LONDON (AP) — Viktor Gyokeres scored his first Arsenal goals on a day of intent from the Premier League team, before and during its 5-0 thrashing of Leeds on Saturday.
The statement victory was preceded by the unveiling of new signing Eberechi Eze, whose move from Crystal Palace was confirmed as Gunners fans were taking their seats at the Emirates Stadium. The England international got a great reception when he was presented to the crowd in the moments before kickoff.
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Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres, right, scores his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Emirates stadium in London, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Emirates stadium in London, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Burnley's Jaidon Anthony, center, and Sunderland's Noah Sadiki, left, battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at Turf Moor, Burnley, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Tottenham's head coach Thomas Frank reacts after the Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham in Manchester, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Jurrien Timber opened the scoring after 34 minutes from a corner for set-piece specialist Arsenal before Bukayo Saka doubled the home side’s advantage on the stroke of halftime.
Gyokeres bounced back from missing an easy chance in the opening period to score on his home debut three minutes into the second half, powering into the Leeds penalty area before sending a low right-footed shot past Lucas Perri.
Saka and Martin Odegaard were both forced off with injuries but spirits were raised again when Timber landed his brace shortly before the hour mark.
Max Dowman, aged 15 years and 235 days, delivered an impressive second-half cameo from the bench when he became the second youngest player — after Ethan Nwaneri — to represent Arsenal. And the teenager capped an eye-catching display by winning a penalty for his side in stoppage time which Gyokeres duly converted.
Tottenham continued its flying start to the Premier League season under new coach Thomas Frank as Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha secured an impressive 2-0 victory at Manchester City.
It was an afternoon to forget for City goalkeeper James Trafford.
Spurs scored four without reply at City last season and this time celebrated a 2-0 triumph as on-loan Palhinha capitalized on a mistake by home debutant Trafford shortly after Johnson had opened the scoring.
Tottenham deserve the plaudits but much of the post-match analysis will surround goalkeeper Trafford, who returned to the Etihad Stadium this summer in a 27-million-pound ($36.5 million) move from Burnley.
Johnson’s opener was hard to prevent but Trafford could have been sent off for a clumsy challenge on Mohammed Kudus before his huge error allowed Palhinha to score in first-half stoppage time.
Ederson, back from illness, watched from the bench as speculation about his future and City’s potential move for Paris Saint-Germain star Gianluigi Donnarumma rumbles on.
In a difficult day for the home side, recent signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was injured and had to be replaced by Nathan Ake midway through the first half.
Shortly afterward Tottenham found the net. Pape Matar Sarr’s flicked header put through Richarlison, who burst free and sent across a low ball for Johnson to slam home.
Initially ruled out for offside against the Brazil international, the goal was eventually awarded and the VAR’s review sparked wild celebrations in the away end.
City spiraled from that point, with Trafford foolishly passing short in his own box to Nico Gonzalez, who had Sarr on his back.
The ball went loose to Richarlison and then reached Palhinha to drive home Spurs’ second.
Dango Ouattara scored on his debut to give Brentford a 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
It took Ouattara, who joined from Bournemouth last week, just 12 minutes to make his mark as a goal kick from Caoimhín Kelleher was nodded on by Igor Thiago. Ouattara's initial attempt was saved by Emiliano Martinez but the Burkina Faso winger fired in the rebound.
Bournemouth also picked up its first points of the season with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton, which played almost the entire second half with 10 men after defender Toti was sent off for pushing over Bournemouth forward Evanilson.
Marcus Tavernier scored the only goal in the fourth minute.
Jaidon Anthony set up the opener for Josh Cullen and scored the other goal himself as Burnley beat fellow promoted team Sunderland 2-0 for its first points back in the top flight.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres, right, scores his side's third goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Emirates stadium in London, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Emirates stadium in London, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
Burnley's Jaidon Anthony, center, and Sunderland's Noah Sadiki, left, battle for the ball during their English Premier League soccer match at Turf Moor, Burnley, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)
Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Brentford and Aston Villa at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Nigel French/PA via AP)
Tottenham's head coach Thomas Frank reacts after the Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Tottenham in Manchester, England, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.
In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."
After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.
It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.
Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”
Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.
Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
