Arsenal's Premier League title hopes are already fading! Winners & losers as Viktor Gyokeres fluffs his lines and Man City do Liverpool a huge favour

The ridiculousness of Haaland has become too normalised. He already leads the Premier League Golden Boot standings with five goals from five games this season, two more than anyone else in the division, and has 13 in all competitions for club and country. Remember, we're still over a week away from the beginning of October.

There's also a narrative that suggests the Norwegian bagsman doesn't enjoy playing against the usually formidable duo of William Saliba and, more notably, Gabriel Magalhaes. Yet on this occasion, it was Haaland who prevailed. Inside the opening ten minutes, Gabriel pushed high into the City half as Arsenal looked to squeeze the most out of attack, but Guardiola's side were able to quickly release their striker on the break. Without the Brazilian defender in his wake, he streaked past Saliba to pick his spot from well inside Arsenal's 18-yard box, and soon enough the ball was in the net.

City's plan seemed to be to find Haaland in transition at every possible moment, and he so nearly iced the game with a similar chance early in the second half, only this time his low shot was saved by David Raya. When the No.9 went up on the fourth official's board to signal he was being substituted, Haaland had a face like thunder with Guardiola withdrawing his only out-and-out goal threat.

Nevertheless, Haaland reminded everyone why he, nobody else, is the league's premier striker. If it's not him, it certainly wasn't his opponent in the red corner...

Even if all add-ons are met, Arsenal will not have spent more than £64 million on Viktor Gyokeres. In this market, that's quite a deal. Strikers who have a track record of scoring goals usually go for, well, in the case of Gyokeres' Sweden partner Alexander Isak, nearly double that. As it turns out, though, maybe there's a reason why the Gunners were able to get him at such a price.

Gyokeres, 27, has plundered three goals in his opening five Premier League matches, his first set of appearances in a top-five league across Europe. Against City, though, he certainly looked like someone who wasn't used to competing at this level, ending the day with zero shots and one failed swipe of a low cross right through the corridor of uncertainty.

Arteta said at his press conference that he was not particularly worried about Gyokeres' performance as City are just that good a team and he very nearly came close to actually taking a shot. It's not an answer that convinced its listeners. Gyokeres may sweep up against the fodder of the Premier League, but he's seriously struggled in his most demanding of tests thus far.

In better news for Arsenal, Martinelli is back to showing the form that had Jurgen Klopp once describe him as the 'talent of the century'. That's a real quote, and in fairness, that's how brilliant the Brazilian looked when he first arrived on English shores.

For a multitude of reasons, be they physical, technical or tactical, Martinelli has regressed over the last couple of seasons. After scoring 15 goals during 2022-23, he's failed to even reach double figures in the two Premier League campaigns since. Beyond that, he's brought the ire of home fans for constantly dribbling down dead ends and into traffic.

Arteta has found another use for Martinelli, however, christening him as a 'finisher' - modern-day speak for a 'super sub'. Against tired legs, the rapid winger can make the opposition pay with such dynamism. He scored off the bench in Tuesday's win at Athletic Club, and an even better goal followed against City, darting in behind and lobbing the sizeable Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure a draw.

Martinelli is a beloved figure at Arsenal, and it's important for the club to keep him onside even if he isn't starting. You can criticise Arteta for various aspects of his management, but he's handled this case superbly so far this season.

This was not a game that either manager will want to remember come the end of the season. Both sides were far from their best on this occasion, and that can at least partly be attributed to the guys prowling the touchline.

Arteta's team selection quickly came into question, deciding to start the languid Leandro Trossard on the wing and a midfield three - Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi - void of creativity. When pressed about that trio post-match, Arteta gave the snarky retort of: "No one asked me about the midfield in Bilbao."

For Guardiola, this was the lowest possession a team of his has ever recorded in a top-flight game. Ever. The magic number was 33%, though he insisted he was forced into these tactics by two factors. Firstly, the quick turnaround from Thursday's Champions League win against Napoli, which itself came off the back of last Sunday's Manchester derby, meant City couldn't play with the intensity they normally would. Secondly, the Catalan coach praised Arsenal for forcing him into such a game plan. That scans, but taking off Haaland for a defensive midfielder in Nico Gonzalez on 76 minutes and ending the game with Savinho up front doesn't.

Even the best managers have their off days. This encounter proved that more than any other this Premier League season.

In spirit, the team that will feel like the loser walking away from this one are Arsenal. They had home advantage, won this fixture 5-1 last season and were many people's favourites to finish in the top two again. City still seem to be in a period of rebuilding, have looked far more flawed to date and are level on points with Ruben Amorim's Manchester United. They're not in a fit state to compete (yet).

For those reasons alone, these are two points dropped for Arsenal rather than one gained. This was another chance to lay down a marker, but just like last month's trip to Liverpool, they've failed to take advantage. This is now one point from six against their two main title rivals, while their 1-0 win at United on the opening weekend was far from convincing either.

To make matters clear, we're not letting City off the hook here. It's more that they are further off the pace compared to Arsenal and Liverpool. It's less of a talking point because the consensus is that they are on different levels. That was partly reinforced here, given how defensive Guardiola went, but to spin it the other way, it's a valuable point on the road. Arsenal are the ones who should be feeling gutted, even despite the late goal in their favour.

The main winner of the day were the team who weren't even at the Emirates. Sitting in his Merseyside home, Liverpool boss Arne Slot must have been chuffed watching his side's two main rivals trade soft blow for soft blow, ultimately seeing both of them drop points.

The Reds have stumbled through every match of the 2025-26 season, requiring a late goal in five of their six wins to simply get across the line. They have spent a lot of money and so the pressure is on, but they are also dealing with a brand new frontline and full-backs, while we can't understate the grief they may still be processing over Diogo Jota's tragic death.

Even with those caveats, Liverpool have built a five-point lead atop the standings already. £117m man Florian Wirtz hasn't registered a goal contribution yet, and £125m striker Isak has started just once. They're grinding their way to results and far from the finished product. Alarm bells should be ringing at the Emirates and the Etihad - the Premier League title already feels destined to return to Anfield.