Premier League: Five things we learnt from gameweek 7 | OneFootball

Another busy week in the Premier League saw Arsenal go top for the first time this season in the wake of a third successive defeat for Liverpool. Elsewhere, managerial futures still hang in the balance. FromTheSpot presents five things we learnt from round seven.

It’s now or never for Arsenal

Mikel Arteta marked his 300th game in charge of the Gunners with an effortless 2-0 win at home to West Ham.

His anniversary was made all the sweeter as Liverpool faltered again, stumbling to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea – leaving them top.

Despite Martin Ødegaard starting to struggle with injury, Bukayo Saka is firing on all cylinders again and looks to be back to full fitness.

Needless to say he is Arteta’s key player, with the boss relying so much on his inside forwards for goals.

But with the signing of Viktor Gyökeres, that pressure is somewhat lifted from his shoulders and he can also play the role of provider.

But Arsenal has been finding goals from everywhere, with Jurriën Timber, Martin Zubimendi, and Riccardo Calafiori on the scoresheet.

Arsenal have arguably not had a better shot at winning their first title since their invincible 2002/03 campaign under Arsène Wenger, with the bona fide world class talent they’ve acquired to add to an already star-studded cast.

Liverpool were able to take advantage of City’s failed title defense in 2019/20, after inexplicably finishing second on 97 points the season before.

And as the curtain falls on this season, anything other than a Premier League title would likely be seen as a failure for Arsenal.

Postecoglou has a (slim) chance to earn second season

It has been a bumpy start to life at Forest for Big Ange.

He has not won any of his seven games in charge of Nottingham Forest so far, with some football fans predicting he is set to have the shortest reign of any Premier League manager ever.

Les Reed’s 40 days at Charlton before he left the club via mutual agreement in December 2006 currently holds the record. Postecoglou has been at Forest for 30.

Yet it’s emerging that their polarizing director of football Evangelos Marinakis is set to retain his services for their clash at home to Chelsea.

Forest have been playing abysmally as of late, with 3-2 defeats in both the Europa League and Carabao Cup against Championship side Swansea.

Another defeat could prove to be the final nail in the coffin.

Amorim has more time than we thought

Another man looking to stave off the sack is Ruben Amorim.

Or is he? It turns out that minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is prepared to be very patient with the Portuguese manager, more so than we might have guessed given some disappointing results in recent months.

Speaking on The Times’ The Business podcast, he said: “Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.

“I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years.

“We have to be patient and we have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.”

Amorim’s win rate of 40% so far as Man United boss is the club’s lowest for a manager since the 1970s with Frank O’Farrell at the helm.

This signals a major shift in Man United’s approach. Their recruitment has been sub-par at best and the core of the squad brought in during prior seasons is not up to the standard required for European football.

Less attention is on the ‘now’, and more on the time in which they believe Amorim can complete a United rebuild.

Leeds’ home run undone by their high line

Leeds United’s remarkable run of 23 matches unbeaten at Elland Road came to an end as Tottenham secured a 2-1 win courtesy of deflected strikes from Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus either side of half time.

In previous Premier League campaigns, Daniel Farke preferred to adopt an overly ambitious possession-based approach with Norwich City, playing out from the back and often conceding possession deep inside their own half.

But he now appears more flexible, willing to encourage long balls forward for several players to chase up the field.

But with 23 minutes on the clock his side were caught too high up the pitch.

Leeds committed to an ambitious high line with their midfield chasing a ball over the top and were far from ready when the ever-reliable Anton Stach was caught in possession on halfway, and Tel was played in to score.

It was the same story in the second half, as Kudus and Xavi Simons regularly found space to exploit in behind attacking-minded full backs Jadon Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson.

No doubt that Farke’s men were able to maintain their unbeaten run in the top flight by playing so positively.

But as simple as it sounds, Leeds will need to reduce the amount of space they leave behind when they lose the ball after going direct.

The Hill Dickinson fortress is raking in points

Everton have been playing some of their best football in recent years at the shiny new ground, the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

They are now unbeaten in all four of their home matches, notching eight of their 11 points there and currently sit eighth in the Premier League.

Wingers Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye, and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall – now in a more advanced midfield position – have been at the centre of it all, registering 11 goal involvements combined.

Not only is the higher capacity allowing for an even louder home support a factor in their home form, but the pitch size might be as well.

The new pitch is five metres longer than Goodison’s, allowing a little more freedom for Everton’s wide players to run at full-backs or in behind them.

The Toffees have been very impressive playing this way, beating a seemingly unbeatable Crystal Palace last week, and just like Bournemouth at the Vitality look very dangerous at home.