MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Arsenal is premier league top However, the champagne can be kept on ice for now.
Mikel Arteta knows what’s next painful experience A celebratory position guarantees nothing when it comes to ultimately lifting the title.
Arsenal were at the top of the table in 2022 and 2023 at this point, losing only twice to Manchester City.
Even before Arteta took over, being top of the table at Christmas has traditionally been considered a bad omen for the north London club. During the Premier League era, they had held the Christmas No. 1 title four times, but were never crowned champions after that.
This table may be the most encouraging thing for manager Josep Guardiola and his City team. This is because he has won the title four times even though he is not currently in the lead.
But Arteta is not dwelling on past failures.
“What gives me belief and confidence is the level of performance and its consistency,” he said after Saturday’s narrow win over Everton secured them top spot. “It’s very difficult to do that in this league and it means teams are always there.
“Enjoy the process of winning. You’re going to have to go to difficult places and you’re going to have difficult moments. We’ve already dealt with a lot and we’re there.”
In all 33 Premier seasons, the Christmas top team have been crowned champions 17 times, giving them just over 51% of the time.
It looked like Arsenal would take advantage of City’s early drop in the standings and take the lead as Liverpool’s title defense crumbled.
However, after picking up two points from nine away games recently, Reid are now two points behind second-placed City. City briefly moved into the lead on Saturday, but Victor Goqueres’ penalty sealed a 1-0 win against Everton, breaking Arsenal’s record of no wins away from home.
Number of times Arsenal topped the table at Christmas
(And which team won the title)
2002-03 – Manchester United
2007-08 – Manchester United
2022-23 – Manchester City
2023-24 – Manchester City
United and Chelsea have won the title five times after going top of the table at Christmas. United have been top of the table at Christmas seven times in the Premier League.
Chelsea had a 100% conversion rate when they were top of the table at Christmas.
City have similarly won the three times they have led. Liverpool have won two of their first seven matches.
The city is in great shape
The sight of City in the rearview mirror will be a familiar one for Arteta and Arsenal. This is far from the classic Guardiola team, but there is an eerie feel to their charge.
Saturday’s 3-0 win against West Ham was City’s seventh consecutive win in all competitions and fifth in the league.
Guardiola’s side may lack the fluidity and guile of the side that dominated English football until they were dethroned by Liverpool last season, but with Erling Haaland up front they have the country’s most deadly striker.
Haaland’s double against West Ham took his total to 38 goals in 28 games for City and Norway this season. He is by far the league’s top scorer with 19 goals, his closest rival being Brentford’s Igor Thiago with 11 goals.
If Arsenal were hoping that signing Gokeres would land them an equally deadly forward, that hasn’t happened yet. The Sweden international has scored just seven goals in 24 games for club and country. The penalty against Everton was his fifth goal in the league this season and his first in six games.
don’t forget the villa
Aston Villa is Form a team in the top flighthave won 10 consecutive games in all competitions and are now three points behind third-placed Arsenal.
Sunday’s victory against United made it 11 wins from 12 league games. Unai Emery’s side are unbeaten in 19 games and have won 16 times in that span.
___
James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
