Arsenal extended their lead, and many stories brewed in the background as the Arne Slot question emerged; we now look at five things from Gameweek 9 of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Gameweek 9 of the 2025/26 Premier League season ended on Sunday with Tottenham recording a big win away from home at Everton in the final fixture on Sunday. There were many monumental results from Friday night until Sunday evening, and the season is brewing some interesting stories in the background.

Liverpool’s downfall continued with a fourth straight defeat, this time away from home to Brentford, which has begun piling up pressure on Arne Slot. There are also questions asked about the reigning champions and their ability to now mount a concerted title challenge.

Manchester City and Chelsea are another big topic to discuss, with the two teams now showing inconsistencies in their game. Having endured defeats to Aston Villa and Sunderland respectively, there is a challenge ahead for their managers to get things right or struggle to be irrelevant in any potential Premier League title talk moving forward.

Arsenal are moving along nicely, securing one more set of three points in the bag, albeit because of another set-piece goal. There are the usual questions about their sustainability, but so far Mikel Arteta’s charges are not looking like they are reliant on a specific style of play, even though the stats state otherwise.,

The upcoming matchdays could potentially allow the Gunners to extend their lead up top even further and position themselves strongly ahead of the next international break, before a tough run-in begins. The big question today is whether Arsenal have any real challengers, even at this early stage of the campaign.

Finally, there are some more key takeaways from this gameweek, including Ruben Amorim’s resurgence at the helm at Manchester United following a third win on the bounce. We end the segment with some chatter on Bournemouth and Sunderland, with some talking points on how they can impact the title race, even though most will believe they are not part of it.

Arsenal to run away with the Premier League title?

In a world of social media, we must regard some of the chatter that comes along as the season progresses. It was only a matter of weeks ago when Liverpool fans were suggesting their team could potentially run away with the league, as they held a five-point gap over Arsenal.

Fast forward to today, Arsenal are in with a seven-point gap over Liverpool and six over the next potential contenders, Manchester City. Something Arsenal fans moaned about last season was the lack of decisiveness in times when others dropped points, and they could not take advantage. The Gunners have been different this season, and despite all the criticism over their set-piece reliance, they are currently the leaders.

The distinct difference between Liverpool in the early season and Arsenal now is that the Reds looked shaky, leaky and had tactical imbalances. Many did predict they could be hurt in different ways, and that is visible for everyone to see following a fourth consecutive loss in the Premier League. Conversely, the North Londoners are looking formidable in every sense of the way.

The Gunners registered their fourth 1-0 win of the season, and the game against Crystal Palace was by far their toughest of all. The fact that they are scoring less from open play does bring about some criticisms, but that is thoroughly negated by the fact that they are not conceding chances, let alone goals. The match this past weekend was a third instance where they did not concede a single shot on target, and that should be lauded.

On to their title challenge, Arsenal could have a solid scenario in front of them ahead of games against Burnley and Sunderland. The fact that Manchester City and Liverpool play each other before the international break does guarantee points being dropped by either or both sides, meaning winning the next two games will be imperative for Arteta’s side, with the chance of further extending their lead before a tough run-in.

The Arne Slot question

The loss against Crystal Palace was seen as a one-off, but there were concerns after the defeat to Galatasaray and then Chelsea. The only common theme between those results was the fact that all those clashes were away from home, and Liverpool fans had hoped to kick on again at Anfield when they hosted Manchester United.

Little did they know that Ruben Amorim came packed with the intention to deal a massive blow, as Manchester United won away at Anfield to inflict a third successive Premier League defeat on Liverpool. The fact that Arne Slot has now lost four in a row in the top flight, which has thoroughly questioned the club’s ability to catch up to Arsenal, has raised an even bigger issue.

Should Liverpool sack Slot? This is the question emerging at a rapid rate, and many of the Liverpool fans are already on the side of the extreme. Despite the notion that the Dutchman has credit in the bank following a stellar first season at the club, there is a big possibility this perception could be quashed soon.

More than the results, it’s the manager’s inability to get the best out of the star names in the team that baffles the supporters. The lack of defensive discipline, selection consistencies and more importantly, a structure has seen Liverpool being wide open for teams to exploit.

The fact that Slot has repeatedly moaned about set pieces and long throw-ins, while his team has conceded many of those goals from the same scenarios, has made him look a bit silly to the outside world.

