Arsenal extend Premier League advantage
Arsenal increased their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home to Hull on Saturday. Martin Odegaard continued his outstanding individual campaign by scoring the decisive goal to secure another crucial three points.
Meanwhile, Manchester City suffered a stunning defeat away to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. Liam Delap inspired the hosts to a surprise victory, handing City their third successive league defeat and allowing Arsenal to build a six-point advantage. High-flying Brighton are the only team to beat Arsenal this season. They will look to close the gap when they host Brentford at the Amex Stadium.
Murphy issues warning to title rivals
Following the weekend's dramatic results, Murphy claims that Arsenal's title challengers should be deeply concerned by the current standings. The former midfielder noted that Mikel Arteta's side are sitting comfortably at the summit despite not hitting top form for much of the season.
"I think what’s worrying for everyone else is they’ve got this amount of wins, this amount of points, and they haven’t really played that well," Murphy explained while analysing the weekend action on Match of the Day. "Maybe in the Chelsea game they were outstanding but they’ve just got over the line other than that."
Arsenal on course for historic title
Arsenal have accumulated an incredibly impressive 27 points from their opening ten matches of the campaign. Murphy highlighted that teams holding this kind of statistical advantage at this stage usually go on to lift the Premier League trophy.
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"These numbers here, 27 points after ten games, that club normally wins the title," the former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder added.
Murphy also delivered an ominous prediction for the rest of the league, insisting that Arsenal are in a wonderful position. He added: "There’s more to come from this team, make no qualms about that."
Massive fixtures on the horizon
Arsenal will look to maintain their vicelike grip on first place when they return to domestic action after the international break. They face a demanding away trip to St James' Park to take on Newcastle in the Premier League.
Following their clash with Newcastle, Arteta's men must quickly prepare for a tough European test. They will host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League just three days later. The Gunners then will welcome Manchester City to north London for a match that could heavily impact the title race.