The season so far in six tables: Arsenal power, Spurs and Man Utd silliness | OneFootball

The tables don’t lie, apparently, so you better believe us when we tell you that Arsenal are grinding like champs, while Man Utd and Tottenham are as absurd as ever…

If you had not already noticed, we love a table here at F365. Which is handy because we’ve got bloody loads of them, based on whichever metric you fancy.

And when you have devoured all those, you can create your own. The fun need never end.

You’re busy, though, so with a quarter of the season now played, we’ve pored over all the tables and picked out six to tell some of the stories of 2025/26 so far…

Arsenal set-piecing their way to the title

We start with the table boiling most p*ss so far this season. The one that highlights how reliant Arsenal are on set-pieces for their goals.

We know that to be true because only three teams have scored fewer goals in open play. The Gunners are 15th in this table because the alphabet. They could just as feasibly be 17th, with only Forest, Leeds and Wolves below them.

Is that a problem? Jamie O’Hara thinks so, but no one is coming to take away Arsenal’s set-pieces.

The opposite seems to be true, according to this table. If everyone stopped giving Arsenal the corners they are so reliant on, they might not be away over the horizon a quarter of the way into the season.

Of course, Arsenal’s title charge is powered by more than just dead balls. This and this are just as important in their early-season success. David Raya has faced one shot on target in the last four games, FFS. At this point, Mikel Arteta could probably win the title playing rush goalie.

Tottenham’s troubles at home

Across north London, Tottenham Hotspur remain a complete head-f*ck.

Away from home, Spurs have the best record in the Premier League.

They have taken 13 points from 15 available, winning by at least two goals at Manchester City, Everton and West Ham, while also leaving Leeds with maximum reward.

At home, though, they are a mess. For the clearest illustration of the staggering contrast between Tottenham on their own turf and Spurs on the road, click the ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ buttons below…

Tottenham have not won on their own patch in the Premier League since Thomas Frank’s first match in charge on the opening day when Burnley were beaten 3-0.

Since then, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Chelsea have all won in north London, while Spurs needed a late leveller to deprive Wolves a first win they are still searching for.

It’s a problem that pre-dates Frank, but the new boss is showing no sign of getting a grip on it. In 2025, Sunderland have taken the same number of Premier League points at home, despite playing NINE fewer games.

United beat the best but struggle with the stragglers

Manchester United are similarly absurd.

At the extreme ends, they have been tipped for both a relegation battle and a title charge, when the truth almost certainly lies somewhere in the middle. They are not as bad as their start suggested, but nor should anyone be getting carried away with a four-game unbeaten run, relief though it certainly is for Ruben Amorim.

Like Spurs, United are both gaining and dropping points when they really ought not to.

Against top-half opposition, United are mustard. In such games, they have taken more points than anyone else by beating Liverpool, Chelsea, Sunderland and Brighton. They have only lost to the top two but they deserved at least a point against Arsenal on the opening day.

They beat Burnley – just – but dropped points at Forest and Fulham while taking nothing from Brentford. Only Forest and Wolves have taken fewer points against sides 11th to bottom.

United’s problem is probably similar to Spurs’: they are happiest when they opposition is coming on to them. When they are expected to seize the initiative, that’s when they run into trouble. So Saturday’s meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium should be revealing.

Sunderland the Prem’s pride for resilience

Sunderland are one of the stories of the season so far. They hardly tore up the Championship but here they are, bloodying the big boys’ noses while mixing it in the top four. You would have to be a Geordie – or a Coventry fan, weirdly – not to enjoy what the Black Cats are doing.

What’s behind their stunning start? Primarily, a massive recruitment drive featuring some huge hits and few misses. Granit Xhaka being the best bit if business anywhere this summer.

Xhaka is certainly the driving force that has made Sunderland the most resilient side in the Premier League so far.

The Black Cats have had to rally for many of their points – almost half of them, with eight of their 18 being earned from losing positions.

From six deficits, Sunderland won dramatically over Chelsea and Brentford, while taking a point from Villa despite playing most of the game with 10 men.

Villa’s creativity concerns yet to bite

That draw at Sunderland is typical of Villa’s shortcomings, especially through the early part of the season when they couldn’t win a rigged raffle.

At the Stadium of Light, they had 71 per cent of the possession against a side playing a man light, but they were outnumbered for shots and shots on target.

Having more of the ball is a common theme in Villa’s season, but so too is a lack of creativity.

Unai Emery’s men are fifth in the possession table, behind only the top three and Chelsea, but second-bottom of the big chances created table, with only woeful Wolves worse.

In only one game this season – Burnley at home – have Villa finished with a better xG than their opponent. That feels… unsustainable.

Liverpool’s luck runs out spectacularly

We couldn’t end this feature without some illustration of Liverpool’s journey over the side of a cliff…

The Reds began the season on fire – in terms of results, not performances – but we wondered whether their stodgy displays might eventually bite them on the arse. We did not, however, foresee them clamping on for a month.

Their four-game losing streak after a perfect start saw Liverpool slip from top spot eventually allowing six teams to look down on them at Halloween.

The Reds regained four places by beating an Aston Villa side that weirdly refused to do any of the things that Arne Slot admitted his team had no answers to. But the four red dots next to their name on the form table have seen Liverpool go from overwhelming title favourites almost to also-rans, while speculation swirled over Slot’s long-term future, something that would have been unthinkable in September.