The Premier League table is looking very competitive at the top as we enter the all important stretch before New Year.

Its possibly the most exciting the table has looked at this stage in the season for quite a few years, as you can often have the one or two runaway teams creating space for themselves at the top.

But now there are just 6 points separating the top six, and Newcastle and Brighton in 7th and 8th are just an extra point or two behind as well. That means we have many six-pointers coming up where these top 8 clubs will play each other and we will see lots of movements in the rankings.

Arsenal are the current leaders and Arteta will be looking for consistency more than anything after what happened last season in their race with Man City. The fear of dropping points will creep in again unless Arteta and co can control the emotions to make sure that doesn’t happen again and they can think differently. Everybody knows how Man City keep the pressure on right up to the end of the season so matching that is the main focus of tier rivals.

Arsenal did capitalize on Man City and Liverpool’s draw with a hard 1-0 win over Brentford to go top, as City and Liverpool shared a point each. Pep would have been disappointed with the result and Klopp was the happier man after full-time. Alexander-Arnold’s goal meant it was the first time City have dropped points at home in 2023, after a 23-game winning streak.

There was a moment of magic in Man Utd’s match with Everton where Garnacho scored a goal of the season contender that we’ll never get bored of watching. The bicycle kick helped United to a 3-0 win, but the scoreline wasn’t necessarily a fair result as United didn’t always look so in control.

Spurs have now lost three games in a row but are playing well despite that, and still very much in it in 5th place. Ange doesn’t seem worried and we can see his confidence will be key in making his team and the fans keep the belief. That’s why he said all they can do is play their game, which they did, but didn’t get the points on the day.

Knowing that their real test has strated now with the injuries and suspensions they are facing. We would expect to see Spurs get back to winning ways soon, and it was their opponents Villa replied with the smart thinking of Emery who changed some of the midfielders that were booked in the first half. He brought Tielemands off to bring some more calm, and took off Diaby to bring on the speedy Bailey. But it was Watkins that had the drive of winning the game by scoring to help Villa overtake Spurs.

Four of the top six are playing each other this coming weekend, with Man Utd and Newcastle playing on Saturday and Man City facing Spurs on Sunday. We can expect more twists and turns in the last month of 2023. #mmlove