Mikel Arteta tops Premier League winners and losers as Barcola, Martinez, Villa embarrassed

Arsenal moved ahead of Manchester City with a title-winning performance at Anfield, while Lisandro Martinez was *not* the biggest loser of the weekend. It's also November and nobody has been sacked yet.

There are at least four teams poised to change that. Premier League Winners Mikel Arteta First it wasthe moaning about the penalty Ezri Konsa conceded at Sunderland, planting the seed of doubt in referees' minds.

Then it was the rant about other managers leaving their technical area, delivered with a righteousness that can only be summoned by the guilty. Now Arteta has coached a defensive masterclass at Anfield, leaving the Liverpool crowd foaming with impotent rage as one of his defenders stepped in front of an opponent, waited for contact and fell over.

The dossier of evidence is becoming uncontestable: Arteta is morphing into prime Mourinho before our eyes and doesn't give a solitary eff about footballing aesthetics. It would be wrong to be too facetious about Arsenal's defending; they are easily the best defensive team in world football.

This is not the most marketable facet of the sport, but it's extremely impressive in its own right and entirely necessary to give goals their meaning. It needed to be against Liverpool, as their midfielders coughed up the ball regularly in that first half and their forward line was largely reduced to shuttle runs.

But goodness me, some of their antics must must have been taught by Severus Snape. From Jurrien Timber tugging at Alexander Isak's shirt to Gabriel fist-bumping the ref on the way out for the second half, the Gunners' natural habitat currently resides in the rulebook's grey areas.

What is uncontestable, however, is that it worked. Liverpool became more disheartened as time ticked on, unable to make headway even before Arteta brought on increasingly muscular subs.

And he now has winning pedigree to silence any dissenters over his methods. Finally, the process can be fully trusted.

Arsenal probably won the 2026/27 Premier League yesterday. Pre-punishment Manchester City are faltering, Liverpool are a work in progress and the other Big Six members have a shotgun semi-permanently aimed at their own feet.