Vardy re-starts party and other takeaways from Round 3

The big earners currently deserving the hype, Vardy re-starts the scoring party (with Kane still a no-show), while Arsenal impress when everyone's available.

Jamie Vardy

Source: Getty Images

Living up to the hype

Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, and Jose Mourinho are so far doing a stellar job of justifying the hype, and apparently haven't needed any time to adapt to their new surroundings as they sit joint-first on the ladder with maximum points.

The influence they have on their respective squads is clear for all to see in terms of organisation and motivation, and they've returned some out-of-form stars to their best.

Conte has Eden Hazard playing like the league's best player again, Raheem Sterling has two goals and two assists under Guardiola, while Antonio Valencia is looking like a superb right-back rather than just the least-terrible option for that position.
A Leicester-style fairytale looks to be impossible this season with these three at the helms of powerful clubs.

Vardy re-starts scoring party

Jamie Vardy is off the mark in the league thanks to his well-taken opener against Swansea, making good use of his blistering pace to win a Danny Drinkwater long-ball.

Wonderful timing too - new England manager Sam Allardyce was in attendance.

After registering only 5 league goals across 2014-2015, surely nobody would have predicted the brilliant haul of 24 he achieved last season - so we're all curious to see if he's a one-season wonder or just a late bloomer.

Harry Kane, meanwhile, is unfashionably late to the party - which is becoming something of a (bad) habit for the Tottenham striker.
Playing deeper to accommodate Vincent Janssen doesn't seem to overly suit Kane, but Spurs fans swear that by October he'll be banging goals in for fun once again, so fantasy players should set themselves a reminder.

Sure enough, Arsenal are pretty decent when they have everyone

The Gunners' full strength XI is capable of beating anyone and playing some tremendous football, as they showed in the weekend's 3-1 win away against Watford.

Maybe there's something in the water at Emirates Stadium but the amount of long-term injuries they cop is staggering, and that XI is just too rarely available - compromising campaigns.

Santi Cazorla's impressive form is already reminding everyone how much he was missed in the latter half of last season, while Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez also impressed with goals.
Their previous two games weren't crash hot, but the scintillating first half against Watford will have put their Premier League rivals on notice.


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3 min read
Published 29 August 2016 11:58am
Updated 30 August 2016 12:53pm
Source: SBS

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