⚽ Premier League 2025/2026 Discussion Thread ⚽

[Akbarkoe]

It should be like that if those who bet on the favorite team must have benefited this week, but if not? must have lost because I'm pretty sure some people are hesitant to bet on the favorite team, last week was quite a strong slap for them.

Maybe one that can't win is the Chelsea and Arsenal match because it ended in a draw in this match.

Most of the teams in the top got a big advantage with this draw from Arsenal. Its just wierd that Arsenal couldnt win this match with a player more. They had some good chances but just didnt take them. Its getting intrested at the very top with this draw. I just wonder what would have happened if Chelsea didnt receive that red card

Certainly, with this draw result, other top table teams can close the gap and reduce the point deficit with Arsenal. Especially Manchester City, which has the biggest chance to overtake Arsenal. Of course, if no Chelsea player had received a red card, the match would have been more exciting and interesting; Chelsea could have won the match if they had a full 11 players without any red cards. Having a player sent off reduces the team's balance, and coach Enzo Maresca had to change his game system when one of his players received a red card.

Moises was too reckless in this match, in addition to the bad diving, this only added to the referee's annoyance, he should be aware that nowadays there are replays of every questionable foul incident, I feel stupid when I see it, if he behaves well and is honest even though the foul is fairly harsh, the referee will not be annoyed and there is a chance of not being red carded. (maybe)

The standings are getting closer and the difference is only two full wins to catch Arsenal for Manchester City, but you also can't forget that this draw also makes Aston Villa, Brighton and Sunderland closer to Chelsea's position, Chelsea is also affected.

[Sim_card]

The standings are getting closer and the difference is only two full wins to catch Arsenal for Manchester City, but you also can't forget that this draw also makes Aston Villa, Brighton and Sunderland closer to Chelsea's position, Chelsea is also affected.

Of course, when two clubs played draw, it will affect both clubs because they drop two points each. The draw affected Chelsea more because Aston Villa is on the same point with them and Chelsea is one step down from the table. Arsenal still maintain their top spot on the table. City was able to close the point gap with two points only because Arsenal is five points ahead of City.

