Premier League fixtures give Man City an obvious Arsenal opportunity

High up on the list of things that Premier League managers hate comes losing before an international break.

The players can head off and play for their countries but anyone left behind has to stew over a disappointing result that will have inevitably upset fans and led to questions being asked of the team. The later in the season, the more perspective there is but at this stage of the campaign the last match is 25 per cent of the total games.

Brighton, for instance, have enjoyed this last week a lot more than Newcastle. Their defeat to West Ham was quickly forgotten when they thumped Eddie Howe's team whereas that result has left the former Bournemouth boss seeing his side's start of three losses in four picked over.

Consider Arsenal's victory over United as well at the Emirates, that almost went the way of the visitors as the 90th minute approached but instead turned into a home win that transformed the story of an improving United and wobbling Arsenal into a United stuck in neutral (and going backwards off the pitch at an alarming rate) and a strong Arsenal with those dropped points against Fulham brushed over.

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City have enjoyed a strong start themselves as the only team with a 100 per cent record, and Kyle Walker spoke bullishly after their 5-1 win about Fulham about wanting to kill the Premier League title race off early. Back in the 2017/18 campaign when they picked up 100 points, they had effectively wrapped up the league by the middle of December.

Games against West Ham, Nottingham Forest, and Wolves all offer up further opportunities for points but the real tempter for the Blues will be their trip to the Emirates on October 8. That will be their