Chelsea were the biggest losers from Gameweek 14, with Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool among the five stories from this midweek action in the Premier League.
The first midweek round of fixtures of the 2025/26 Premier League season ended with loads of improbable results and some shocks. There were some thrilling encounters and plenty of goals to watch out for, as some teams maintained their composure while others have capitulated in the face of false promises.
Arsenal continued their consistent form and maintained their five-point lead amid pressure from Manchester City. The two foes look likely to challenge for the title as the season progresses, although for Pep Guardiola to stay in the mix, he needs to bring defensive resilience to his team.
Meanwhile, Liverpool and Manchester United stuttered once again on home soil, with the two giants unable to stitch together a consistent run of positive results. Arne Slot and Ruben Amorim are steadily entering the conversations of a sack, with the signs certainly pointing at the need for a change to improve the long-term fortunes of both teams.
Aston Villa, crucially, are probably the most consistent team in the Premire League after Arsenal, as they continued their resurgent run and finished the gameweek in third place. Should Unai Emery continue to manage the form this team is in, they could certainly cement their position as one of the main challengers for a top-four spot.
Finally, Chelsea and their disastrous three-day title challenge ended in dismay following a shock yet predictable loss away at newly-promoted and relegation-threatened Leeds United. It is a severe blow considering how morale-boosting the home draw to Arsenal was last Sunday, as most of the Chelsea fanbase now do not see any chances of their team mounting a concerted title challenge.
Arsenal: Consistency is the key for Mikel Arteta’s Premier League title contenders
Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous quote, ‘Attack wins you games; Defence wins you titles, ‘ is what Mikel Arteta is encompassing with his Arsenal side this season. The quote in itself does not mean that any team to win the title needs a defence that concedes the lowest goals in a season, but it is more about defensive stability.
Arsenal are the favourites to concede the fewest for a third consecutive season in the Premier League, and this time they are using their powers in the right way. The Gunners had come under slight pressure following their below-par draw with Chelsea last weekend, and with Manchester City winning on Tuesday in their 4-5 thriller with Fulham, the onus and pressure were on Arsenal to retain the five-point advantage.
The Gunners hosted a tricky Brentford side without their main centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, while they were also missing top scorer Leandro Trossard as well as Kai Havertz. Moreover, Arteta rotated his side, as Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze were left on the bench.
Yet, the Gunners came through unscathed, and while it was not the most glorious or brilliant performance by any means, they got the job done. It were games like the ones against Brentford that cost them a chance to mount a concerted title challenge last season, and Arteta is not in the mood to take any chances this time around.
Despite not having the main centre-back pairing, the so-called ‘back-ups’ in Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie got the job done without seeing too much change in the statistics. After a period of conceding in four successive games, Arsenal brought back their habit of not only keeping a clean sheet, but also barely conceding any chances.
This defensive resilience is what Sir Alex Ferguson spoke about all those years ago, and this consistency at the back will win them the Premier League title this time around. Now, ahead of the weekend, the trip to Aston Villa is all the more important and certainly a big test of character for Arteta’s men.
Manchester City’s defensive inconsistencies
From praising Arsenal for their defensive consistency, it is time for some Manchester City criticism for doing the exact opposite. For context, Pep Guardiola’s side have conceded eight goals in their last three games across all competitions, which is also the number Arteta’s side have conceded all season across all competitions.
In the 2022/23 season, when Manchester City won the ‘treble’, Arsenal conceded a massive 45 goals in the Premier League. That amount of goals does not win the top flight, and on pure statistical projection, Manchester City are showing similar signs this season.
Having conceded 16 goals in 14 games in the Premier League this season, Guardiola’s side are collecting three points but showing plenty of leaks in their setup. The Leeds United clash at the Etihad at the weekend gave away plenty of signs as Daniel Farke’s side came from a two-goal deficit to almost steal a point, which was then seen as an anomaly of sorts at the time.
However, the midweek trip to Craven Cottage set the alarm bells ringing to another level. Despite boasting a 5-1 lead at one stage early in the second half, Manchester City put in another disastrous second-half performance.
Fulham were relentless and took the game to the Manchester City defence to good effect. At one point in the death, the Cottagers came extremely close to levelling the score, which might have been incredible for them and rather disastrous for Guardiola.
Considering how bad Manchester City have been defensively of late, there are doubts about their title challenge sustainability. Guardiola needs to make some adjustments to his team structure to achieve far better results in that aspect, or they could risk bowing out of the Premier League title race very soon, irrespective of how short their points gap with Arsenal currently stands.
