Arsenal Hold On Despite Nervous Finish
Arsenal returned to the summit with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Brighton at the Emirates Stadium. Martin Odegaard opened the scoring in the 14th minute before the Gunners benefited from another opposition own goal, with Georginio Rutter inadvertently heading Declan Rice's corner into his own net early in the second half.
Brighton threatened a late comeback when Diego Gomez pulled one back in the 64th minute, and Yankuba Minteh forced David Raya into a stunning reflex save late on. The victory came despite significant defensive absentees, with Rice deployed as an emergency right-back after Riccardo Calafiori withdrew during the warm-up.
"Very happy with the performance, individually and collectively, so dominant," said Mikel Arteta. "But the margins should have been much bigger. With the amount of chances we generated, it should never be 2-1. That's the Premier League, we have to grind and suffer, but we are used to it."
City's Late Show at the City Ground
Manchester City extended their winning streak to eight matches with a dramatic 2-1 victory at Nottingham Forest. After a goalless first half, Tijjani Reijnders broke the deadlock before Rayan Cherki doubled the lead, only for Omari Hutchinson to pull one back for the hosts.
Cherki proved the hero, firing home the winner in the 83rd minute to secure what Pep Guardiola described as "massive three points." The Catalan was characteristically animated on the touchline, receiving a booking for his protests.
"All the kilos I won over Christmas time, today I lost them," joked Guardiola. "Winter time, Nottingham Forest away. When we won the Premier League titles, this type of game happens a lot. Sean Dyche has created a proper team."
Villa's Remarkable Run Continues
Aston Villa produced arguably the most impressive performance of the weekend, coming from behind to defeat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and extend their winning streak to a club-record-equalling 11 matches.
Trailing to Joao Pedro's first-half strike, Unai Emery made a tactical masterstroke with a triple substitution on 59 minutes. Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score twice, with his second a towering header from Youri Tielemans' corner seven minutes from time.
"Tactical genius," was how Watkins described his manager afterwards. Emery's changes completely transformed the contest, with Villa registering no shots in the first half before taking control after the interval.
"To beat Chelsea here is very difficult," said Emery. "How the players responded on the field was really fantastic. In the first half we struggled, but we needed to defend and we were brilliant defensively."
Liverpool Survive Wolves Scare
Liverpool moved into fourth place with a 2-1 home victory over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, but it was far from straightforward. Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz scored within 90 seconds of each other late in the first half, with Wirtz finally opening his Liverpool account after his summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.
However, Santiago Bueno's second-half strike made for a nervy finish at Anfield. Wolves remain winless after 18 matches with just two points, the worst start to a Premier League season in history.
"For a long time until it was 2-1, the game was going the way I wanted it to go," said Arne Slot. "We don't want to rely on scoring early then holding on. We know we have to improve from set pieces."
Around the Grounds
Brentford thrashed Bournemouth 4-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Kevin Schade scoring twice as the Bees extended Bournemouth's winless run to nine matches. Fulham secured a 1-0 victory at West Ham through Raul Jimenez's late goal, while Burnley and Everton played out a goalless draw at Turf Moor.
On Sunday, Sunderland and Leeds shared the points in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light, with Granit Xhaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin exchanging goals. The weekend concluded with Tottenham earning a much-needed 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace, Archie Gray's first senior goal proving the difference as Thomas Frank's side ended a difficult spell.
The State of Play
As the Premier League enters 2026, the title race could hardly be tighter. Arsenal lead on 42 points, with Manchester City two points behind and Aston Villa just three off the pace. Liverpool's inconsistent form sees them seven points adrift in fourth, while Chelsea remain fifth despite their recent struggles.
At the bottom, Wolves appear increasingly doomed with just two points, while Burnley and West Ham occupy the other relegation places. The January transfer window could prove pivotal for several clubs as the second half of the season beckons.
