Eze dazzles as Arsenal make their point, Man City stutter (again), and more misery for Liverpool.
Perhaps, this is really going to be Arsenal’s year.
The Gunners are now six points clear at the Premier League summit, after Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick inspired them to a 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday.
According to the stats gurus atOpta, Eze’s hat-trick was the 400th in Premier League history, and just the fourth in games between Arsenal and Spurs.
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It was Eze’s coming-of-age moment at Arsenal. The former Crystal Palace star has certainly provided some flashes of his immense ability, but for him to put it all together in a huge game, shows there can be no doubt he belongs at the highest level.
Eze was magical, but then again Arsenal — across the board — were brilliant. Declan Rice is the engine in midfield, driving the Gunners forward at every opportunity. Leandro Trossard continues to prove how important he is as a rotation option in attack. Mikel Merino filled in up top, with Viktor Gyökeres injured.
This was a statement of intent from Mikel Arteta’s team. Sure, Spurs fans will be furious with how Thomas Frank set them up, but Arsenal still had to do their job; to say they did it well would be an understatement.
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And let’s not forget, Arsenal cruised to victory despite the absence of Gabriel Magalhães, arguably the league’s best defender so far this season.
I’ll admit to harbouring doubts as to Arsenal’s title credentials, and the season is still young, but at this stage, they look head and shoulders above the rest.
Manchester City could have put the pressure on Arsenal before Sunday’s game; instead, Pep Guardiola’s team went down 2-1 to Newcastle United in a frantic encounter at St James’ Park.
It does still seem a case of two steps forward, one step back for Man City as they look to rebuild following their drop-off last season.
It also seems that, if a team is able to stop Erling Haaland, then right now, they also stop Man City — and that should be a concern for Guardiola.
That control that Guardiola has craved and treasured so much across his trophy-laden tenure at Man City just isn’t there as it once was. City are still a fantastic team, but this is a work in progress. They are now seven points adrift of Arsenal, and even though they have done it before in years gone by, it feels like a big gap to close.
Newcastle took advantage, but it was a win Eddie Howe badly needed. The Magpies went into the weekend hanging perilously close to the relegation zone, so even if there is little chance they do get dragged into a scrap for survival this season, it was vital to stop the rot.
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Harvey Barnes was the main man — his double claiming the points. There is talk Barnes could now elect to play for Scotland at next year’s World Cup. It does seem doubtful he’ll get an England call-up, no matter how well he plays, so perhaps the winger should make the call sooner rather than later, and ensure he has the prize of a World Cup to look forward to at the end of the season.
With Anthony Gordon struggling for form and fitness, there is no reason why Barnes should not consider himself, right now, as Newcastle’s first-choice left winger.
Liverpool’s first Premier League defeat under Arne Slot came against Nottingham Forest, in September 2024. After that, the Reds did not lose again in the top flight until April.
But Forest made it back-to-back wins at Anfield in emphatic fashion on Saturday, as Sean Dyche’s team steamrolled to a 3-0 win, condemning Liverpool to their sixth defeat in the space of seven league matches.
And this was not the type of smash-and-grab victory you may associate with Dyche. Sure, his team were set up to counter, and counter to great effect they did, but they were more than worthy of their three goals. It could easily have been more, too, and may have been if not for a dubious bit of officiating.
Liverpool have no place to hide, though. They are now 11 points behind Arsenal, and sit in 11th. Their title defence is surely already over.
The Reds aren’t exactly likely to fall down the standings into a relegation battle, but if they are to ensure their qualification for next season’s Champions League, Slot needs to quickly find a way to fix things.
Fortunately, the league is so tight that one win can make all the difference; the problem is, Liverpool are just so fragile. Alexander Isak looks unfit and way short of form; Florian Wirtz looks lost; defensively, Liverpool have big problems.
For a team that spent so much money in the summer, there can be few excuses. Scrutiny will, of course, be directed at Slot, but perhaps some of that recruitment must be questioned, too. Why did Liverpool spend all summer waiting on and chasing Isak for a huge fee, but ultimately fail to bring in the high-quality centre-back they required?
Liverpool will look to get back on track when they take on PSV in the Champions League this week, but their next Premier League matches are not as easy as they may seem on paper.
West Ham have taken seven points from the last nine on offer, while Sunderland are still riding the wave off their brilliant start, even if they were beaten by Fulham last time out.
The pressure’s on at Anfield.
By Patric Ridge