Arsenal might sit top of the table but Manchester City are something different this season even for their standards and that is because of Erling Haaland. It was obvious that City needed to bring in a classic No.9, but securing arguably the world’s best - perhaps bar Robert Lewandowski, and even then it's debatable - is rather ridiculous.
Gabriel Jesus has joined Arsenal and by all accounts, his performances have been of a world-class level. But the difference in the goal tallies of Jesus and Haaland is already significant.
Haaland made it three hat-tricks in three successive home Premier League games to take his tally for the season to 17 in 11 games in all competitions. More than three times as many goals as Arsenal's new man, highlighting the difference not only between the players but the side's creative capacity too.
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Mikel Arteta was asked about whether or not Arsenal should be taken seriously as title contenders after the comfortable 3-1 win over Tottenham in the North London Derby. He was quick to shift the discussion away from himself and his side, leaving it up to the commentators to discuss.
"I’ll leave that to you guys, honestly," Arteta said. "We are just at the start, and we are really happy with where we are, and understanding that you cannot control [everything].
"Because emotion is related, and the table says what it says. But it is not something that we look at."
Arteta is right when he talks about focusing on the next game. The idea ahead of the season about a side that have failed to make the top four since 2016 when they finished second behind Leicester City was frankly laughable.
That comes from a self-described optimistic Arsenal man. Then considering only two or three changes have been made to the starting XI with Jesus, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko coming in, to see a three or four-place jump in the toughest league in the world was equally unrealistic on paper at least.
Yet, a combination of Liverpool’s poor start, Chelsea and Man United’s upheaval and a gap opened up with Tottenham means there is genuine possibilities for Arsenal to finish in a seriously good position.
But the idea that this Manchester City team can be ousted by the pluckiness of the Gunners seems, at least prior to a battle between the two, premature. Arsenal were due to play City this month but now both home and away matches will be played in 2023 after the PSV Europa League game was rescheduled to replace it.
Haaland, Phil Foden and Pep Guardiola may not have gone top with this Manchester derby win, but the statement of intent is well and truly made. The question for Arsenal is can they maintain their run and keep ahead until the pair face one another next year?
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