Title race after eight rounds: three conclusions

Arsenal have the best defence, Liverpool the most consistent attack and City the best player in the league in Erling Haaland.

After eight rounds the Premier League table already has a clear shape at the top. Arsenal lead on 20 points, Liverpool are one behind on 19 and Manchester City sit third on 17. Chelsea are the closest of the rest on 15, but the gap between the top three and the chasing pack is starting to look meaningful.

The headline numbers are close, but the way each side has reached its total is very different. Here are three conclusions from the first eight games.

1. Arsenal win the title race at the back

Arsenal are the only unbeaten team in the division: six wins, two draws and no defeats. Their goal difference of +12 is the best in the league, but it is the defensive record that stands out. Five goals conceded in eight matches works out at well under one per game.

The attack has been efficient rather than spectacular. Seventeen goals is fewer than both Liverpool and City have scored, and the load is shared. Bukayo Saka has five goals and four assists, which makes him the club’s main source of end product, but no Arsenal player is near the top of the scoring chart.

Recent form supports the picture. Arsenal have won four of their last five league games, with one draw, and they have rarely needed to chase a result. For a side that has finished second in recent seasons, that control from the back may be the difference this time. The real question is whether the defence can keep this level once the fixture list fills up with European games in midweek.

2. Liverpool are the most consistent going forward

Liverpool have scored 18 goals, one more than Arsenal, and they have done it without relying on a single player. Mohamed Salah leads the way with seven goals and four assists, while Alexander Isak has added four goals and one assist since joining.

Their record of six wins, one draw and one defeat is only a point worse than Arsenal’s. The difference is at the other end: eight goals conceded is three more than the leaders. Liverpool’s form line of three wins and two draws in the last five shows a team that is hard to beat but has dropped points in games it controlled.

• Salah: 7 goals, 4 assists, the most direct goal involvements at the club
• Isak: 4 goals, 1 assist, still settling into the system
• Goal difference: +10, second only to Arsenal

If Liverpool can tighten up even slightly, their attacking output gives them every chance of overtaking Arsenal before the winter.

3. City depend on Haaland more than ever

Manchester City have the best attack in the league with 19 goals. Erling Haaland has scored 11 of them, more than half of the team’s total, and he leads the scoring chart by four goals from Salah. No other City player is in the top six scorers.

That dependence has a downside. City have five wins, two draws and a defeat, and nine goals conceded is the most of the top three. Their form over the last five games includes a loss, a draw and three wins, which suggests a team still finding its balance.

What the next round could change

The next two rounds include Arsenal vs Chelsea and Liverpool vs City, so the picture may look very different in a week.

Arsenal host Chelsea, who are fourth and have the joint second-best defence in the league with eight goals conceded. It is the toughest home game Arsenal have faced so far and a real test of whether their defensive record holds against a side with Cole Palmer in form. Palmer has five goals and three assists this season.

At Anfield, Liverpool and City meet in a game that could swing the race in either direction. A Liverpool win would put pressure on Arsenal, while a City win would lift them to 20 points and above Liverpool. A draw would suit the leaders most.