4 things we learned: Liverpool can’t close, Benitez in trouble

Arsenal and Manchester City get the breaks they deserve

Both Arsenal and City’s wins followed a very similar narrative. Visiting “big club” using their superior possession tactics and individual ability against pesky hosts looking to impose their physicality and neutralize the visitors by sitting deep and closing down space in front of the 18-yard box.

To Arsenal’s credit, they showed tremendous patience against Sean Dyche’s men looking for that final through ball to unlock the wall of defenders. The tactic finally paid dividends in the dying moments as James Tarkowski (appeared to have) pushed Aaron Ramsey to concede a penalty.  The win puts Arsenal in a good spot following their impressive north London derby win, as the Gunners are playing confident soccer and getting wins in the process.

In City’s case, Pep Guardiola’s men got the break they deserved, not the one they necessarily needed as they continue to lead the League quite comfortably, leading second-place Manchester United by 12 points. The win bears testament to City’s patience as they employed their usual style of play based on switching the point of attack and overloading areas of the pitch through dominating possession (an incredible 79 percent possession percentage to be exact).

The win gives City 37 points after 13 games, marking the best start ever by a Premier League side. Obviously, this is a very impressive and well-deserved record that speaks for itself. The fact Saturday’s win at Huddersfield was earned following a game-winning goal coming off a somewhat fortunate bounce off Raheem Sterling’s thigh shouldn’t detract from City’s clear superiority, over Huddersfield and everyone else.