Welcome to Inside the Premier League, where we examine the three most compelling narratives shaping the Premier League season. This weekend delivered Arsenal’s resilient 2-1 victory, maintaining their title charge, Manchester City’s late drama securing three points at Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa’s extraordinary winning streak reaching eleven consecutive matches. Here, we analyse whether the current bottom three are destined for Championship football, explore why Rayan Cherki might be the Premier League’s shrewdest signing, and whether this title race is destined for the same painful ending and ask if Unai Emery has quietly become English football’s most impressive manager.
Are the Bottom Three Already Doomed?
Last season’s relegated trio- Ipswich, Leicester, and Southampton- were widely considered among the worst teams in Premier League history. The troubling reality is that this season’s bottom three look equally hopeless, with the shocking twist being that only one earned promotion from the Championship.
The numbers are damning. Leicester finished 18th last season with 14 points after 18 matches, one more than West Ham has now. Ipswich had 12 points at this stage, matching Burnley’s current tally. Southampton’s 6 points were triple what Wolves have managed.
West Ham’s situation is particularly alarming. Their 1-0 defeat to Fulham marked their 11th home league loss in 2025. Another home defeat against Brighton would set an unwanted record: most league losses at home in West Ham’s history within a calendar year. The last time they had so few points at this stage, back in 2010, they were relegated.
The gap to safety currently stands at five points, but waiting for other teams to drop points isn’t a strategy; it’s desperation. West Ham needs to help themselves, and that’s problematic for a club broken both on and off the pitch. Their upcoming fixture against Wolves at Molineux has become absolutely critical.
Wolves, with just 2 points, look similarly doomed. Burnley sit precariously above them but show few signs of possessing the quality required for survival. The consensus is forming: barring a miraculous turnaround, these three clubs are already playing for Championship survival rather than Premier League consolidation.
Is Cherki the Signing of the Season?
When Manchester City signed Rayan Cherki from Lyon for £30.3 million last summer, it felt curious. Not because of his ability, that was never in doubt, but whether a creative maverick would thrive under Pep Guardiola’s systematic approach.
The answer has been emphatic. Cherki has been extraordinary, delivering 7 assists and 2 goals in just 644 Premier League minutes, the equivalent of barely seven full matches. Across all competitions, he’s registered 5 goals and 8 assists in 19 appearances.
“Some moments I shout at him and some moments I want to just kiss him,” Guardiola admitted after Cherki’s late goal and assist against Nottingham Forest. “But you have to allow him to express his incredible talent.”
What makes Cherki’s impact remarkable is how the Premier League is adapting to him rather than the inverse. He doesn’t have a weaker foot; his rabona assists aren’t showboating but routine moves he’s deployed for years. The skill he produced inside his own half against Forest, wriggling between two markers, is simply Cherki being Cherki.
Creating more chances per 90 minutes than any Premier League player, he’s proven to be an absolute steal. Consider the alternatives: Chelsea paid £40 million for Alejandro Garnacho (1 goal, 2 assists), and £48.5 million for Jamie Gittens (2 assists). Tottenham spent £51.8 million on Xavi Simons (1 goal, 2 assists). Arsenal paid £48.5 million for Noni Madueke (0 Premier League goals or assists). Liverpool invested £116 million in Florian Wirtz (1 goal, 2 assists).
Cherki’s £30.3 million fee for a player who was statistically Europe’s most creative player last season, outperforming Kvaratskhelia, Olise, Yamal, and even Kevin De Bruyne, looks increasingly like highway robbery.
Is Emery the Premier League’s Best Manager Right Now?
Forget the word “genius”, let me ask a simpler question: is Unai Emery the best manager in the Premier League right now?
Aston Villa were 18th after 5 winless matches earlier this season, having spent just £26 million on Evann Guessand during the summer window. They looked finished. Now they’re involved in a three-horse title race alongside Arsenal and Manchester City, riding an eleven-game winning streak that equals club records set in 1897 and 1914.
Ollie Watkins described Emery as a “tactical genius” after scoring twice as a substitute in Villa’s 2-1 victory at Chelsea. The manager’s in-game adjustments, bringing on Jadon Sancho and Morgan Rogers while shifting Youri Tielemans into the number ten, created the numerical advantage that unlocked Chelsea’s man-marking system.
Critics point to Villa’s expected goals, suggesting overperformance, but how do you quantify resilience, mentality, and never-say-die attitude? Villa have won 18 points from losing positions this season. Emery’s substitutes have contributed nine goals. His ability to influence key match phases through tactical and personnel changes is transforming results.
Could Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, or anyone else extract this much from Villa’s squad? Emery has the highest win percentage of any Villa manager in history and has rebuilt his English reputation after that difficult Arsenal spell. Whether Villa sustain this challenge or not, Emery returns to Emirates Stadium on Tuesday as a top manager respected by peers, adored by supporters, and capable of delivering another curveball in this title race.
The evidence is mounting: Unai Emery might just be operating at a level above everyone else right now.
Arsenal vs City – The Sequel Nobody at the Emirates Wants
Here we go again. Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table, playing exceptional football, breaking defensive records, and demonstrating the kind of consistency that screams “Champions.” Manchester City lurk ominously behind them, methodically accumulating points, waiting for the moment when experience triumphs over enthusiasm.
If this narrative feels familiar, that’s because we’ve lived through it before. Multiple times. And each time, Arsenal’s dreams have crumbled while City lifted another trophy with the inevitability of sunrise.
The 2022-23 season saw Arsenal lead for 248 days, more than two-thirds of the campaign, only to capitulate spectacularly down the stretch. An eight-point advantage in April evaporated through defeats to Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and that soul-crushing loss at home to Brighton that essentially handed City the title. The psychological scars from watching an eight-point lead transform into a second-place finish were visible in every Arsenal player’s face during that final month.
Two points currently separate the teams. 20 matches remain. Arsenal fans desperately want to believe this time is different, that their team has finally developed the ruthlessness required to hold off City’s inevitable late-season surge. But history whispers a different narrative, one where Arsenal lead the race beautifully for nine months, only to stumble when the finish line appears.
The question isn’t whether Arsenal are good enough. They clearly are. It’s whether they can exorcise the ghosts of title races past and finally, finally, beat Manchester City when everything is on the line. Until they do, this feels less like a new chapter and more like a rerun of Arsenal’s most painful recurring nightmare.
