Just when Arsenal fans thought they might have earned further breathing space in the title race, Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time winner at Anfield kept Manchester City within touching distance of their rivals.
Mikel Arteta’s side provided a convincing performance at home to Sunderland, with all three of their goals coming from open play — the first via a well-worked ball pulled back to Martin Zubimendi from distance, continuing Arsenal’s trend as the cutback kings of the Premier League.
It was a weekend dominated by all-or-nothing scorelines, with Aston Villa’s clash with Bournemouth being the only draw in gameweek 25. It means Bournemouth are one of just three unbeaten teams in their last five league games, alongside a Michael Carrick-inspired Manchester United and David Moyes’ Everton.
Allow The Athletic’s to sift through some of the tactical and data trends that caught our eye.
Newcastle can’t hold onto leads
Three consecutive league losses for Newcastle make for bleak reading, but Eddie Howe will be equally frustrated by his side’s inability to hold onto a lead in the past two games.
Sven Botman opened the scoring against Brentford on Saturday, but the home side gave up their lead before the half-time whistle — just as they did against Liverpool the week before. Newcastle were in the ascendancy after Bruno Guimaraes’s penalty drew his team level, but Dango Ouattara’s late winner for Brentford means Howe’s side have not tasted victory for a month in the league.
Only Arsenal (16), Manchester United (16) and Manchester City (19) have scored the opening goal more often than Newcastle (15) this season, but they need to improve their ability to retain that winning game state.
Of the 16 occasions that they have taken the lead this season, Newcastle have gone on to lose five times, dropping 19 points in the process. No other side has dropped more points from a winning position.
Whether it is the additional fatigue of Champions League football or simply a statistical quirk of Newcastle’s season, it is a trait Howe will be acutely aware of and will be desperate to nip in the bud as his side continues to push for European football next season.
Brentford: masters of the second ball
From the disappointing home side to the victorious away team, with Brentford’s incredible form continuing as they rise to seventh in the Premier League table. It is little surprise that Keith Andrews’ side went for the winner in the closing stages, considering they don’t really do draws this season. They might have lost ten — more than anyone else in the top half — but they have drawn just three in the league, which is the fewest of any side.
Crucially, Ouattara’s winning goal was typical of Brentford’s overall style in recent years — and it started with a long ball. Only Burnley have a higher share of passes played long — denoted as a pass of 35-plus yards — than Brentford’s 14.3 per cent this season. But there is a purpose to their approach, building attacks from the subsequent second ball that follows an aerial duel.
As The Athletic reported last season, this was a staple of their attacking diet under Thomas Frank and has continued under Andrews.
As goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher plays it upfield towards Igor Thiago, Newcastle’s Sven Botman is favourite to win the first contact. Thiago is intelligent in his action, disrupting Botman’s leap knowing he cannot get to the ball himself.
The crucial part of the sequence is not the aerial duel, but where the ball lands. Mathias Jensen is the first to pounce on the second ball before playing a delicious bounced pass for Outtara to finish.
It might appear rather simple, but it is a sequence that perfectly represents Brentford this season. New manager, some new players, but a continuation of the same patterns that have brought them top-flight progression since 2021.
Why Arsenal’s opponents are rarely caught offside
The assistant referee covering Arsenal’s defensive half is rarely called into action. In Saturday’s 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium, the visitors were flagged offside just once, shortly before half-time.
From a corner, the ball made its way to Sunderland midfielder Trai Hume, who floated a ball towards centre-forward Brian Brobbey. Brobbey was tussling with Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi but had begun his movement ahead of him and was deemed offside, with the cross sailing out of play in any case.
It was only the 17th offside Arsenal’s opponents have been flagged for across 25 matches, an average of 0.68 per game, the lowest rate of any Premier League side over the past eight seasons.
Typically, title-challenging sides rank among the most active at catching opponents offside. When Liverpool won the league in 2019-20, their aggressive high line trapped opponents 142 times, the third-highest total since 2018-19.
Arsenal also defend high, but opponents rarely get beyond the line, either onside or offside. They have conceded just seven through balls this season, four fewer than the next-lowest total, recorded by West Ham. Arsenal concede a league-low 103.4 touches per game in their own third and, as Sunderland discovered on Saturday, breaking through once there is extremely difficult.
Tottenham’s growing discipline issue
Discipline has been one of the more frustrating issues during Tottenham’s turbulent campaign. It cost them on Saturday, when Cristian Romero was sent off by referee Michael Oliver in the 29th minute for a studs-raised challenge that caught Manchester United midfielder Casemiro on the ankle. What had been an even contest swung quickly in United’s favour, who went on to win 2-0 through goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes.
Romero trudges off the Old Trafford pitch after being sent off (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Much of Tottenham’s disciplinary trouble centres on Romero. He is the only Premier League player to have been sent off twice this season, with his previous dismissal coming in stoppage time of their 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool in December, when he received a second yellow card following an altercation with Ibrahima Konate.
At a team level, Tottenham have collected 67 cards this season, four more than any other side. Their other red card also came in that defeat by Liverpool, when Xavi Simons was sent off for catching Virgil van Dijk.
Tottenham may feel some grievance with that overall card total. They are booked once every 4.1 fouls, the lowest fouls-per-card ratio in the league. By contrast, Manchester United have the highest ratio, receiving a card once every 7.6 fouls this season.
But when challenges are as forceful as Romero’s was, they can have few complaints
Harry Howell: Another young Brighton prospect?
Brighton and Crystal Palace contest a heated rivalry, but on the pitch their fixtures have evolved into one of the league’s dullest contests in recent seasons. Only three of their last ten meetings have featured more than two goals, and Sunday’s 1-0 for Palace did little to win over neutrals.
One small positive for Brighton fans was the first start for 17-year-old academy player Harry Howell, who played 71 minutes in central midfield and looked assured for his age. It comes at a time when English players are being afforded fewer opportunities in the Premier League, as shown in the graphic below, accounting for just 24.2 per cent of minutes played this season.
Howell’s appearance was a rare bright spot for Brighton fans as they witnessed their team sink below Palace in the Premier League table.