Liverpool and Manchester United stutter again
Manchester United fans can claim a banter victory over Liverpool fans with their position in the table being above them, albeit only on goal difference. However, the truth is that both sets of supporters should be concerned about their teams’ performances following recent results.
Starting with Liverpool, they are now repeating their own terrible patterns. Earlier in the season, after losing four in a row across all competitions, that one win against Eintracht Frankfurt brought hope of a revival. Following that result in Germany, Liverpool lost back-to-back games.
The same pattern continued after beating Aston Villa and Real Madrid, which was followed by a thrashings at the hands of Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, and PSV Eindhoven, which brought about immense pressure on Arne Slot.
After the victory over West Ham United, Liverpool were back at it in a timid draw with Sunderland at Anfield. Their chances of mounting a serious title challenge are virtually over, given how consistent Arsenal are at the moment. However, should their form continue this way, the Premier League champions could bow out or at least stay as outsiders for a top-four finish.
Hence, a change of manager is what a section of the fanbase are demanding at the moment, and if that were to happen, it must be done now. Speaking of managers, Ruben Amorim is also under tremendous pressure, after the Old Trafford crowd were seen booing the team and manager after their disappointing draw to West Ham.
The relentlessness of a congested fixture list is probably an excuse that Slot can use if need be, but Amorim cannot. With only a game a week to maneuver, the Portuguese tactician is doing an abysmal job, as he is unable to stitch together positive results consistently.
Manchester United could have sensed a good opportunity amid the chaos between second and 12th position in the table. Given most are playing multiple games in a week, they should have made better use of it to at least send out a statement of intent to challenge for a top-four place.
In fairness, they do not look way off a top-four place, but like Liverpool, it is their performances that are causing the stir. As things stand, Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Chelsea are all showcasing form that makes them the current favourites to clinch the top-four place, which does leave Liverpool and Manchester United as outsiders.
Chelsea’s dramatic three-day title challenge ends in despair
In all seriousness, there was no difference in the points gap between Chelsea and Arsenal for the last two weeks, but the midweek encounter has changed things dramatically. From Arsenal’s perspective, or at least their supporters, they wanted a nine-point advantage over Chelsea last weekend, and given the circumstances in the game, they really had the chance to do it.
However, they were content with retaining the six-point gap, while Chelsea fans were more than happy for the point, and rightly so, given the situation they were put in due to Moises Caicedo’s dismissal. However, Arsenal fans barely had to wait for three days to get that nine-point advantage and have Leeds United to thank for it.
Chelsea travelled to Elland Road with a sense of optimism and to get a win under their belt to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City. What happened there was nothing short of a disaster, as Enzo Maresca’s selection decisions backfired as Leeds United outclassed Chelsea in that clash.
For Chelsea, there is a long road ahead, as their so-called ‘title challenge’ ended in all but three days. Maresca needs a moment of reflection to get this team back on track, as they are certainly struggling at times to break down teams that are much lower down the table.
The fact is Chelsea probably had an easier run from the start of the season compared to Arsenal. There are some incredibly tough away games to play still, and they have to travel to the Emirates, Anfield and play Manchester City twice, while there are some tricky fixtures in clusters for Maresca to maneuver.
Whether they still have a shot at title contention will be dependent on their consistency to get good results. In addition, they must hope Arsenal and Manchester City drop valuable points.
Aston Villa are cementing their top-four credentials
The Aston Villa story is worth reiterating, as we repeat that Unai Emery was under pressure after five opening games of the season. In that period, the Birmingham giants scored one goal, which came in he fifth game in a draw against Sunderland and had already suffered a heavy home defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.
Things looked bleak at the time, but since then, Villa have stitched together an incredible run of results, and are currently third after Gameweek 14. The credit should be reserved for Emery in a big way, who did not flinch amidst the chaos at the table and took his team to the near top end.
Villa have stuttered in some of the big games, which may cast doubts over their absolute credentials to challenge for a top four place. Given they are consistently performing to get wins over teams they shoudl there’s an argument to be made for Villa and their ability to finish in Champions League places.
They play Arsenal next at home, and this will be a true test of their character. Statistically, Villa are 15th on XG in the league, but they are getting the all-important three points in many games. A win or draw over Arsenal would be a strong statement of intent for Villa, and they are indeed known as a bogey team for the league leaders.
Teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool must take Villa with all seriousness, as they are looking like the team to take that one spot in the top four.