Gameweek 27 of the 2025/26 Premier League season did not just move the table along but sharpened it, turning the season’s big conversations into something louder and more immediate.
Arsenal stayed out in front in the Premier League with a ruthless North London derby win, Manchester City kept the chase alive with a tight victory over Newcastle United, and the race for the top five gained fresh tension as Liverpool and Manchester United found ways to win, while Chelsea found another way to wobble.
Arsenal arrived with questions after dropping points in back-to-back games at Brentford and Wolves, then answered them in the harshest venue possible. Their 4-1 win at Tottenham was a proper statement, powered by Eberechi Eze’s brace and Viktor Gyokeres’s two late-dagger moments in a second-half surge.
Manchester City, meanwhile, did what title chasers must do: bank the points even when the game is not clean. Nico O’Reilly’s first-half double anchored a 2-1 win over Newcastle United at the Etihad, but the second half had enough edge to suggest the run-in won’t offer many comfortable afternoons.
Liverpool also leaned into late drama, nicking a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest via Alexis Mac Allister deep in stoppage time. It was the kind of result that does not scream dominance, but it does whisper know-how. Manchester United made theirs count too, grinding out a 1-0 win away at Everton. It was not flashy, but it was necessary.
Chelsea, though, let another lead slip, drawing 1-1 with 19th-placed Burnley after Zian Flemming’s stoppage-time header, and a red card turned the mood of the game. Tottenham, stuck in 16th and still looking over their shoulder, left the derby battered and with the bottom three uncomfortably close.
Arsenal: a derby that sounded like a Premier League title statement
Arsenal’s 4-1 win away at Tottenham was not just three points; it was a performance that screamed composure in a week where the pressure was obvious. The scoreline matters because derbies can easily turn into emotional, chaotic games, yet Arsenal made it look like a contest they would prepared for rather than merely survived.
What stood out was how Mikel Arteta’s side handled the crunch game psychology. They played with conviction, did not wait for Spurs to collapse, and kept attacking with purpose even after getting their noses in front. In a title race, that is the real flex, showing you can win big when the stakes rise, instead of tightening up and hoping.
Most importantly, the timing could not be louder. With Manchester City still winning and the table offering no breathing room, Arsenal needed a response that carried beyond the weekend, and a four-goal away derby is exactly the kind of result that lands in rival dressing rooms like a warning.
Manchester City: winning, but do they need more control?
Manchester City’s 2-1 win at home to Newcastle United did what champions do: it banked the points even when the game had awkward moments, with Nico O’Reilly scoring twice in the first half to build the platform. It also kept them right on the Premier League leaders’ trail, close enough that any wobble above them becomes an invitation.
The bigger question is how Manchester City win from here. Games like this can look fine in the results column, but they also hint at a potential issue for the final stretch: when matches get tight, Manchester City may need longer spells of control with slower tempo, fewer transitions, and more “we decide where the game is played” football to reduce the odds of late chaos or dropped points.
Can they get away with riding moments? Sometimes, yes, especially with the quality they have in key areas. But across the last 11 games, the Premier League title is not usually won by the team that looks best in highlights; it’s won by the team that turns tricky fixtures into calm, repeatable wins, and that is the standard Manchester City themselves have set in previous run-in
The top-five squeeze
The table says it is tight: Manchester United are fourth on 48 points, while Chelsea and Liverpool are level on 45 (fifth and sixth). Aston Villa, third on 51, still have a cushion, but recent draws mean the chase pack can smell them again.
Liverpool’s win at Nottingham Forest was described as fortunate, and it took stoppage-time chaos to get over the line. But late winners also point to resilience. Liverpool have scored a Premier League winning goal in the 90th minute or later three times this season, more than anyone else.
Manchester United’s 1-0 away win at Everton was not about fluency; it was about collecting points in awkward places. On form and momentum, the Red Devils look slightly better set than Chelsea right now, while Liverpool’s ceiling is obvious. However, their floor still feels a touch too low to call them clear favourites over both Chelsea and Aston Villa just yet.
Chelsea: points slipping, again
Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Burnley felt like a repeat of the same warning signs: decent stretches with the ball, but not enough control when the game state turns. Joao Pedro put them in front, yet the match swung after Wesley Fofana’s red card, and Burnley eventually found a late equaliser through Zian Flemming.
That sequence matters for the wider top-five conversation because it is not just “one bad moment” but a pattern of Chelsea dropping leads at home this season. The Premier League’s own round-up noted they have now dropped 17 points from winning positions at Stamford Bridge, which is a brutal figure when the margins between fifth and eighth are so thin.
The football is not always the issue; it is the game management, slowing momentum, defending the box properly in the final phases, and resisting panic when the plan changes.
Tottenham: when the table starts talking back
Tottenham’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal was not merely a derby loss; it was a scoreline that underlined how fragile they look in big moments right now. It also landed at the worst possible time because Spurs are no longer living in the “too big to worry” zone. They are 16th on 29 points, only four clear of the relegation places.
Is relegation genuinely on? The threat is real in the sense that the cushion is small and confidence looks brittle, especially with tough fixtures ahead. It does not mean Spurs are the most likely side to go down, but it does mean they cannot treat matches as “get-right games” anymore. They need points, quickly, and they need a clearer identity under Igor Tudor than what showed in the derby.
