4 things we learned: North London is red, Manchester City can’t be slowed

Arsenal can still turn it on, Manchester City are exceptional and more. Here’s what we learned during Premier League matchweek 12.

Arsenal showed the best version of themselves against Tottenham, Manchester City continue to dispose of opponents with ease, Manchester United welcomed back Paul Pogba as they trounce Newcastle and Chelsea got an emphatic win over West Brom, signalling the end of Tony Pulis’ tenure with the Baggies. Here’s what learned from the Premier League this weekend.

Arsenal stake their claim for north London superiority

It’s somewhat unusual to type the words “Arsenal overcome the odds and win against Tottenham,” yet here we are. Evidently the international break benefitted the Gunners, as they came back looking rejuvenated and hungry.

The win was due in large part to two Arsenal trios that dominated their opposition. On the defensive side, the back three –Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal — were excellent, denying the Tottenham forwards any opportunities.

On the attacking front, Arsene Wenger finally decided to go with the most gifted attacking trio available: Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexander Lacazette. The reasons this trio doesn’t feature every week may be too subtle for us mere mortals to appreciate, but they impressed in their first performance together this season.

From here on out it will be interesting to see if Wenger makes any lineup changes as this seems to be the winning formula he has been seeking out. Arsenal’s attacking trio has the potential to be as good as any in the Premier League.

The win marks Wenger’s first victory over Mauricio Pocchettino in the three years since the Argentine has been in charge at Spurs. Arsenal fans should be feeling very optimistic at this point. This is a significant win over a traditional rival that have gotten the better of them of late. Whether they can play this well on a constant basis remains to be seen.