[reagansimms]

~~~

I admit that Maresca is quite astute in his strategy, Many unexpected things happen in every match, such as Chelsea's red card midway through the first half. However Chelsea performance remained stable and they even managed to score from a corner kick.

A draw is certainly quite good for Chelsea, as they were reduced to 10 men in the second half, Despite this Maresca was able to maintain the rhythm of the game, proving that Chelsea are now quite good.
Meanwhile Arsenal should also be quite satisfied with this draw, Chelsea and Arsenal are two teams in the title race, so the match was intense and a draw is fair for both teams, as predicted from the start.

Chelsea managed to show its status as a tough World Champion club and not easily defeated even though the opponent they faced was in peak form, despite playing with 10 men throughout the second half, Chelsea managed to secure a point at their headquarters. Moisés Caicedo red card affect their play, and in a situation where they were a man down, a draw wasn't a bad result for Chelsea.

Arsenal also tried hard to catch up, Arteta was very lucky to have a player like Merino who has a high instinct in scoring goals, he managed to take advantage of a brilliant assist from Saka to help his team avoid defeat. A very fair result for both teams because Chelsea had the lead over Arsenal, despite losing two points, Arsenal is still the leader of the standings with a 5 point advantage over City, while Chelsea is still stuck in third place.

[AprilioMP]

After 13 rounds at the top Arsenal have difference of 5 points but at the bottom difference is 8 points for Wolves they are without any win and their attack and defense are also terrible most chances they could be not survive and ended with relegation in this season. Burnley and Leeds United are on same level of performance and quality this can be good for them West Ham and Nottingham Forest are giving them company just because of this currently it's difficult to predict about others strong contenders for relegation but still most chances Burnley are having not good time and Leeds United is also hosting inform Chelsea for next game.

Wolverhampton is trying to win, but they haven't found it yet. In yesterday's match, Martinez's performance as Aston Villa goalkeeper prevented Wolverhampton from enjoying victory.
Good for Aston Villa, but even worse for Wolverhampton, who are struggling at the bottom of the table.

Arsenal's draw was understandable, as beating Chelsea in their improved form is no easy task.
Being five points behind second-placed Manchester City and six points behind Chelsea and Aston Villa in third and fourth, both with 24 points from 13 matches, presents a serious challenge for Arteta.
But I'm glad Odegaard returned to the pitch, even though he didn't start yesterday's match.

[Velvet78]

I really liked Chelsea against Arsenal yesterday. Despite such an early red card they showed a good performance and didn't lose the game.    Arsenal were worse than I expected after the red card though...

They found big opportunities in the last minutes but wasted all of them easily. Arsenal are still safe from all others with 5 points at least. Merino continues to make goal contribution as a CF. I think Gyökeres should stay on bench in this situation.

[knowngunman]

If Chelsea doesnt' get a red card. They may play more fearlessly than what they did during the second half. They have more person to defend, and we can expect them to win the game. However, we must move on. The fact that getting draw when they were one men down is so good. This also shows how Maresca perfectly managed his team better when it's coming in the different circumstancces.

So what i can do is appreciate them all. I'm not feeling worry if Caicedo gets red as Santos and Essugo are ready to play. This is the good thing when you have a squad with the depth.

No team finds it easy to play with a man down especially when playing against opponent like Arsenal that is currently on their best form. The fact that Chelsea did not lose that match yesterday proved how well Maresca managed the team. The best decision Maresca made yesterday was bringing James in the midfield after Caicedo red card and the captain delivered as if midfield was his actual position. No wonder Maresca once said that he sees James more of a midfielder than a right wing back. He was completely on fire throughout the second half.

So yeah, Without that red card, Arsenal might have had a more difficult game. Although it wasn't an entertaining game as expected, lots of hard tackles 

[aylabadia05]

The draw will give an advantage for the city, and another club that got wins tonight. This also creates tight competition in the Champions League zone. Arsenal should take this chance to widen the distance, but they are careless on defense; they are constantly attacking and forget to close the gap from Chelsea counterattacks. The derby was quite intense; they competed over who was the best club in London. If Chelsea didn't get a red card, most probably they would get a win, when I look at how easy they press Arsenal on 2nd half, Chelsea should win at least 3-1.

The race for the top four, the final spot for automatic qualification for the Champions League, has tightened after Chelsea's draw against Arsenal.
I don't blame Arsenal's defense or justify the result, but this draw is a shame for Arsenal, as they were reduced to 10 men before taking the lead.

If Chelsea hadn't lost Caicedo and played with 11 men, allowing Arsenal to lose, I believe it would have been the beginning of Arsenal's usual downward spiral, which will continue. Hopefully, this isn't true.
Imagine, from 1st to 4th, even up to 6th, there's still a chance to compete for the top four, given their points tally.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

The race for the top four, the final spot for automatic qualification for the Champions League, has tightened after Chelsea's draw against Arsenal.
I don't blame Arsenal's defense or justify the result, but this draw is a shame for Arsenal, as they were reduced to 10 men before taking the lead.

