A Premier League season like no other has been put on hold for six weeks to make way for the World Cup with Arsenal enjoying a five-point lead at the top of the table.
The Gunners, who have not won the title since “The Invincibles” unbeaten season of 2003/04, have failed to even finish in the top four for the past six seasons.
Mikel Arteta’s men are well on course for a return to the Champions League, but Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have ground to make up if they are to climb back into the top four.
Here’s all the talking points from the final Premier League weekend before Christmas!
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– Arteta’s Arsenal project bears fruit –
The three-year anniversary of Arteta’s appointment as Arsenal boss will take place during the World Cup hiatus.
Arsenal have been through a series of highs and lows since from winning the FA Cup in 2020 to finishing eighth in back-to-back seasons.
But the patience shown towards the Spaniard is bearing fruit in spectacular fashion as Arteta has moulded a young side into title contenders.
And his side is exceeding even his expectations, as he said after the 2-0 win over Wolves. “Yes (they are), but I take it day by day and not even game by game. I understand that the better we do the daily things and we commit to doing those things better, every individual is going to contribute to the team doing better and that’s what we want to do.’’
He added: “It’s great to be where we are and we are enjoying that moment. Now we have a big break and we have to reflect on what we’re doing and be prepared for after the World Cup. Our aim is to play better as a team every day, to have better tools to do what we want. I can say it’s been phenomenal to work with these players and staff.”
City may come to regret the decision to sell Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners as they have added title experience to a collection of promising stars.
No side has ever failed to win the league after taking 37 points from their opening 14 games.
But Arsenal haven’t gone on to win the title each of the last five times they’ve topped the table at Christmas (1951-52, 1986-87, 1989-90, 2002-03 and 2007-08), so the race isn’t over.
The true test still awaits, particularly with two fascinating clashes against City to come, but Arsenal’s early season pace has set up another intriguing title battle.
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Willock stunner takes down Chelsea | 00:43
– Newcastle rise ahead of schedule –
The traditional top six were well aware of the threat Newcastle will pose in the coming years, backed by the seemingly endless wealth of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
But the Magpies are well ahead of schedule in fighting for a place in the top four.
Eddie Howe’s men have taken 22 points from a possible 24 to go into the break in third.
When Howe was appointed a year and one week ago, he inherited a side in 19th, having not won a game in their first 11 matches of the league season. But in the 2022 calendar year, Newcastle’s haul of 68 points is fourth-best among all Premier League sides – just seven points fewer than Manchester City.
With Champions League riches a realistic goal, Newcastle are expected to splash their new-found wealth once more in January.
But Howe’s best work so far has been in reviving the careers of players that arrived at St. James’ Park long before the influx of Saudi cash.
Miguel Almiron won October’s player of the month, while Callum Wilson’s form earned him a call up to the England World Cup squad.
Before their meeting on the weekend, Chelsea manager Graham Potter delivered glowing praise for his opposite coach, saying: “I think Eddie has done a fantastic job.
“He has improved the players that were there, improved the team with some really good recruitment – they’ve spent some money to reinforce the team.
“I could speak for half an hour about how good I think Eddie is as a person and as a coach. I have huge admiration for him, and he has galvanised the team, and there is fantastic support there at St James’ Park.”
Even if their form eases off in the new year, Newcastle are English football’s new force who are not going to go away.
Tottenham take comeback win over Leeds | 00:43
– Leicester turn things around –
What a month it has been for Brendan Rodgers and his Foxes. Stuck in dead last on October 9, the team went on a sizzling run of four wins and a draw in six matches – with five clean sheets – to roar up to 13th. The Foxes are now four points out of the relegation zone but with a host of struggling teams beneath them – and a better goal difference than the four teams immediately above them on the ladder.
Their latest victory was a 2-0 march past a dismal West Ham which only puts manager David Moyes under more pressure.
Besides the World Cup, Leicester’s attention turns to January, and the future of midfielder Youri Tielemans.
Tielemans is off-contract at the end of the season and has rejected a barrage of contract extension offers, but is in hot demand – with Arsenal hoping to land him at the end of the season on a free transfer. But the North London club is reportedly considering a £25 million bid in January to bolster Mikel Arteta’s title charge. However, Rodgers has rejected talk of letting Tielemans leave after his World Cup campaign with Belgium.
“It’s not something we are thinking of [selling Tielemans] and not anything the club have said we need to do,” Rodgers said. “We don’t want to be offloading our best players, that’s for sure.
“So there has been no hint or indication we need to generate money and move him on. But, of course, there’s a business side to the club that they will look at.
“We have a number of players out of contract come the end of the season. My focus has been on working with him and getting out of the situation we are in. So everything else is not really spoken about from my perspective.”
Man United TEENAGER wins it at the end! | 00:43
– Haaland takes England by storm –
Arsenal’s achievement in keeping City off the top of the table is all the more impressive in the context of Erling Haaland’s explosive start to his career in England.
Pep Guardiola’s men have won back-to-back titles largely without a recognised striker, but got the man they wanted to be the long-term successor to Sergio Aguero in the towering Norwegian.
Haaland, who scored 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund before moving to Manchester, has dismissed any notion he could struggle to adjust to City’s style.
The 22-year-old at one point scored a hat-trick in three consecutive home league games amid a run of 18 goals in his first 13 Premier League games.
A foot ligament injury has slowed that rate in recent weeks, but Haaland will be rested and refreshed after the World Cup break with Norway having failed to qualify for Qatar.
Brentford steal victory over Man City! | 00:49
– Star’s masterclass after England snub –
Will Gareth Southgate regret his decision not to name Ivan Toney in the England World Cup squad? On the evidence of Brentford’s stunning 2-1 win over Manchester City, perhaps. Toney bagged a brace and came close to a hat-trick, bullying the City defence with confidence and panache.
It was a statement performance that showed his confidence had not taken a hit from missing the Qatar squad, and capped off with a 97th-minute winner.
He had the most touches of any Brentford player, and the most passes among their outfielders – a truly rare statistic for a striker against the champions.
Coach Thomas Frank said: “Fantastic, I can’t praise him enough. How good a person he is, his emotional intelligence with his teammates and everyone around the club. But also, what a player! What a striker! He scored two, probably should have score one more. A hat-trick here, I thought that was only for Haaland.”
Brentford’s first away win of the season was also one of their biggest in history.
Frank called it: “One of the most satisfying wins we’ve had, I think the playoff final will always be the one, getting us to the promised land. But, of course, it is up there.
“Speaking to some people from the club, this is probably the single biggest ever result, against one of the richest clubs in the world and we have one of the lowest budgets in the division. We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow.”
A bus stop with a brilliant football team, that is.
