Five matches into a Premier League season and already the table is throwing punches.

Arsenal arrived on the south coast with a perfect league record and left Brighton beaten 3-0. Tottenham finally scored — twice, in fact — but still lost 3-2 to Aston Villa. Chelsea were dismantled 3-0 by Brentford. And Coventry City, pointless and goalless beforehand, went to Nottingham Forest and collected their first Premier League victory in 25 years.

This is September. Imagine May.

Brighton didn't nick it — they dismantled Arsenal

There is an enormous difference between an upset and a tactical beating. Brighton delivered the latter.

Pascal Groß, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés scored in a 3-0 victory that ended Arsenal's perfect start and inflicted their first three-goal defeat in more than 1,200 days. Remarkably, the previous one was also against Brighton, in May 2023.

The revealing number is 40% possession. Brighton didn't need the ball more; they needed to use it better. Arsenal could circulate possession, but Brighton attacked the spaces that mattered, defended collectively and punished errors. Groß combined a goal with an assist, while the third came from Andrés at a set piece.

That's the tactical lesson. Possession becomes cosmetic when the opposition controls where you possess it.

Brighton now have 16 goals from five league matches, the division's highest total after Saturday's games. This isn't simply a nice start anymore. Opponents have to start asking a different question: how do you stop them?

Tottenham score — and somehow the problem gets bigger

Spurs finally found the net. Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke ended the drought.

But by then Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson and Emiliano Buendía had already exposed the bigger issue: Tottenham remain winless after five league games following Villa's 3-2 victory.

This is where you've got to look beyond the scoreline. A late comeback can make 3-2 appear competitive. It doesn't erase the game state that created the deficit.

When Spurs have to chase, spaces appear and matches become stretched. The attacking urgency improves because players take greater risks, but that is not the same thing as controlling a football match. After a summer rebuild reported at around £300 million, Spurs need structure before desperation, not desperation before structure.

Villa, meanwhile, have their first league victory. That matters.

Brentford expose Chelsea's soft centre

Brentford's 3-0 win over Chelsea was even more emphatic because all three goals came after half-time.

Jaidon Anthony broke through, Igor Thiago followed and Fábio Carvalho completed the demolition in stoppage time. It was Brentford's first home victory over Chelsea since 1938, kept their unbeaten league start intact and moved them above their west London rivals.

For Chelsea, the alarming statistic is 21 consecutive Premier League matches without a clean sheet.

That's not bad luck. That's a pattern.

Brentford found increasing space as the match developed, and once Chelsea had to commit bodies forward, the Bees attacked the transitions ruthlessly. Sometimes football analysis becomes unnecessarily complicated: if your rest-defence isn't organised when you attack, losing possession becomes an invitation.

And now, Haaland waits

Coventry supplied Saturday's other remarkable story: Jay Dasilva's 55th-minute winner at Forest delivered their first Premier League victory since 2001 after four straight defeats. Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth started the decisive move with the long pass, while Forest thought they had rescued themselves late before Igor Jesus's equaliser was overturned by VAR.

Now attention turns to the Etihad.

Manchester City enter Sunday's meeting with Sunderland having won their opening four league games, while Erling Haaland has scored four goals in four appearances. Yet Sunderland possess one extraordinary distinction: they are the only Premier League opponent Haaland has faced without scoring against. City beat them 3-0 at the Etihad last season before Sunderland held them 0-0 at the Stadium of Light.

So there's your GameDayBuzz decision point: can Sunderland's compact defensive structure frustrate City again, or does Haaland finally complete the set?

Because this weekend has already delivered its warning.

In this Premier League, reputation gets you through the tunnel. What happens after that has to be earned.