Midweek Football Round-Up: 3 September 2026

Arsenal maintained their perfect Premier League start, Manchester City made the biggest move on transfer deadline day and the EFL delivered another busy programme of goals and late drama.

Reading and Leyton Orient both scored five, West Ham and Wrexham collected their first Championship victories of the season, and Celtic continued their winning run in Scotland.

Saka keeps Arsenal’s winning start intact

Arsenal made it two Premier League wins from two with a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on Monday evening.

Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal after 59 minutes, settling a match in which Villa had threatened through Emiliano Buendía, whose first-half effort struck the crossbar.

The result moved Arsenal alongside Manchester City, Hull City and Chelsea on six points. Two clean sheets also provided an encouraging foundation for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Villa were more competitive than in their opening defeat at Brighton, but remain without a point or a goal after two matches. Reuters match report

Manchester City headline deadline-day business

Manchester City completed the most eye-catching transfer of the week by signing Enzo Fernández from Chelsea for a reported £125 million.

The midfielder reunites with Enzo Maresca as City continue their squad overhaul. Iliman Ndiaye also arrived from Everton, while Jack Grealish moved in the opposite direction on another season-long loan.

Tottenham strengthened with the permanent signing of Tosin Adarabioyo and a loan move for Mykhailo Mudryk from Chelsea. Newcastle added Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo, while Aston Villa brought in Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain and Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Southampton.

Hull were particularly busy, completing six deadline-day signings after their excellent start on the pitch.

Not every proposed deal crossed the line. Everton’s pursuit of Folarin Balogun failed to produce a completed transfer, while Chelsea’s attempt to sign Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara also fell through. Premier League deadline-day round-up

West Ham find their feet against Wolves

West Ham secured their first Championship victory of the season with an entertaining 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.

Divine Mukasa scored twice, with Jarrod Bowen converting a penalty and Konstantinos Mavropanos also finding the net. Wolves replied through Marshall Munetsi and Daniel James but could not recover.

It was an important response from Nuno Espírito Santo’s side after a frustrating opening to their campaign. Wolves, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to move top and suffered their first league defeat of the season. Sky Sports match report

Wrexham win as the Championship leaders bunch together

Wrexham collected their first league victory with a convincing 3-0 win at Millwall on Wednesday. An own goal put the visitors ahead before Kieffer Moore and Jacques Ekomié completed the scoring.

QPR continued their strong start by beating Cardiff City 2-1, with Rumarn Burrell scoring both goals. Charlton remained unbeaten after recovering from a goal down to draw 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion, while Swansea defeated Watford 2-0 through Eom Ji-sung and Adam Idah.

Sheffield United twice came from behind before snatching a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory over Bolton Wanderers. Derby County won 2-0 at Portsmouth, Bristol City beat Preston North End 3-1 and Stoke City edged Norwich City 1-0.

Birmingham and Southampton drew 1-1, as did Burnley and Middlesbrough, while Lincoln and Blackburn finished goalless. Championship results

Swansea, QPR and Charlton ended the midweek programme level on ten points, separated by goal difference. With four matches played, the early leaders are beginning to emerge, although the Championship rarely allows anyone to get comfortable for long. Championship round-up

Reading and Leyton Orient hit five

Reading produced one of the week’s outstanding performances with a 5-0 victory over Mansfield Town on Wednesday.

Jack Marriott scored twice, with Benn Ward, George Earthy and Jacob Brown also on target. Reading were three goals ahead by half-time and added two more after the interval.

Leyton Orient matched that winning margin at Bromley on Tuesday, recording a 5-0 away victory. Sheffield Wednesday also won on their travels, coming from behind to beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 through Louie Barry and a Jamal Lowe penalty.

Huddersfield defeated Oxford United 3-1, with Joe Taylor scoring twice shortly after Oxford had equalised. Leicester earned a 2-0 victory over Plymouth thanks to two goals in first-half stoppage time.

Elsewhere, Luton beat Stockport 2-0, Burton defeated AFC Wimbledon 4-1 and Wigan overcame MK Dons 3-1. Barnsley scored a late winner against Blackpool, while Cambridge won 2-1 at Bradford.

Doncaster and Notts County drew 1-1, with Peterborough and Stevenage finishing goalless. League One results

Bristol Rovers take top spot in League Two

Bristol Rovers moved to the top of League Two with a 2-0 victory over Colchester United.

Tom James opened the scoring before substitute Ellis Harrison added a stoppage-time second, securing a third successive league victory for Rovers. Sky Sports match report

Several of the other early pacesetters dropped points. Crewe needed a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 2-2 with Walsall, Barnet were held 1-1 at Exeter and York suffered a 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham.

Salford produced a late turnaround against Newport County, scoring in the 83rd and 90th minutes to win 2-1. Rochdale enjoyed a more comfortable evening, beating Shrewsbury 3-0, while Swindon recovered from conceding an early goal to defeat Port Vale 3-1.

There was further late drama at Tranmere, where Rotherham converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw.

Accrington and Grimsby also shared four goals, while Fleetwood’s late equaliser earned a point against Oldham. Chesterfield drew with Gillingham and Northampton shared the points with Crawley. League Two results

Celtic cruise as Shankland delivers for Rangers

Celtic maintained their perfect Scottish Premiership start with a 3-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday.

Camilo Durán opened the scoring before Benjamin Nygren and Yang Hyun-jun added further goals, putting the match beyond Aberdeen before half-time. Celtic have now won their opening four league games. Celtic match report

Rangers had a more demanding evening at Falkirk but emerged with a 2-1 victory thanks to two goals from Lawrence Shankland.

His eighth-minute opener was cancelled out by a Kosta Nedeljkovic own goal shortly before the break. Shankland then struck again in the 79th minute, securing back-to-back league victories following Sunday’s win at Aberdeen. Rangers reaction

St Mirren continued their unbeaten start with a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock, while Motherwell beat Dundee United 3-0.

Dundee and St Johnstone saved their goals for the closing stages. Dundee went ahead in the 87th minute, only for Josh Fowler to equalise three minutes later and secure a 1-1 draw. Scottish Premiership results

Boreham Wood benefit as Sutton stumble

The National League’s Bank Holiday programme brought a change at the top after Sutton United’s perfect start ended with a 2-0 home defeat to Wealdstone.

Micah Obiero scored in each half as Wealdstone claimed their first league victory and Sutton surrendered top spot to Boreham Wood. Sutton United match report

Boreham Wood took advantage with a 3-2 victory at Worthing. Matt Rush equalised after the hosts had taken the lead, before Danny Cashman scored twice to put Wood in control.

Carlisle defeated Scunthorpe 4-2, Hornchurch won 3-2 at Boston and Yeovil beat Tamworth by the same score. AFC Fylde continued their winning form with a 3-1 victory at Solihull Moors.

Altrincham left it late at Forest Green, scoring in stoppage time to win 2-1. Eastleigh also struck during added time to rescue a 1-1 draw with Aldershot.

Harrogate beat Gateshead 2-1, while Kidderminster drew with Barrow and Woking shared the points with Southend. National League results

Next up

The Scottish programme continues with Thursday evening’s Edinburgh derby between Hibernian and Hearts at Easter Road.

With the transfer window closed and the early league tables taking shape, attention now turns to how quickly the new arrivals can settle. We’ll cover the derby and the next round of league action in our Weekend Football Round-Up.