Arsenal and City Lead, but Four Games Still Lie

Arsenal and Manchester City both have 12 points after four Premier League games, four clear of Leeds United and Hull City. That gap is one win, and City’s 12th point already comes with a refereeing apology attached.

Mikel Arteta’s champions and Enzo Maresca’s City are the only sides with a perfect record. The rest of the top 10 sits between eight points and six, which is not a closed title race. It is a September table.

Four Games Do Not Make a Title Race

Defending champions Arsenal sit first on goal difference, 8-1 in for-and-against, after wins over Coventry City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland. City match them on points at 8-2, with Erling Haaland on four league goals, the early lead in that race. Both have taken 12 from 12. Both still have 34 games left.

the 2026-27 Premier League table after the Monday night match at Elland Road now has two unbeaten clubs on eight points, not a lonely pair on 12.

THE TABLE AFTER FOUR MATCHES

Brighton have scored 13 and sit fifth, which is the loudest attack in the division and only five points off first. Chelsea have 10 and have let in nine. Liverpool, under Andoni Iraola, are unbeaten and have one win. The pack is a bad week from looking like a race and a good week from looking like a chase.

The Goal Pro Ref Has Already Withdrawn

City’s fourth win was 1-0 at Old Trafford on September 13, in front of 74,161, after Phil Foden was sent off in the first half for violent conduct. Haaland finished in the 60th minute. The assistant had flagged him offside. VAR ruled he was onside, played there by Patrick Dorgu, and let the goal stand.

The problem was never Haaland’s boot. It was Enzo Fernandez, offside in the middle, diving at Josko Gvardiol’s cross while Lisandro Martínez and goalkeeper Senne Lammens reacted to him. Pro Ref, the referees’ body, contacted United the same evening and called it an error of judgement.

In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.

Pro Ref spokesperson, statement after Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City

The points stayed with City. Maresca still had to close out more than half a match with 10 men, and United still failed to beat them. Michael Carrick said it was “worrying if that’s how the game is seen.” Wayne Rooney, on the same night, said he was “so sick of VAR” and that it takes “all the emotion out the game.” Martínez called the decision an “injustice.”

None of that voids the 12 on the board. It does mean City’s perfect start is already the first one in years that the officials have walked back in public before the next round of fixtures.

121 Seconds at the Stadium of Light

Arsenal’s fourth win was thinner than the score. Sunderland were awarded a penalty on 55 minutes when Ezri Konsa was judged to have fouled Dan Ballard at a corner. Arteta, already booked before half-time for leaving his technical area, saw the reverse: Ballard rolling Konsa. David Raya dived left and put Enzo Le Fée’s kick onto the post.

One hundred and twenty-one seconds later, Bruno Guimarães, on at half-time, curled in his first Arsenal goal from 20 yards off the bar. Bukayo Saka added a stoppage-time penalty after Reinildo Mandava’s second yellow. The score was 2-0. The game had been 0-0 with Sunderland in it until that swing.

We have a lot of cameras and VAR, we have to take responsibility to protect the game. Today the game was unprotected, and it could have cost us the game and the momentum which is a really, really serious thing.

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, after Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal

Raya has three league clean sheets, level with Hull’s Konstantinos Tzolakis. Arsenal have conceded once in four league matches and have six wins from six in all competitions. They have started a top-flight season with four straight wins for the sixth time, the last in 2022-23. The defending champions are sturdy. They still needed a save, a wonder strike, and a late penalty to keep the 12 intact.

Leeds and Hull Sit Four Points Back

Monday night did the most damage to the two-horse claim. Leeds thrashed Newcastle 4-1 at Elland Road, climbing to third on eight points, unbeaten, +4. Lewis Miley’s own goal on 32 minutes opened it. Jayden Bogle headed the second two minutes later. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored just before the break, Noah Okafor made it 4-0 on 59, and Bazoumana Touré’s 90th-minute reply was the only stain on Daniel Farke’s night. It was Newcastle’s first league defeat under Matthias Jaissle.

