Aston Villa
Tielemans Backs Rashford as Amorim Meeting Looms
Tielemans defended Rashford’s commitment as the winger prepared to meet Ruben Amorim once more.
Youri Tielemans has offered a pointed defence of Marcus Rashford, challenging the doubts that had followed the Manchester United forward before his meeting with Ruben Amorim.
Rashford had been criticised for what was portrayed as a lack of full commitment away from matches, with Amorim previously claiming: “The reason is the training,” Amorim explained, “the way I see what a footballer should do. In training, in life and it’s every day, every detail.”
But after Rashford joined Aston Villa on loan at the start of 2025 in search of more first-team football, Tielemans saw something very different up close. Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on his self-titled YouTube show, the Belgium international said the outside perception did not match the player he encountered in Birmingham.
“There was such a big thing made out of him that he wasn’t committed or wasn’t in it for the right reasons or whatever. And you see the player coming in and it’s completely opposite from what you hear,” Tielemans told Rio Ferdinand on his self-titled YouTube show.
“He was committed. He was doing the work. He was positive with everyone. You know, he was just a normal guy, you know.”
Tielemans also highlighted Rashford’s quality on the pitch, before stressing that support from the players around him would be crucial if he is to settle again at Manchester United.
“He’s got amazing qualities,” United’s marquee signing of the summer added. “And I mean, his touch, his acceleration, his finishing, you know, his qualities on the ball. But then I think what surprised me most with him was his commitment.”
“I think he needs us,” the former Villa midfielder admitted. “That’s it. I think he just needs support behind him. And he would always create something.
“So it’s something that, as a player, you want in your team. You want that type of player in your team that can create at any moment. He can dribble past one, two, three players and then lay off for someone that can score. So to have him fit and ready to go with us would be great.”
Michael Carrick, meanwhile, has taken a far more positive line than his predecessor. “He’s our player. He’s come back great, like any other player. I’ve known him a long time, he gives us something a bit different,” Carrick gushed earlier this week .
Rashford, after his extended break following England’s run to third place at this summer’s World Cup, missed United’s friendly with Leeds in Dublin from the stands. He has since joined the travelling squad for Saturday’s match against Milan and, more importantly for the winger, Amorim.
Arsenal
One key issue facing each Premier League side after five matches
Five games in, the Premier League is already revealing title doubts, transition pains and early surprises.
The first five matchdays of the 2026/27 Premier League season have already given shape to a campaign that promised uncertainty from the outset. With the table still settling and another international break leaving a long pause before Matchday 6, there is time to take stock of what has emerged so far.
Arsenal’s title defence has already met resistance after a heavy defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. Before that trip, they looked close to untouchable, but the champions have not yet shown enough to pull clear of their rivals. Bruno Guimarães has added quality, though injury has delayed his rhythm, while Christos Tzolis has stepped in as a serviceable replacement for Leandro Trossard. Even so, Arsenal’s attack was found wanting in their toughest test to date, with concerns lingering over the goalscoring burden on Bukayo Saka and the lack of a set-piece breakthrough.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, are navigating a period of change after rebuilding their core in the summer. Their first league win of the season offered encouragement, with Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and João Gomes all making useful contributions. Bournemouth have begun slowly under Marco Rose, but there is little panic as they balance league form with European demands after an opening win at Real Sociedad. Brentford continue to look like a difficult assignment at home, built on physicality and a set-piece threat that has already caused problems for visiting sides.
Brighton’s pressing game has been a feature of the early weeks, while Chelsea’s start under Xabi Alonso has raised serious questions about their structure without the ball. Coventry City finally recorded a first Premier League win in more than 25 years, though goals remain a concern. Everton’s window left them thin on options, Fulham are showing signs of adjustment under Álvaro Arbeloa, and Hull City have been one of the early surprises, even if history offers a warning.
Elsewhere, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur all have distinct questions to answer as the season develops.
Aston Villa
Alejandro Garnacho’s career path has turned into a struggle for minutes
Garnacho’s rise has given way to frustration, with Chelsea and Aston Villa both offering little respite.
The international break is usually a chance for players to step away from club football. For Alejandro Garnacho, that luxury does not really exist.
There was a time when the winger looked destined for much bigger things. Signed by Manchester United as a highly rated teenager, he made his senior debut at 17 in April 2022 and had already become one of the side’s most effective players by the 2023-24 season. That campaign ended with him finishing sixth in the Kopa Trophy voting, a sign that his rise had gathered real momentum.
What followed was far less predictable.
In December 2024, Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were omitted from a matchday squad for the derby against Manchester City after manager Ruben Amorim said he was unhappy with their training performances. Garnacho returned quickly and was praised for the way he responded, while Rashford never played under Amorim again. But his situation soon worsened as he found it difficult to fit into Amorim’s winger-less system.
The relationship reached its breaking point after the 2025 Europa League final, when Garnacho questioned why he had not started. Amorim then told him to find a new club, and Chelsea moved in. They had considered a January 2025 approach before paying $54 million (£40 million) six months later.
However, the move did not develop as hoped. Chelsea’s recruitment team drove the deal and Enzo Maresca had not spoken with Garnacho before his arrival, which went some way to explaining his limited starts. He was not criticised for attitude or work rate, but his end product was modest, with eight goals in all competitions and only one in the Premier League.
Chelsea then accepted that offers could be entertained after one season, leading Garnacho to Aston Villa on loan with an obligation to buy under certain conditions. Even there, the search for rhythm has stalled. Unai Emery has given him just 31 minutes this season, with his latest appearance coming on Sept. 5. He was an unused substitute against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup and remained on the bench for the win over Tottenham Hotspur.
“Work, work, train, work,” Emery said, while also noting that other players are “giving us things I want.” For Garnacho, the message is clear.
Arsenal
Tottenham’s home record under scrutiny after latest defeat as Arsenal’s day also sours
Tottenham’s home numbers worsen after Villa, while Arsenal’s perfect start ends with a 3-0 loss.
Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start to the season took another turn on Saturday after defeat to Aston Villa left them with an unwanted statistic attached to their name.
According to Opta, Tottenham have now lost 50 of their 141 Premier League matches at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in April 2019. That is the same number of league defeats Arsenal have suffered at the Emirates Stadium across 382 top-flight matches since their move from Highbury in July 2006.
The numbers underline how costly home form has become for Tottenham. Across all competitions, they have won only five of their last 36 matches on home soil, and only two of those victories have come under De Zerbi’s guidance.
That figure will not have been lost on Arsenal supporters, but any satisfaction was brief. Just hours later, the reigning Premier League champions suffered their first defeat of the campaign.
At the Amex Stadium, Brighton & Hove Albion produced a dominant display to beat the Gunners 3-0, and their fans made their feelings known with the chant, “Are you Tottenham in disguise?”
Arsenal, who had begun the season in perfect form, were repeatedly opened up by Brighton’s pressing and made to look unusually vulnerable. Their defence, which had conceded only once in the Premier League before the trip to the south coast, was breached three times as the visitors endured one of their weakest performances in recent years.
What had looked like a team growing increasingly secure in the early weeks of the campaign ended with Arsenal heading back to the capital having suffered a setback that matched the frustration Tottenham were already facing.
