reasons for both the goals which happened in transition.

“… It’s not just because one person is playing there [as a holding midfielder]. It’s something we have to correct between a lot of players.”

The concern is not new. Since the start of last season, only Sunderland have conceded more Premier League goals on the counterattack than Liverpool, who have shipped seven. By comparison, defending champions Arsenal have allowed just one over the same period.

One route is behavioural rather than structural. As Carlo Ancelotti has argued, defenders need a more pessimistic mindset than forwards. In Liverpool’s case, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai have too much attacking instinct for a midfield shield, and both rushed into Newcastle’s box early on Sunday. Gravenberch, in particular, has increasingly ventured forward over the past year after excelling in a deeper role during Liverpool’s title-winning campaign.

Iraola’s own Bournemouth side showed industry last season but were also exposed in transition, so a positional tweak may not be his instinct. Instead, he appears to want the team to “finish the action” before counterattacks begin. On Newcastle’s first goal, he felt Liverpool should have taken the chance themselves rather than allow the move to break down. “For the first one [goal] I think we should just finish the great chance we created,” he said. “We were on the edge of the box with a clear situation to shoot, but we didn’t and then you have to give credit to Elanga for winning the race.”

The second goal pointed to another missed chance to stop the break earlier. “It wasn’t like they caught us by surprise,” he said. “We should compete for the first ball and probably make a foul–be a bit more aggressive against the ball carrier.”

That leaves Alexis Mac Allister as a possible internal answer. He began on the bench, with Wirtz alongside Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, but soon after Newcastle’s second goal Iraola introduced Mac Allister and adjusted the midfield triangle with the Argentine at its base.