The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its fourth game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

Alright, We Apologise Jurgen

I must apologise to Bournemouth fans after this last weekend, as I feel like our previous matchday reviews have almost taunted Klopp and Liverpool in our criticism of their start to the season, and unfortunately we pushed them too far and this is the result.

Now of course Klopp hasn’t been taunted or goaded by our posts, however it does feel like this result is almost the entire Liverpool setup kicking back at what has been said about them after their admittedly poor start. After 2 draws and a loss, this 9-0 hammering just feels like the side were let off the leash and told to play their way into form.

Of course, Liverpool fans will enjoy this result and rightly so, as not many sides can ever enjoy a 9-0 Premier League win, however I think looking ahead now, what the fans and everyone involved in the club want to see, is this result turn into a longer run of form, which is needed if they are to mount any title challenge, or even be battling for top 4.

This result has to be a catalyst for Liverpool now, especially with the Champions League on the horizon, as they are determined to make something of the season. Now, battering a poor Bournemouth side doesn’t say much at this point, but it shows they definitely are not out of this just yet. Another huge plus for Liverpool is that even in their poor start, the likes of City, United and Chelsea have all dropped points and thus haven’t stormed ahead, with only Arsenal looking like they hit the ground running. With the title favourites having the odd slip ups, bad spells and then resulting hammerings, this season could get exciting as more clubs could be drawn into a title race.

For Bournemouth, of course this will be signalling a huge concern for Scott Parker, with talks of him getting the boot as a result. However, given their understanding of likely being in a relegation scrap this season, a loss like this, even with the huge score line, can be written off and moved on. It won’t be highly detrimental, it won’t overhang on the club for weeks and months, and actually could spur on a more resilient and scrappy nature in the side.

All Or Nothing

As we have been treated to the ever entertaining All Or Nothing: Arsenal season just as the season began, we as non-Arsenal fans were provided with hugely ‘meme able’ quotes, moments and stories from the behind the scenes documentary, however for many supporters with those tweets sitting in their drafts, they have been unusable thus far, as Arsenal have continued their winning start to the season and remain the only side to be able to brag about this.

With wins over Palace, Leicester, Bournemouth and this time Fulham, they admittedly haven’t been hugely challenged just yet, however there are sides in there that have already tripped up the likes of City and Liverpool, and so to overcome and banana-skin games at this early stage has given them the top spot and just a small belief that this season could be a highly successful one.

Many have speculated that Arsenal can get top 4 this year and then possibly in the next few seasons, with a bit more investment and star power could challenge right at the very top, however so far they seem determined and very impressive, in terms of grinding out results, playing good football and of course the belief which we saw growing so often in the documentary.

I think we are way too far away to speculate on a title challenge, but the transfers brought in over the summer are absolute bargain buys which have integrated brilliantly into the side, while the signings of the previous year are also seeming more settled and consequently more impressive in the early part of this season.

With another winnable game against Aston Villa coming up next, before a potential challenge over the recovering and unpredictable Man United afterwards, they could put down a marker to the likes of Manchester City and capitalise on the slip up there, or the poor start from Liverpool, Chelsea and United and actually make the top 4 pretty much secure at an early stage if they can create a gap up at the top of the table.

What’s to come of Arsenal is very unpredictable, however if this continues, we all may have to delete the memes of Arteta’s drawings and his lightbulb speech, and actually admit there might be some sense in that.

Premier League Really Is A Farmers League

After a brace in his league debut and his goal in the draw with Newcastle, it’s fair to say Haaland has stepped up so far to the challenges of the Premier League, and the hattrick in the comeback victory over Palace just shows how we maybe haven’t even seen the best of the Norwegian just yet. Making it 6 goals in 4 appearances, he is now on track for a 57 goal season in the league at his current rate. Just to put that into context, 34 goals is the most ever scored in a Premier League season, by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer. If continuing this run, he could match that, and throw in the 23 from Salah and Son last season on top. It’s remarkable to witness the clinical nature of the forward when considered with number of touches and his influence on the game as a whole. The tactical move from Pep is a strange one we will keep our eye on throughout the season, but he’s definitely hitting the spot with his work with Haaland thus far.

The game as a whole was also a huge talking point. With Palace taking the lead and going 2 up inside the opening 25 minutes, it was a second half comeback from City which shows they have maintained their determined, ruthless and seemingly unbeatable nature that has brought them such success over the past few years. Even with Palace going 2-0 up, with so much of the game remaining it seemed almost inevitable that City wouldn’t let this lie, and especially after dropping points last time out, and Arsenal going on a winning run, this title race could be fairly open yet.

Matchday 4 Player of the Week: Erling Haaland With his first hattrick in English football, and making it 6 goals from just 4 appearances for City in the Premier League, Erling Haaland is simply toying with the defences he has come up against so far. Taking just 19 minutes to bag all 3 and help City produce a comeback against a strong looking Palace side, he’s certainly proving his worth and value for Guardiola’s side, and if he continues in this vein of form, he can easily be targeting 40+ goals this season, while City appear fairly unstoppable.

Matchday 4 Game of the Week: Liverpool 9-0 Bournemouth If purely for the score this one had to be our game of the week. Obviously a one sided encounter, however the context around Liverpool’s start to the season is so fascinating with this result. To go from draws with Fulham and Crystal Palace and a loss to arch rivals Man United, to destroying an admittedly poor Bournemouth side is proof that we cannot write this Liverpool season off just yet. They will want to continue this run, however it’s a great signal of intent from Klopp’s men.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the fourth round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.