The other thing is that Liverpool currently boast the PFA Player of the Season in Mohamed Salah, two British record transfers in Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, a top striker prospect in Hugo Ekitike and one of the best defensive midfielders and centre-backs in Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk, making it all the more baffling.

Liverpool play Crystal Palace next in the EFL Cup, and then a resurgent Aston Villa side at Anfield in the Premier League; both could be seen as crucial fixtures. After that, they have another home game in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid and then the Manchester City trip.

In theory, the screws could tighten on Slot if he loses or draws the next two games, while a defeat to Real Madrid and Manchester City could potentially prove catastrophic for Slot at Liverpool. With the international break happening after that trip to the Etihad, the club’s board could have time to sit back and rethink their stance on the manager, which could even result in a swift sacking.

Manchester City and Chelsea’s inconsistencies

Manchester City were on a ten-game unbeaten run across all competitions, and while they have recently looked like the team possibly challenging Arsenal in the current moment, there have been question marks lingering around their performances.

Pep Guardiola’s men have played some teams Manchester City were widely expected to defeat, and some of their overall performances have come under the microscope. The fact that they have relied heavily on Erling Haaland to get the goals, the one game where the Norwegian proved ineffective, his teammates could not get the job done.

Manchester City’s narrow loss away to Aston Villa will not have come as a surprise to many of their fans, given they have struggled at Villa Park over the last few seasons. However, there was a perception that the team had big momentum in this Premier League title race, which Unai Emery has exposed to be false.

Guardiola needs to instill some level of consistency in this squad and get going in the title race. There is a big possibility for them to drop points to Liverpool in the coming days, which could potentially give Arsenal a massive advantage. Hence, winning is the most important thing for Manchester City at the moment, although they might have to find a way to be over-reliant on Haaland to get them the points in games.

Meanwhile, there are Chelsea, who are raising even serious questions over their season and credentials to challenge for the title. On paper, Chelsea probably had the easiest start to the season among all other traditional top-six teams.

Looking at the first ten games of their season, they should have ideally been near the top, but currently, they are languishing in ninth in the standings. Chelsea are already eight points behind the leaders, and they are yet to play Arsenal, Manchester City, and some other formidable teams.

Enzo Maresca’s charges have had another big spending summer, and their struggles are partially because of the injury, but their form is also a source of concern. For now, Chelsea look best placed to fight for a top-four place, as title conversations are currently out of the question unless they unleash themselves and bring about the consistency a club of their stature should have.

Ruben Amorim feels at home

Manchester United have finally broken their jinx of not winning back-to-back games since the start of last season. It has taken a while, but Ruben Amorim has done what seemed difficult for a long time, and then added a third win on the bounce at the weekend against Brighton.

Ideally, one would expect Manchester United to win games at Old Trafford against opposition like Brighton & Hove Albion, but this result carried significance. Specifically under Amorim, there have been some good performances against the big sides, home and away, but then the Red Devils lost to teams like Brighton, even at Old Trafford.

While this win over Brighton is only one single instance, there is a chance for Amorim to build momentum from here on. The sample size might be small, but there is growing hope that Manchester United could challenge for a top-four place, something that seemed impossible following their losses earlier in the campaign.

For now, Amorim feels like he is home, and growing something that could benefit Manchester United in the short and long term. There are some key games ahead, and should the Red Devils keep up their performances like the ones against Brighton, there is no denying they could be one of the favourites to qualify for the Champions League places next season.

The Bournemouth and Sunderland case

Bournemouth are currently second after a stellar victory over a struggling Nottingham Forest side at the Vitality Stadium over the weekend. Last weekend, when they scored a late goal away at Crystal Palace, they momentarily went top of the Premier League, only for the hosts to deflate their mood with a late equaliser.

However, Andoni Iraola’s side made amends with the win over Nottingham Forest, which allowed them to climb into second place, overtaking Sunderland in the process. The latter were second following their late victory at Stamford Bridge, which saw Regis Le Bris receive incredible praise for how he has had his team performing in the top flight.

Despite the fact that Bournemouth and Sunderland are occupying second and fourth spot respectively, there is no one here considering them to challenge for the title. What they can do is disrupt the Premier League title challenge in a way that could potentially benefit Arsenal.

The theory is that, should Bournemouth and Sunderland manage to keep hold of their current positions for a few more weeks, Arsenal could potentially use them as a cushion to improve their lead at the summit. Mathematically, their presence won’t change much in terms of points, but those teams could increase the pressure on the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool to a certain degree that benefits the Gunners.