Hull, promoted after nine years away, are fourth on eight points and still unbeaten. Sergej Jakirović’s side drew 2-2 at Chelsea on Saturday, having led the live table during that match, and were denied a late winner when Emiliano Martínez saved from Mohamed-Ali Cho. Jakirović still talks about survival. The table does not have to.

HOW THE ROUND ACTUALLY RAN

1. September 12: Arsenal win 2-0 at Sunderland; Tottenham 0-0 Everton; Chelsea 2-2 Hull; Ipswich win 3-2 at Crystal Palace.
2. September 13: 10-man City win 1-0 at United; Brighton win 5-0 at Coventry, the season’s biggest away score.
3. September 14: Leeds win 4-1 at home to Newcastle and go third.

The three promoted clubs have 14 points between them, the same collective total last year’s three had after four rounds, when Sunderland sat on seven, Leeds on four and Burnley on three. Hull have eight by themselves. Ipswich, back after one year out and now under Gary O’Neil, have six from two wins and sit 10th. Coventry have none.

Zero Goals After a £300m Spurs Rebuild

Tottenham have two points, no goals, and a manager who has already apologised. Roberto De Zerbi’s side lost to Brentford and Newcastle, drew at Nottingham Forest, then drew 0-0 at home to Everton in the 140th Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the first goalless one there. They have not scored in four straight league games for the first time since September 2006, and they have not scored in an opening four league matches in any of the top four divisions in the club’s history.

SPURS AFTER FOUR

• Points: Two from a draw at Forest and a draw with Everton, 17th in the table.
• Goals: Zero for, five against, a run now at 407 minutes without a league goal.
• Spend: More than £300 million in the summer, with Mateus Fernandes, priced around £85 million, drawing ironic applause for the first shot on target against Everton.
• Last league goal: João Palhinha against Everton on the final day of last season, the strike that kept them up in 17th for a second year.

De Zerbi said he was “sorry to the fans” and that the first 30 minutes against Everton were “very good” without a finish. He brought on Omar Marmoush, Sávio, Mohammed Kudus and James Maddison, started Dominic Solanke, and still coached Mathys Tel on the pitch at full time about body shape. Aston Villa are worse on paper, one point and one goal scored, 1-7 in for-and-against under Unai Emery. Villa went the first five matches without a win last season and still finished fourth. That is the historical brake on a relegation panic. It does not put a ball in Tottenham’s net.

Coventry’s Fans Still Stood and Applauded

Coventry are bottom, 0-0-4, 0-10, the only side with a four-game losing run. The return after 25 years opened with 3-0 at Arsenal, 0-1 at home to Hull, 0-1 at City, then 0-5 at home to Brighton on September 13. Taiwo Awoniyi’s red card in the 53rd minute ended the contest, with Coventry already two down and still making chances. Frank Lampard has a mixed Premier League record from Chelsea and Everton. The crowd still stood and clapped at full time.

That is the other September trick. A promoted club with no points looks doomed on a Tuesday in mid-September and often is not by March, while a promoted club on eight points, as Hull are, is told not to get ideas. Ipswich’s 3-2 at Palace, finished by Zian Flemming, sits in the middle of that argument and is the quieter start of the three.

September Tables Keep Crowning False Leaders

In September 2023 the league’s own account noted that across the previous eight seasons, only one side that sat top after four matches went on to win the title. Leaders at Christmas have done better and still win only about half the time, 17 of 33 Premier League seasons. Newcastle led by 12 points in January 1996 and lost the league. Arsenal led at Christmas in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and watched City take both trophies. Liverpool led at Christmas in 2020-21 and finished third.

WHAT FOUR MATCHES KEEP GETTING WRONG

• The sample: Four games are a tenth of the season. A four-point gap is one result.
• The asterisk: City’s 12th point is a goal Pro Ref says should have gone to an on-field review.
• The company: Leeds and Hull are unbeaten on eight. Brighton have 13 goals. Chelsea and Liverpool are within a win of the promoted pair.

Arteta’s Arsenal visit Brighton on September 19, then do not play in the league again until October 10 at home to Leeds, and they do not face Manchester City until 28 November. Thirty-four matches remain. The two clubs at the top have earned the right to be there. They have not earned the right to have the other 18 written off.