If Chelsea hadn't lost Caicedo and played with 11 men, allowing Arsenal to lose, I believe it would have been the beginning of Arsenal's usual downward spiral, which will continue. Hopefully, this isn't true.
Imagine, from 1st to 4th, even up to 6th, there's still a chance to compete for the top four, given their points tally.

Nobody can win every game and Arsenal should be disappointed they didn’t capitalise on Chelsea having 10 men by winning the game but a draw isn’t a disaster for their title chase, they are still favourites. They’re not going to want to encourage Man City and Chelsea any more by dropping points again soon.

[Pulsar77]

I also think this isn't a big deal for Arsenal. Arteta's only regret must be to miss a big chance after Chelsea got one man down. Other than that 1 point is good for Arsenal in a tough match in a challenging fixture.

There is good news for this week! We have league matches between December 2 and December 4 too. I'm looking forward to watching the Liverpool - Sunderland one especially. It's a much harder match honestly compared to facing West Ham.

[slapper]

~

I also think Arsenal's game against Chelsea was far from what we're used to. They weren't very effective, and Arsenal are a very effective team this year. So, they couldn't play like a true Arsenal, and that's why they couldn't earn the three points despite Chelsea being outplayed. Chelsea also defended very well and positioned their players well. They didn't allow Arsenal to win and managed to earn a point despite being outplayed. Earning a point from Arsenal in such a match is a success. Considering Arsenal has the potential to beat almost any team in the Premier League, it's a win, not a loss, for Chelsea. Arsenal, however, squandered their opportunity and couldn't earn the three points in such a match. It's difficult to break through a closed defense, and it's especially difficult to break through a closed defense from a strong team like Chelsea. We saw this once again in this match. Arsenal failed to capitalize on their advantage and ended the day with a draw.

I get what you're saying about how hard it is to break a packed defence, but for me this game exposed something specific in Arsenal rather than "it's just Chelsea are strong".

You've got: no Saliba, no Gabriel, makeshift centre-backs, then you ask the same team to not only have control of the game, break a 10-man low block. That's a different skill set. Arsenal are brilliant at big, high-level, 11v11 games - the Big Six record proves that - but when the game is reduced to "attack vs training dummy" they don't flick into killer mode often enough.

In fact I found myself coming out of it more convinced by Chelsea than Arsenal. They beat Barca midweek, and go down to 10 here, but still score first and get off the pitch livid at the ref, not afraid of Arsenal. That's a mindset shift. It's like the day they stop being merely a "project" and begin behaving like a serious problem for everybody.

For Arsenal, it's one of those results that doesn't ruin anything in the short-term but sits there in the background. If they lose the title by a couple of points then people will remember a night in which they had an extra man for ages, all the ball and still couldn't really turn the screw.

[Different patterns]

~

I also think Arsenal's game against Chelsea was far from what we're used to. They weren't very effective, and Arsenal are a very effective team this year. So, they couldn't play like a true Arsenal, and that's why they couldn't earn the three points despite Chelsea being outplayed. Chelsea also defended very well and positioned their players well. They didn't allow Arsenal to win and managed to earn a point despite being outplayed. Earning a point from Arsenal in such a match is a success. Considering Arsenal has the potential to beat almost any team in the Premier League, it's a win, not a loss, for Chelsea. Arsenal, however, squandered their opportunity and couldn't earn the three points in such a match. It's difficult to break through a closed defense, and it's especially difficult to break through a closed defense from a strong team like Chelsea. We saw this once again in this match. Arsenal failed to capitalize on their advantage and ended the day with a draw.

I get what you're saying about how hard it is to break a packed defence, but for me this game exposed something specific in Arsenal rather than "it's just Chelsea are strong".

You've got: no Saliba, no Gabriel, makeshift centre-backs, then you ask the same team to not only have control of the game, break a 10-man low block. That's a different skill set. Arsenal are brilliant at big, high-level, 11v11 games - the Big Six record proves that - but when the game is reduced to "attack vs training dummy" they don't flick into killer mode often enough.

In fact I found myself coming out of it more convinced by Chelsea than Arsenal. They beat Barca midweek, and go down to 10 here, but still score first and get off the pitch livid at the ref, not afraid of Arsenal. That's a mindset shift. It's like the day they stop being merely a "project" and begin behaving like a serious problem for everybody.

For Arsenal, it's one of those results that doesn't ruin anything in the short-term but sits there in the background. If they lose the title by a couple of points then people will remember a night in which they had an extra man for ages, all the ball and still couldn't really turn the screw.

This type of results often jeopardize ambition of a club like Arsenal to Lose the title in the long run. Though they had the opportunity to win that match because Caicedo was given a red card, Chelsea was reduced to only ten men and with the well Arsenal have been playing recently,  they are not the type of club you would be having a red card when playing, they will capitalize on it, but unfortunately Chelsea defense was so strong, and with the 10 men they were the first to score,  Arsenal just have to equalise and couldn't add another goal, they have to end the match in a draw
