1) Will Gunners rue their lost leads?
The adage that 2-0 is football’s most dangerous scoreline has long since been dispensed with but Arsenal are making a good case for bringing it back. For the second week in a row Mikel Arteta’s side frittered away a hard-earned two-goal lead in a manner unbefitting of title hopefuls – the only time a team at the top of the Premier League has ever done so. There’s still time for them to put that right but after a seven-game winning streak, the sense of halted momentum will need to be recovered before the trip to Manchester City next Wednesday, from which Arsenal must get a result in order to avoid disappearing into City’s rearview. Should they fail to do so, it won’t be this season’s losses that cause them most regret. This was the fourth time Arsenal have turned a lead into a fairly desperate draw; all four have come against opponents that should have been swatted aside with ease. If Arsenal’s epic win over Bournemouth last month showed how a seesawing thriller can leave you thinking your name’s on the trophy, the last two weeks have demonstrated how it can have the opposite effect too. Alex Hess
Match report: West Ham 2-2 Arsenal
2) Antony shows what he can offer United
Antony has shown throughout the season that he is supremely talented. The Brazilian winger has the ability to cause problems by cutting in from the touchline, gliding past defenders and producing skill others can only dream of. The former Ajax man, however, has been inconsistent, petulant and overly excitable on the ball. Against Nottingham Forest he was in the right place at the right time to give Manchester United the lead and created the second through some fine skill and a perfectly weighted pass. There were examples of his flaws, too: he was often predictable because of the weakness on his right foot, he dribbled the ball out of play with some pointless skill and he did not attack the back post for crosses. What we cannot forget is that he is only 23 and in his first Premier League season. His positives outweigh the negatives and he has the shown that he can make a difference at United for years to come. Will Unwin
Match report: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester United
3) Mudryk still needs time to adjust
Mykhailo Mudryk is quick and, unfortunately, that’s about all it has been possible to say of him since his £89m move to Chelsea in January. Of all the idiosyncratic signings Chelsea have made, he is the one who has raised eyebrows the most. His assist for Conor Gallagher’s deflected opener was his second for Chelsea, the result of a surging run that – perhaps, looked at in the kindest possible light – suggested he is beginning to acclimatise to the Premier League. But there remains a lack of precision, his game a series of panicked flurries rather than clear decisions. Which is reasonable enough – he is only 22. He had started only 33 games in the Ukrainian league before his move to London. It is a big step up, as well as a move to a new culture. It should take time to settle and there is promise there. But that fee means there is immediate expectation, and that may not be healthy. Jonathan Wilson
Match report: Chelsea 1-2 Brighton
4) Europe in sight for resurgent Villa
It felt a little absurd given Aston Villa were three points off the bottom of the table approaching November, but the question inevitably came Unai Emery’s way after a seventh win in eight matches: is a late push for the top four possible? “Not now, not now,” Emery replied, trying and failing to quell the giddiness. “Now we can think to be a candidate for the Europa [League] positions but the top four is difficult.” Villa’s evisceration of Newcastle leaves them six points behind Eddie Howe’s side, who have a game in hand and a far superior goal difference to Villa. The top four is probably out of reach but with Manchester United, Tottenham and Brighton among three of Villa’s final five matches, for now it is an unlikely prospect that remains very much alive. Ben Fisher
Match report: Aston Villa 3-0 Newcastle
5) Patience pays off for Cherries
Pulling Bournemouth six points from the relegation zone is an achievement, should it be seen out, to mark Gary O’Neil as one of the managers of the season. Such success derives in his club keeping faith and not panicking, having already sacked Scott Parker, when collecting only two points between Christmas and mid-February. Since running Arsenal close in a 3-2 defeat on 4 March, O’Neil’s men have been one of the Premier League’s in-form teams. Tottenham were beaten by a team prepared to defend in numbers for great lengths of time, but with attacking quality on the break. Dominic Solanke was excellent while fellow goalscorers Matías Viña and Dango Ouattara were astute January signings. O’Neil himself is no Premier League naif, having played more than 200 games for five clubs. He is also realistic. In victory, while unsure why Tottenham’s staff offered no post-match handshakes, he was careful to acknowledge the “fine margins” that put Bournemouth in such a strong, unexpected position. John Brewin
Match report: Tottenham 2-3 Bournemouth
6) Guardiola sounds Bayern warning
As with all the great managers, Pep Guardiola knows his public utterances are effectively team talks. After victory over Leicester a message was sent to Manchester City that the bust-up between Sadio Mané and Leroy Sané may be seized on by Bayern Munich as the X-factor required to overcome their 3-0 deficit in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg. “Sometimes you need conflict to make the team more together. It’s not a weak point, it will be a strong point against us. I know this club perfectly,” said the former Bayern coach. “I can imagine the situation against City – Bayern will do their best. If it was the opposite and we had lost 3-0 and didn’t win [against Leicester] and there was some conflict, the team would say it is a final for us and we know exactly what we have to do.” Mané, who received a one-game suspension for hitting Sané, missed Saturday’s draw with Hoffenheim but is free to play against City. Jamie Jackson
Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Leicester
7) Dyche effect fades in Goodison gloom
Everton collected six points from Sean Dyche’s first three games in charge and have gathered only six more from their last eight outings, yet the manager denies performances are on a downward spiral. “You may have noticed we have been playing some pretty handy teams,” was his pithy response when the direction of travel was put to him on Saturday. Fulham arrived at Goodison Park on the back of a five-game losing streak and departed with a club-record sixth away win in a top-flight season. Dyche’s tactics – deploying two in a central midfield weakened by the absences of Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucouré – and his team selection (Neal Maupay, no more needs to be said) helped the Fulham cause. But it was the air of resignation that pervaded Goodison, among players and fans alike, that was the most alarming sign for a club edging ever closer to losing its top-flight status after 69 years. “I still believe there is a very good group of players here,” Dyche insisted. “You look at the group and think, ‘Right let’s take it on.’ It is right there in front of us.” As is an ominous-looking fixture list. Andy Hunter
Match report: Everton 1-3 Fulham
8) Hammers show steel needed to stay up
West Ham will finish comfortably clear of relegation if they replicate their final hour against Arsenal a handful more times. This was David Moyes’ football at its best: aggressive, direct when it needed to be, smart and not without flourishes of beauty. They bettered the visitors in midfield and Michail Antonio, waging war on the visiting centre-backs throughout, was irrepressible in attack. They had been in action under 72 hours previously in Gent, and were without arguably their two best centre-halves through injury, but for long spells it looked as if they – rather than a flat Arsenal – were the team that had lacked European distraction. Showings like this have proved all too rare in recent months and Moyes’ job has been hanging by a thread. He may wonder whether a vigorous end to the campaign will secure a stay of execution, and could also be excused for wondering why the Hammers have not turned out more such displays. Nick Ames
9) What next for Wolves with safety close?
When Julen Lopetegui took over as manager of Wolves, they were bottom of the table with 10 points and eight goals from 15 games; since then, they have played 16 times, accumulating 24 points and 18 goals. After an impressive win over Brentford, their relegation worries look almost assuaged. But next season their aim will not simply be to stay up because now Wolves not only have some good players but the right person leading them. That the same appears to apply to almost all the teams above them demonstrates two things about England’s top division. The good news is that most clubs are on an upward trajectory, so matches in 2023-24 should be high-level and ultra-competitive; but the bad is that this is reflects a damaging, Super League-style financial dominance – which explains why a figure like Lopetegui left Spain for a piece of it. Daniel Harris
Match report: Wolves 2-0 Brentford
10) Eze plays his way into England frame
It is no coincidence that Eberechi Eze’s return to form has coincided with Crystal Palace’s incredible transformation under Roy Hodgson. The 24-year-old has played every minute of the three successive victories since Hodgson replaced Patrick Vieira and is now Palace’s top scorer in the league with seven. Why Vieira appeared to lose faith in Eze – who was restricted to just one start in the two previous months – remains a mystery but his successor certainly has belief in the player he signed from QPR in 2020. Asked whether the winger could once again be on England’s radar after missing out on the provisional squad for Euro 2020 due to injury, Hodgson insisted Eze’s future is in his own hands. “Yes, why not? If I was him I would be saying, ‘I’m so good that I’m going to make that my ambition,’” he said. “But the only way that he will do that is by producing more and more of these performances and hoping that Steve Holland and Gareth Southgate come to the same conclusion and think this is a guy that could help us out.” Ed Aarons
Match report: Southampton 0-2 Crystal Palace
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 31 | 43 | 74 |
| 2 | Man City | 30 | 50 | 70 |
| 3 | Man Utd | 30 | 9 | 59 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 30 | 24 | 56 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 31 | 12 | 53 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 31 | 4 | 50 |
| 7 | Brighton | 29 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 29 | 15 | 44 |
| 9 | Brentford | 31 | 5 | 43 |
| 10 | Fulham | 30 | 1 | 42 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 31 | -3 | 39 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 31 | -9 | 36 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton | 31 | -16 | 34 |
| 14 | AFC Bournemouth | 31 | -28 | 33 |
| 15 | West Ham | 30 | -12 | 31 |
| 16 | Leeds | 30 | -15 | 29 |
| 17 | Everton | 31 | -22 | 27 |
| 18 | Nottm Forest | 31 | -32 | 27 |
| 19 | Leicester | 31 | -14 | 25 |
| 20 | Southampton | 31 | -29 | 23 |
