Premier League returns with Arsenal chasing Man City
Nottingham host Arsenal on Sunday 18 October in matchday 7, with the visitors third on 15 points and Man City leading on 21.
Last played
The Premier League break ends on Sunday 18 October, and the fixture that carries the most weight is Nottingham against Arsenal at 2026-10-18T15:30:00Z. It is matchday 7, and the visitors arrive with ground to make up.
Arsenal sit third on 15 points with a goal difference of +5. Above them, Man City have 21 and Brighton Hove have 16 — but look at the goal difference column. Brighton Hove are on +17, seven goals better than the side in third. Points separate the top two by five; goal difference separates them by five as well. Fine margins, and Arsenal are not yet inside them.
The last completed league game before the pause was Newcastle against Aston Villa on Saturday 17 October, which finished 0-1. One goal. That was the whole scoring output of the final fixture of the round.
At the other end of the individual table, Erling Haaland has 8 goals for Man City, four clear of João Pedro of Chelsea and Alexander Isak of Liverpool, who each have 5. Marcus Tavernier of Bournemouth and Morgan Rogers of Chelsea follow on 4.
Does any of that decide Sunday's result? No. Tables in October are a snapshot, not a verdict.
What it does say is that Arsenal have scored enough to sit third and conceded enough to sit only +5 to the good. Liverpool are fifth on 12, one point behind them, with a goal difference of +1. Chelsea hold fourth on 13. Brentford round out the top six on 10.
The gap between third and fifth is three points. One bad afternoon and the order changes. Arsenal know it.