Chelsea have been incredible recently, I love the way they play now, the energy, the determination and the team spirit is something I need to commend. This is a good one for them,imagine if they don't have a red card, even with the red card they had more shots and shots on target.
It's obvious Maresca have learnt his lesson from the game against Manchester United, where he made some changes in the 20th minute because of a red card and that cost us a lot. I love the improvement I am seeing in Chelsea now,if they can continue like this, they may win the league

[Princess Leah]

The race for the top four, the final spot for automatic qualification for the Champions League, has tightened after Chelsea's draw against Arsenal.
I don't blame Arsenal's defense or justify the result, but this draw is a shame for Arsenal, as they were reduced to 10 men before taking the lead.

If Chelsea hadn't lost Caicedo and played with 11 men, allowing Arsenal to lose, I believe it would have been the beginning of Arsenal's usual downward spiral, which will continue. Hopefully, this isn't true.
Imagine, from 1st to 4th, even up to 6th, there's still a chance to compete for the top four, given their points tally.

Nobody can win every game and Arsenal should be disappointed they didn’t capitalise on Chelsea having 10 men by winning the game but a draw isn’t a disaster for their title chase, they are still favourites. They’re not going to want to encourage Man City and Chelsea any more by dropping points again soon.

It's not easy to play against 10 men cause they'll be more careful and defend properly, take the match against Everton vs Manchester United fir instance, the game was balanced when both sides were equal with 11 men but when Everton git reduced, things changed and they made it difficult for Manchester United compared to when they had 11 players.

 Similar thing happened yesterday but Chelsea suprised me cause I felt they'll park the bus after Caicedo conceded a red card but they still attacked an managed to break Arsenal's strong defence and scored first. Well Arsenal shouldn't get carried away by being at first position cause they still have a long way to go I expect them to be more focused and maintain their consistency cause Chelsea's a serious contender too, yesterday's match proved it.

[GiftedMAN]

I also think this isn't a big deal for Arsenal. Arteta's only regret must be to miss a big chance after Chelsea got one man down. Other than that 1 point is good for Arsenal in a tough match in a challenging fixture.

There is good news for this week! We have league matches between December 2 and December 4 too. I'm looking forward to watching the Liverpool - Sunderland one especially. It's a much harder match honestly compared to facing West Ham.

I think why many of us are tryna criticise Arsenal for failing to beat Chelsea yesterday was because they played most part of the game with a man up than the Blues who saw their important player Caicedo sent off in the 38th minute. Aside from that, coming to Stamford bridge and getting a point against an inform Chelsea was surely not a poor result for Arsenal.

They're still top of the English Premier League table with 5 points better than second placed Manchester City so they're still in good position to continue their dominance in the league.

For Liverpool, winning against West Ham yesterday I think Wil was significantly increase their confidence and against Sunderland, I predict a win for Arne Slot's men.

[Tmoonz]

Most of the teams in the top got a big advantage with this draw from Arsenal. Its just wierd that Arsenal couldnt win this match with a player more. They had some good chances but just didnt take them. Its getting intrested at the very top with this draw. I just wonder what would have happened if Chelsea didnt receive that red card

If Chelsea doesnt' get a red card. They may play more fearlessly than what they did during the second half. They have more person to defend, and we can expect them to win the game. However, we must move on. The fact that getting draw when they were one men down is so good. This also shows how Maresca perfectly managed his team better when it's coming in the different circumstancces.

So what i can do is appreciate them all. I'm not feeling worry if Caicedo gets red as Santos and Essugo are ready to play. This is the good thing when you have a squad with the depth.

Exactly my point, like it's actually getting interesting at the top with this draw just imagine 9 points ahead of 7th place Manchester United, hmm Mikel Arteta and his boys should be very careful because this is English premier League where anything can actually happen anytime, but let's be realistic here despite Chelsea holding Arsenal down to a draw game even with a man down don't you guys think Chelsea is not really impressive when it comes to them and Arsenal like my point is it's really been a while since Chelsea win Arsenal and they seems to act like they don't know about that but became more concern on how they draw Arsenal with a man down, it's quite hilarious I must say.

[SmartCharpa]

Most of the teams in the top got a big advantage with this draw from Arsenal. It’s just wierd that Arsenal couldnt win this match with a player more. They had some good chances but just didnt take them. It’s getting intrested at the very top with this draw. I just wonder what would have happened if Chelsea didnt receive that red card

I think Chelsea created more chances than Arsenal in this match, and they could have beat Arsenal if not for the red card. To be honest, I underestimated Chelsea before the match because Arsenal looks more competitive than any other team in the Premier League this season, but after Caicedo was sent off, Chelsea was stronger than playing with 11 players, they were not worried that one player was sent off, and they attacked Arsenal more in the second half.

However, I couldn’t believe Arsenal was playing against 10 men since the first half, and yet they still conceded a goal, the draw gives other teams the chance to have a less points difference with Arsenal. With the outcome of the game, I believe Chelsea would have won the game if they had played with 11 players, because they still managed to have 4 shots on target.

