Premier League winners and losers: All hail Arsenal's set piece kings after Gabriel's header breathes life into title race as patience with Ruben Amorim wears thin amid Man Utd shambles

Arsenal's potency from set pieces is nothing new, and yet it is still difficult not to marvel at it. Mikel Merino's equaliser at St James' Park was the 35th goal the Gunners have scored from a corner since the start of the 2023-24 season, and the 36th felt inevitable when Martin Odegaard stood over another corner in the 96th minute.

Gabriel's bullet header was the seventh non-penalty goal from a set piece Arsenal have scored this season, out of 12 goals in total. It means they are well on track to beat the league record of 16 goals from a corner, which they matched in 2023-24. The whole league knows how good Arsenal are from corners, and it must drain their opponents' confidence every time the ball goes behind and they see Declan Rice or Odegaard pick the ball up.

This deadly weapon helped Arsenal snap a three-season spell of losing at St James' Park without scoring and pulled them back into the title race in a matter of minutes.

Manchester United fans heading to struggling Brentford hoped that they were at last about to record back-to-back wins for the first time and build some momentum heading towards the international break. But the Red Devils left west London nursing a third defeat in six games and with many wondering when Ruben Amorim would be sacked.

There were so many things wrong with United's performance. They conceded both goals via long balls, something Amorim said the team had worked on all week. They also struggled to create much against a team that had the third-worst defensive record heading into the weekend. And when they did get a golden opportunity to level from the penalty spot, Bruno Fernandes was denied.

While sacking Amorim seems like the obvious solution, given he has shown little sign of being able to turn United around nearly one year into the job, firing the coach that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his fellow directors have put so much faith in would be hugely embarrassing for the club. Whatever Ratcliffe chooses to do, there is no escaping the fact that United are a shambles. 

"I don't recognise the whole football club," said all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney. "I don't see players fighting, I don't see character, I don't see desire to win. I go to a game watching, expecting, here we go again - expecting the team to lose or maybe pick up a point."

If Manchester United do end up sacking Amorim, then there is only one man they should target: Oliver Glasner. The Crystal Palace boss has shown that 3-4-3 can indeed work in the Premier League if implemented correctly, and his side rose up to third in the table after their dramatic win over Liverpool.

The Eagles were not just the first team to take points off the champions this season; they played them off Selhurst Park at times. Alisson Becker was forced to make five saves, and that's not including Jean-Phillipe Mateta's venomous strike, which rattled the crossbar. Eddie Nketiah's 96th-minute winner made Palace the only unbeaten side in the league this season, and they are yet to lose in all competitions either.

Palace's success is even more impressive considering they sold talisman Eberechi Eze, having lost the brilliant Michael Olise the year before. It is to Glasner's credit that he fought to ensure Marc Guehi stayed and the defender got the flick on leading to Nketiah's clincher. The Austrian coach should be the most coveted coach in Europe now but he would be mad to want to leave the exciting project he is building in south London.

There is a simple explanation for Chelsea defeats these days. More often than not, they have had someone sent off. The 3-1 surrender at home to Brighton was the fourth time in five defeats in which Chelsea have lost a man and gone on to lose, also going down to 10 men in the previous week's loss at Manchester United, against Flamengo in the Club World Cup and against Newcastle last season.

Enzo Maresca is getting fed up with his players' decisions on the pitch. "What we are doing in this moment is to give away presents in terms of red cards, that is a big mistake because the game completely changed," he said after Brighton struck three times in the final 13 minutes plus stoppage time.

And who can blame the Italian for being angry. They were on their way to victory before Chalobah got sent off and with 11 men against United they might well have won at Old Trafford. The Blues' ill-discipline has cost them six points, which would have taken them up to second in the standings. 

The late drama at Selhurst Park and at St James' not only made for enthralling viewing, it also shook up the title race. Liverpool's lead at the top was trimmed from five points to two and Arne Slot's side know they will have a fight on their hands to keep hold of their title rather than the procession which looked on the cards last week.

There are now six teams within five points of the champions, and while many will expect Palace, Bournemouth and Sunderland's early promise to fade, Arsenal and City look like they can run the Reds close. City made hard work of their game with Burnley but eventually demolished the Clarets 5-1 with two late strikes from Erling Haaland, and are looking like a force again.

While the way Liverpool swept to last season's crown was impressive, it was not very exciting, and no one, with the exception of Reds players, staff and fans, wants to see another uncompetitive title race.

Ange Postecoglou had made a far from ideal start to life since succeeding Nuno Espirito Santo at Nottingham Forest: getting destroyed by Arsenal in his first game, throwing away a two-goal lead to lose at Swansea City in the Carabao Cup, and then also failing to make the most of taking the lead against Burnley and Real Betis.

He must have been looking forward to his first game at the City Ground against Sunderland, but again things did not go to plan. His team played well, as they have in previous games, but failed to take their many chances and also failed to defend a free-kick properly. The Australian tried to look on the positive side by stressing: "We can’t create any more chances than we did, but it’s goals that win matches". 

And yet he couldn't resist a dig at the referee for awarding a questionable free-kick leading to the only goal, which he described as a "howler". With his predecessor sacked for his relationship with the club's tempestuous owner Evangelos Marinakis despite his excellent results, Postecoglou needs to start winning very soon.