Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 in the battle of the big guns at the weekend to go five points clear on the EPL table. The Gunners’ attacking line with Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil, Tomáš Rosický and Olivier Giroud comfortably outplayed the partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suárez and although the introduction of Philippe Coutinho in the second half in his first game back from a shoulder injury brought a glimpse of hope to the Reds, in the end it wasn’t enough to lead a fight-back at Emirates Stadium. Nevertheless, Arsenal will enter a tough winter as Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea line up to face them before Christmas.
Aaron Ramsey’s goal helped the Gunners to beat Liverpool 2-0
The strong competition within the Premier League this year is almost unprecedented. José Mourinho described the league as “very hard” after the Blues suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James Park. The two clubs from Manchester enjoyed easy victories as Man City thrashed Norwich 7-0, while United beat Fulham 3-1 at Craven Cottage. The partnership between Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney is as good as any on a good day and after a tough start to the year The Red Devils have now won two in a row in the league and four in a row in all competitions.
It’s a very hard league and José Mourinho is desperate for some magic
In another tough match-up, Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 at Everton, leaving them locked on 20 points with both Chelsea and Liverpool. It also means eighth-placed Manchester United is only three points adrift of second-placed Chelsea after 10 games! It is still early days but the evidence so far suggests both José Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini, two veteran mangers, need time to settle into English football, even though Mourinho’s first stint at Chelsea was a huge success. Meanwhile, Brendan Rogers’ Liverpool clearly lacks depth – a problem they unfortunately share with the Gunners. Without any doubt, Arsenal’s first 11 is strong enough to claim the title but injuries to any of their key players could seriously hamper their season. More time is still required to assess David Moyes’ United, however the confidence is returning to Carrington training complex and they will no doubt make their presence felt in the coming months.