[Agbam]

The draw will give an advantage for the city, and another club that got wins tonight. This also creates tight competition in the Champions League zone. Arsenal should take this chance to widen the distance, but they are careless on defense; they are constantly attacking and forget to close the gap from Chelsea counterattacks.

I am not the kind of person that makes excuses,  so I am very disappointed at the way Arsenal played. I don't care of they don't have their first choice center back, the truth is that they performed below the team expectations and this draw is more of a loss to me, but I don't think this will affect their position much, because I still believe they are the most consistent team in the premier league this season, so I believe that the teams that are chasing them in the title race will definitely drop points before them, which give them the advantage to extend the lead. Congratulations to Chelsea anyways, because they had a good performance a day deserves not less than a draw.

The draw is of no advantage to anyone all the clubs who could have taken The advantage are still far behind. I’m not sure Arsenal is making any excuses with the absence of their center back. They’re still a formidable team but Chelsea were more fired up for the night.

If you watch closely you see Chelsea plays better when they’re up against a big team that’s been impressive but they don’t replicate this form afterwards in all their games. If they can maintain playing at such level then Arsenal has to fear for the title race.



Alexander Isak finally got off the line yesterday and Liverpool got their win in a while now.

[Oluwa-btc]

I really liked Chelsea against Arsenal yesterday. Despite such an early red card they showed a good performance and didn't lose the game.    Arsenal were worse than I expected after the red card though...

They found big opportunities in the last minutes but wasted all of them easily. Arsenal are still safe from all others with 5 points at least. Merino continues to make goal contribution as a CF. I think Gyökeres should stay on bench in this situation.

Viktor Gyökeres should not be behind Mikel Moreno, how can you even utter such words. Well, because he was able to find tue back of the net. Gyökeres brings something Mikel Moreno don't. Running behind these players and also creating chances for himself.  At least, we've literally saw that from him.
Maybe If not for the booked player Caicedo, Arsenal should have made it difficult for a draw likewise.  Next up against Brentford, hopefully they don't slack.

[SatoPrincess]

I really liked Chelsea against Arsenal yesterday. Despite such an early red card they showed a good performance and didn't lose the game.    Arsenal were worse than I expected after the red card though...

They found big opportunities in the last minutes but wasted all of them easily. Arsenal are still safe from all others with 5 points at least. Merino continues to make goal contribution as a CF. I think Gyökeres should stay on bench in this situation.

Viktor Gyökeres should not be behind Mikel Moreno, how can you even utter such words. Well, because he was able to find tue back of the net. Gyökeres brings something Mikel Moreno don't. Running behind these players and also creating chances for himself.  At least, we've literally saw that from him.
Maybe If not for the booked player Caicedo, Arsenal should have made it difficult for a draw likewise.  Next up against Brentford, hopefully they don't slack.

Viktor Gyökeres on the bench? Not going to happen. Viktor Gyökeres is the missing piece Mikel Arteta has been missing all these years and is without a doubt the most important player in the team. Gyökeres is a clinical finisher and is ten times better than Merino. 

[Jostern]

The race for the top four, the final spot for automatic qualification for the Champions League, has tightened after Chelsea's draw against Arsenal.
I don't blame Arsenal's defense or justify the result, but this draw is a shame for Arsenal, as they were reduced to 10 men before taking the lead.

If Chelsea hadn't lost Caicedo and played with 11 men, allowing Arsenal to lose, I believe it would have been the beginning of Arsenal's usual downward spiral, which will continue. Hopefully, this isn't true.
Imagine, from 1st to 4th, even up to 6th, there's still a chance to compete for the top four, given their points tally.

Nobody can win every game and Arsenal should be disappointed they didn’t capitalise on Chelsea having 10 men by winning the game but a draw isn’t a disaster for their title chase, they are still favourites. They’re not going to want to encourage Man City and Chelsea any more by dropping points again soon.

That is true, in football you win some, and you draw some, and loose some, but I must say Arsenal was absolutely lucky to have gotten a draw in that game, When the game was a 11vs 11 players, Chelsea was playing more of the ball, and had more opportunities before Moises Caicedo who said he likes to tackle, made a reckless tackle that caused Chelsea to suffer more in the hands of Arsenal, Arsenal was very poor they couldn’t break Chelsea resilience.

But I must single out Reece James, he played a very good game of football after the Red card he was charged up and controlled the midfield very well he was like two players on the field, and he was breaking Arsenal’s high pressing line from Odegaard and Eberechi Eze was nowhere to be found in the game, Arsenal’s performance was absolutely horrendous, and I’m beginning to worry for them right now, because they will soon start to drop points.

[MK-74]

Arsenal and Liverpool have not been able to get contributions from most of the players they brought in this season for big money. Gyökeres, Isak, Wirtz, etc.
They invested heavily in these players, but it seems to have gone to waste.

Arsenal even left Gyökeres on the bench in yesterday’s match and brought him on only in the last 20 minutes.
It must be really frustrating to leave such an expensive signing on the bench.