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Published Oct 30, 2025 • 5 minute read
From left: Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring the opening goal with Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly during the English League Cup fourth round football match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
From left: Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring the opening goal with Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly during the English League Cup fourth round football match against Brighton and Hove Albion. Getty Images
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If Arsenal can’t win the league this year, you’d be forgiven for thinking can they ever win it again.
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After another steady and professional win, just 1-0 against Fulham, the Gunners are four points clear of second-place Bournemouth, six clear of Manchester City and seven clear of defending champions Liverpool.
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The rest of the league has been as unpredictable as it ever has been, but Arsenal’s solidity at the back has been the bedrock of their lead. Tehy’ve given up just three goals in nine games, the next closest are a host of teams who have given up seven.
Liverpool are the epitome of the league this season — they opened with five straight wins but, after losing to Bournemouth on Saturday, have lost four in a row — their worst league run in 14 years.
Manchester City were supposed to bounce back this season, but they’ve already lost three games.
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Aston Villa were hoping to make a leap this season, but they didn’t score a goal in their first four games and now they’ve won four in a row.
Chelsea? Oh yes, the inaugural winners of the Club World Cup spent a truck full of money again on players, but have lost three of the past five.
Up and down the fixture list, you never know what you’re going to get, apart from Arsenal winning with a clean sheet.
This could be a seminal weekend for them as well. They get 16th-place Burnley while Bournemouth plays at City — so one of them will drop points — third-place Spurs play Chelsea and seventh-place Liverpool get eighth-place Aston Villa.
New signing in midfield Martin Zubimendi has helped Arsenal control games, but with Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel forming the spine of the team, Arsenal just don’t give up many chances. They’ve even weathered a bit of an injury storm already with Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard suffering spells out of the side.
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If results fall their way again this weekend, Arsenal’s famed trait of cracking under pressure while manager Mikel Arteta has been there could well be mitigated by a comfortable lead headed towards the hectic holiday period.
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Aston Villa: Beating Manchester City was eyebrow-raiser after such a dreadful start. While they must be kicking themselves for being rubbish out of the blocks, even a couple of more wins would have them in the title conversation and they go to Anfield now to face a team in chaos. Four wins in a row for Villa has seen them reel in the champions, who were once 12 points ahead of them and now are level with Villa having a shot to leap them in the table.
Manchester United: At the international break, there was yet more talk about manager Ruben Amorim being fired. His three-CB system was being decried as futile, but wins against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton have their tails up and they’re only two points out of second with a trip to Nottingham Forest on the table. Forest have lost four in a row, haven’t won since the opening day of the season and are on their third manager. United have had a revitalization from some of their old guard, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Casemiro, who all looked destined for the Masters League at the end of last season, all have played vital roles in United getting back into the conversation.
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Brentford: Beating Liverpool last weekend was a crowning achievement for new manager Keith Andrews, but it was no fluke. They’ve won three of their past four with the lone loss being a slender 1-0 at Manchester City. Igor Thiago and Dango Ouattara have lead the attack more capably than most predicted. They have an interesting London derby this weekend against Crystal Palace, who they are level with at 13 points each. A win could really boost their confidence and surge them towards the European spots.
Tottenham: Another spotlight London derby this weekend in what is the FUBO Game of the Week as Spurs host Chelsea. Tottenham have quietly climbed to third in the table and have lost just once in their past five games. Their games against the Blues are always spicy.
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Liverpool: Four losses in a row, all by one goal, all while conceding the first goal, all inside the first 15 minutes. After winning the tiltle in his first season, manager Arne Slot has lots of credit in the bank and is in no way under threat. But there are serious questions being asked. Yes there are lots of new players acclimatizing to the team, but long-time players like Alexis Mac Allister, Mo Salah and Ibou Konate are struggling. Teams have figured out how to play against Liverpool — long, direct balls behind the fullbacks and threats from throw-ins and corners — and, to this point, Slot hasn’t been able to counteract that. He better do so in a hurry. They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup (and yes largely with a team of reserves and kids) by Crystal Palace midweek, but another loss at home to Villa and things could really spiral out of control.
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Everton: After a nice little spell, the other Merseyside club have lost two in a row and face surprising Sunderland this weekend. Yes, they lost to City and Spurs, but prior to that they had also dropped points against West Ham. It’s a Monday night game on the road up north — a blip can quickly turn into a slide.
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Premier League leaders Arsenal brace for tricky Crystal Palace clash](https://torontosun.com/sports/soccer/premier-league-leaders-arsenal-brace-for-tricky-crystal-palace-clash)
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Crisis Club
Fulham have dropped four games in a row and have been dragged into the relegation battle. All the more reason they simply must get all three points against rock-bottom Wolves this weekend. The visitors have yet to win a single game this year. They don’t have a deep squad, so there’s no relief coming, these are the games Marco Silva’s squad just have to win.
This weekend’s slate
Saturday: Brighton vs Leeds; Burnley vs Arsenal; Crystal Palace vs Brentford; Fulham vs Wolves; Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United; Tottenham vs Chelsea; Liverpool vs Aston Villa.
Sunday: West Ham vs Newcastle; Manchester City vs Bournemouth.
Monday: Sunderland vs Everton.
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