10 Things We Learned From The English Premier League Football Weekend (30 Sept - 1 Oct 2017)

3. "This Is What We Do"

Jurgen Klopp
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

In a weekend of subverted narratives, Arsenal did what Arsenal do: quietly lurched up the league as a result of an ultimately comfortable victory over an inferior side. This is how Arsenal feign to compete, season on season. Their dire record opposite the top teams is equalised by ruthlessness elsewhere. This was very much that, with very little else to report.

Alexandre Lacazette came agonisingly close to scoring a goal of the month contender, but the deadlock was broken by an unlikely source in Nacho Monreal, who, perhaps understandably, wasn't marked as a priority. The only priority was to defend, defend, defend deep; this was the consummate play-for-a-draw performance. The early ('16) goal threw that plan into disarray. Chris Hughton's side did almost undo Arsenal with the second excellently-worked set-piece in successive weeks, but their best work was almost entirely unintentional; so all-over-the-place was this experimental Mesut Özil-less side that Brighton often found themselves unwittingly trapping Wenger's men offside.

In the end, the classy Alexis Sanchez - who drew several lunatic lower league lunges with his quick, intelligent play - made the difference with a gorgeous back heel assist for Alex Iwobi's short-range missile.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!