Premier League: Arsenal shorten to 8-11 for title after statement win

Champions Arsenal beat London rivals Chelsea 2-1 to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League campaign, with goals from Kai Havertz and captain Martin Odegaard after Morgan Rogers' second-minute volley had put the Blues ahead. 

The Gunners are not quite where they want to be yet, sitting second behind Manchester City on goals scored, but it was a statement victory which saw them shorten further for the title. 

Mikel Arteta's men started the day as 8-11 favourites to retain their crown and an impressive performance against potential title rivals saw them cut to 8-11 and the Blues eased from 6-1 to 8-1 in bet365's title betting. 

Sunday's earlier game saw a thunderbolt from Ainsley Maitland-Niles deny Manchester United three points at Everton in a thrilling 2-2 draw. 

United thought they'd sealed the win with Benjamin Sesko's 88th-minute header but were left stunned by debutant Maitland-Niles' stunning strike in the dying seconds. 

It was the type of game the Red Devils should be winning, so it is no surprise that their inability to do so saw their title odds tumble to 25-1 from 18-1. 

Everton maintained their unbeaten start and have been eased to 11-1 for relegation by Ladbrokes, who shortened them to 10-1 after a disappointing transfer deadline day which saw them fail to strengthen their squad further. 

Premier League title betting

Odds from bet365 – correct at time of publishing

Market moves

Saturday's Premier League schedule provided few thrills and spills, although Leeds's performance at Brighton was noteworthy. 

The Whites drew 1-1 with the odds-on Seagulls, having the better of the chances, and their top-six odds have been cut to 5-1 from 6-1 by Coral. 

Daniel Farke's side remain unbeaten despite having similarly difficult fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Brentford, and their ability to frustrate teams could see them crash the European places. 

Erling Haaland grabbed his customary goal in Manchester City's win over Coventry but there is a new name alongside his and Bruno Fernandes's at the top of the scoring charts. 

Alexander Isak's match-winning double at Ipswich moved the Liverpool forward on to three goals and he is 5-1 to land the Golden Boot, having been 9-1 before the season began. 

Hull are no longer favourites for relegation, with fellow new boys Coventry falling to 4-9 for the drop and the Tigers being pushed out to 1-2. 

Premier League relegation betting

Odds from bet365 – correct at time of publishing

Talking point

Alvaro Arbeloa is the new 3-1 favourite in the Premier League sack race. 

It follows the news that Hull's Sergej Jakirovic, the 2-1 ante-post market leader to be first to leave his post, has been rewarded with a new contract at the MKM Stadium. 

Arbeloa made a decent first impression with his side's valiant effort in a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on opening day. However, a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland was followed by Saturday's 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace. 

Odds of 3-1 are still available for Arbeloa to be the first manager to depart but given Fulham are one of only two teams – alongside Coventry – to lose their opening three games and were booed off by some sections of Craven Cottage after throwing away two leads in the loss to Palace, they may not last for much longer. 

Punting pointers

Six of the weekend's ten Premier League fixtures finished in a draw and much like last season, there seems to be little between the majority of the division's sides. 

The big spending is no longer reserved for the top clubs and that has led to the mid-table teams growing stronger with every season. 

There are a number of fixtures on next week's list which should have punters backing the draw, too. 

Aston Villa take on fellow slow-starters Nottingham Forest, Brentford head to fellow overperformers Bournemouth, the Manchester derby could be a close-fought affair and hard-to-beat Leeds host a talented Newcastle side on Monday. 

Don't rule out another stalemate-filled schedule. 

Want football free bets? Click here for the best offers from our bookmaker partners

Now read:

2026-27 Champions League: Bayern Munich poised to end PSG's reign

Porto vs Manchester City predictions: Citizens set for a cagey affair

Bromley vs Wimbledon predictions: Derby stalemate looks likely

The Early Bird: Weekend football predictions from Alex Wrigley

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Important information: This article may contain links to offers or promotions that were available at the time of publication. These offers may have since expired or changed.

Offers are handpicked and come from operators that our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing.