After a weekend of Premier League action wiped away the dreary memory of the international break, I'm going to round up the other results and see what they mean from an Arsenal perspective.
Manchester City impressed again, making short work of a previously-unbeaten Newcastle side. Silva didn't start, meaning Na$ri got to have a go at football. You may remember he used to play quite a bit, before rolling around in his salary, which he insists is paid in £5 notes, became his number-one hobby. One of the things that is really impressive about Man City's squad is the cost at which it was assembled. Nobody could accuse them of 'buying success' or 'distorting the market beyond normal economic rules' without themself being accused of 'being bitter' by the suddenly numerous legions of Man City fans. In all seriousness, they are scarily good, and my money is on them for the league. Newcastle, as I have pointed out previously, are about to be found out. Their position in the league table is an illusion as far as I'm concerned, and their next two league fixtures are against Man United and then Chelsea. Expect them to stall and descend rapidly down the table. The reason I am so sure? Alan Pardew.
Man United won again. I didn't watch the game, and I don't regret it because it sounds like United did what they usually do- won the game with minimal drama and not even too much exertion. I think they are the only team that will even be challenging Man City for the title, indeed it feels a little optimistic to be discussing them in a post about the teams 'around us'.
Which brings me to the weekend's most enjoyable showpiece: Chelsea-Liverpool. Interestingly, Chelsea's loss means that they have now lost three of their last four games in the league, and have lost their last two at home. Let's all take a moment to enjoy that. Seeing John Terry sliding on his arse as Glen Johnson scored in the 86th minute really made my night. That result also means that, despite our worst start to the season since time began, we are now level on points with Chelsea. In fact, despite still being in seventh, we are only 3 points off of third.
Tottenham play tomorrow, and if they win they will move three points ahead of us, so let's all hope they don't. Annoyingly, they still have a game in hand after that, because the inhabitants of Tottenham decided in August that they didn't have enough trainers, and so set about destroying local shops. Still, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all that; just because they have games in hand doesn't mean they will win them. They are still in a better position than us, and supposedly have a better squad, but I would feel very uncomfortable about that position if I were a Spurs fan. Although, if I were a Spurs fan, I would feel very uncomfortable with myself generally.
There you have it. A good weekend for us all round really. Along with three points for the Arsenal, we had Stoke losing, Chelsea losing and Newcastle losing. The latter is good from a footballing perspective, the former two are just good news for humanity in general.
Until next time,
Joe
Follow me on Twitter @joeblogsarsenal
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