Arabic version: أرسنال وسيتي يحددان الوتيرة المبكرة للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز

According to BBC News, Arsenal and Manchester City are the only Premier League teams with 12 points after four games, opening a four-point gap over third-placed Hull City and a five-point advantage on the rest of the division.

Defending champions Arsenal began the season with a 3-0 Community Shield win over City and have followed that with victories over Coventry, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland, as well as Napoli in the Champions League. Mikel Arteta’s side have won nine successive league matches stretching back to last season and have conceded only once in the current campaign.

Manchester City, now managed by Enzo Maresca after Pep Guardiola’s departure, have also won their first four league fixtures. Their latest victory was a controversial 1-0 derby success at Manchester United, where Erling Haaland scored the decisive goal. The Premier League’s refereeing body later acknowledged that the goal should have been disallowed for offside.

The two leaders have each scored eight league goals, although Brighton and Chelsea have scored more. Arsenal rank 10th and City 11th for shots, while their defensive records remain among the division’s best: City have conceded twice.

Elsewhere, Chelsea are fifth after scoring 10 and conceding nine goals, Liverpool are seventh after three draws in four unbeaten matches, and Manchester United are 13th with four points. Tottenham sit 17th and have failed to score in their first four league games for the first time in the club’s history. History offers some caution: only 24 of 80 English top-flight teams to win their opening four games went on to claim the title.