At the bottom of the table, the fight to avoid relegation is shaping up to be a contest among the bottom four teams, as Everton and Tottenham have managed to distance themselves from the danger zone.
Here are three key takeaways from the Premier League weekend:
It was a memorable day for Arsenal against a team that has thwarted their title hopes for the last two seasons, highlighted by goals from academy products Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri. These young players became the youngest to score in the Premier League against the reigning champions since Wayne Rooney did it for Everton back in 2003.
Lewis-Skelly, who narrowly avoided a suspension after his red card against Wolves was overturned, made a significant impact with a standout performance, capped off by his first goal for the club. He celebrated in style, mimicking City striker Erling Haaland’s signature meditation pose. Nwaneri added to the scoreline with his seventh goal of the season, taking advantage of the extra playing time due to Bukayo Saka’s injury.
The energy of Arsenal’s youth stood in stark contrast to an aging City squad that clearly needs rejuvenation if Pep Guardiola hopes to make them contenders again next season. While Liverpool's six-point lead, with a game in hand, might be too much for Arsenal to overcome by May, the future looks bright for Mikel Arteta’s team, thanks to these two emerging homegrown stars.
Forest answered any doubts about their top-four ambitions with an incredible 7-0 victory over Brighton on Saturday. Chris Wood scored a hat-trick, and both Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga made significant contributions in a powerful comeback after their 5-0 loss to Bournemouth the previous week. To cap off a great few days for Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, they saw all their rivals for a Champions League spot stumble. City and Bournemouth both lost, while Newcastle fell 2-1 to Fulham and Aston Villa lost 2-0 to Wolves. Forest now has a six-point cushion over fifth-placed Newcastle. Even finishing in the top five could be enough for Champions League qualification this season, thanks to the strong performances of English teams in European competitions.
Everton’s ‘Moyesiah’
David Moyes has brought back the magic at Goodison Park since returning to manage Everton last month. The Scotsman, who had a successful 11-year stint with the Toffees from 2002 to 2013, came back expecting a tough fight against relegation to maintain the club's 71-year presence in the top flight. However, a 4-0 victory over Leicester marked Everton's third straight win, pushing them nine points clear of the relegation zone and just three points behind Manchester United in 13th place.A deserved goal for Ili to cap a fine afternoon. 👏💙 pic.twitter.com/WNpwD0S6dF
— Everton (@Everton) February 1, 2025
“The goal is to ensure we remain a Premier League team. The last three results will significantly help with that,” Moyes stated. “The atmosphere was amazing. I remember how it used to be. You need to give the fans something to cheer for, and we did that right from the start.”
On the flip side, Leicester's eighth loss in nine games sent them back into the relegation zone, while Ipswich's survival hopes took a major blow as bottom-placed Southampton secured their first win since November at Portman Road.