Manchester City’s weekend victory over Liverpool ensured there was no immediate fallout from the guilty verdict, at least on the pitch. But off it, the situation remains unresolved, with the club still appealing and maintaining that its innocence will be established.

For now, no sanction has been imposed. That leaves the Premier League in a holding pattern, even though its own rules do provide a route for the most severe outcome of all: expulsion.

Under Rule B6 of the league’s regulations, members can vote to remove a club from the competition. The rule states: “The League may expel a Club from membership upon a special Resolution to that effect being passed by a majority of not less than three-quarters of such members as (being entitled to do so) vote by their representatives or by proxy at a General Meeting of which notice specifying the intention to propose the Resolution has been duly given.”

In practical terms, that means 15 clubs could join forces to force City out immediately. The Independent has reported that discussions of that possibility have already taken place among several club executives.

One executive was quoted as saying: “This is a farce that will lead to protest, damage to the integrity and reputation of the competition, and possibly even violence,” one is quoted as saying. “The board has a duty at law to its shareholders to protect, enhance and promote the interests of the Premier League.”

The rule exists for a reason, and in theory it gives clubs the power to act if they believe expulsion serves the competition’s interests. Even so, that prospect is widely viewed as unlikely in the present climate.

Any attempt to remove City would almost certainly face a successful legal challenge, which would only deepen the uncertainty already surrounding the case.

Despite that, pressure for action is not easing. Club executives are still pushing for an immediate response, with growing concern that the season cannot continue along its current course.

Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Leeds United was followed by an unwelcome injury update, with Mikel Arteta confirming that Piero Hincapié was not the only player to suffer a setback after the match.

Arteta explained that the squad had been due to train after the game, but the session ended in trouble when two players were hurt in separate incidents. The Arsenal manager said the players had not built up enough minutes to find the right rhythm, and that the club was left dealing with the consequences of those issues.

“We had a training session planned after the game for the players,” Arteta told reporters. “They didn’t have enough minutes to get everybody in the right rhythm and in two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players.

“When they have to play, they have no rhythm, and when you ask them to play, they’re going to have no impact in the game. [The injuries] could happen at the Emirates; it never happened in the seven years I was here. It could happen the next day in the training session, and that has happened before, and hopefully it happens now and doesn’t happen again. What can you do? If I knew I had a crystal ball clear, I’d say: ‘Guys, go in the Jacuzzi, everybody, I’ll see you tomorrow.’”

Both players have since been sent for scans to assess ankle damage. Arteta sounded especially cautious about Hincapié, saying, “Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious I think, but we’ll have to wait and see,” he sighed.

The setback also arrives at a difficult moment for Zubimendi. Once viewed as a central piece of the midfield rebuild, the Spaniard started 34 Premier League games last season during Arsenal’s title-winning campaign. This season has brought a different picture, with the 27-year-old named on the bench for all six league matches so far and given only 89 minutes in the competition.

He now sits behind Bruno Guimarães and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the contest to partner Declan Rice, and this injury interruption is likely to keep him out for at least a short spell, probably a matter of weeks.

Michael Carrick has said he is keen to see which players in his squad are “really there” as Manchester United try to steady a poor start to the season.

United’s victory over Sabah on Sept. 10 in the opening round of Champions League fixtures has been one of only two wins they have recorded so far. With a difficult trip to the Metropolitano next on the schedule, Carrick’s side could now go five matches without a win.

That possibility sits in sharp contrast to the opening stage of Carrick’s first spell in charge, when his early months were followed by a far more encouraging run. United never went more than two games without victory during his interim period, but they have already moved beyond that point now.

Carrick used his pre-match press conference to frame the challenge in positive terms, insisting the difficult spell can reveal who is truly committed to the group.

“I love this part, sometimes when it’s not quite going for you, you see who’s really there, you see within the group, the players, the squad, the club, who’s really there and who wants to be here for the long term,” Carrick told his prematch press conference.

“[You see who is] really attached to it and [who it] really means something [to].

“The supporters are there, they’re desperate for it, and we’ve got to give them something. I think you’ve got to embrace the challenges to get to where you want to be. We’re right there now in the middle of it, but totally believe that we’ll work through it.”

United’s current position is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn. The club enjoyed a very different mood during the second half of the 2025–26 campaign, when Carrick’s first six months led to questions over why he had not been appointed permanently sooner.

Even so, United have been here before. It was only in January 2025 that Ruben Amorim’s side went five matches without a win, a run that included defeats to Tottenham, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United before a 2–2 draw away at Liverpool brought it to an end.