sport news Son Heung-min stuns Aston Villa and Cole Palmer ramps up his case to start at ... trends now
With 10 games to go in the Premier League season, things really could not be much tighter at the top.
Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 courtesy of a late winner from Kai Havertz to go top of the table, with fellow contenders Liverpool and Manchester City playing out a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
That left the Gunners on pole by virtue of their superior goal difference, while Aston Villa and Tottenham battled it out for fourth place, Spurs inflicting a 4-0 win to narrow the gap to Unai Emery's side to just two points.
At the other end of the table, Luton left it very late indeed to draw 1-1 with Crystal Palace, while Sheffield United and Burnley also took a point off Bournemouth and West Ham respectively.
But which players have stood out over the last few weeks? Who keeps their place in the POWER RANKINGS for a continued run of form, and who drops out? Read on to find out.
Kai Havertz headed the winner as Arsenal went top of the table with a 2-1 victory over Brentford
Manchester City and Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw that saw the top three now separated by just a single point
Cauley Woodrow scored a 96th-minute equaliser for Luton at Crystal Palace to earn a valuable point
A new entry at the bottom of the list is Liverpool's titanic, monolithic captain Virgil van Dijk after a truly impressive display against Manchester City to keep his side in the hunt for a Premier League crown.
The Dutchman dealt admirably with the myriad threats posed by one of the most potent attacking forces in the world, spear-headed by an Erling Haaland-shaped weapon of mass destruction.
When not putting last-ditch efforts to thwart Phil Foden and Co, Van Dijk was a cool head on the ball - shock - recording a 97.5 per cent passing accuracy in what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the season for his side.
In a Liverpool side blighted by injuries and brimming with young talents, someone of his composure and calm in the side leading the way is worth three first-team starts fit and ready. It also helps that he's probably the best defender in the world right now.
Virgil van Dijk put in a brilliant challenge on Phil Foden to deny the England star a chance
Van Dijk's consistency and leadership have served an injury-ravaged Liverpool side well
He might have more goal contributions than anyone else in the Premier League this season, but Ollie Watkins endured a very quiet day out on Sunday afternoon - something that is becoming a bit of a collector's item at the minute.
With 16 goals and 10 assists to his name, only a No 9 of the calibre of Harry Kane has a right to start ahead of him for England next summer, but he will know that he struggled to make an impact against Tottenham.
At Luton the week before he had impressed with his hold-up play and pace in behind the defence, and against Ange Postecoglou's prodigious high-line in the first half he had appeared to get some joy.
The decision to square the ball in front of goal early on rather than shoot will surely haunt him. Watkins will feel that he could have contributed more - maybe he could have - but that does not take away from a brilliant season he is having. He deserved his third-place finish last week, and he will likely be right back up there very soon.
Ollie Watkins struggled to replicate his feats of last week against Tottenham in a quiet display
Arsenal's No 4 Ben White was signed as a centre back, but is surely making a case for the most consistent right back in the league. Since the start of last season, he has only missed one game in the top-flight.
They affectionately call him the Love Island Maldini, but at the moment he is putting up attacking numbers more akin to a certain Trent Alexander-Arnold - a goal and two assists coming in his last three games as the Gunners power to the top of the table.
He set up both headers in the win over Brentford in a dominant creative showing from the versatile defender, as well as having 84 touches of the ball and winning back possession on six occasions in a brilliant performance at both ends.
Arsenal have now won all eight of their games in 2024, and while there have been a number of high profile star performers, White's form has been a huge part of Mikel Arteta's side's return to the top.
Ben White provided both assists for the Gunners to take his tally of contributions to three in his last three
There's a certain Arsenal midfielder that might have a claim to the best signing of the season, but Cole Palmer is certainly second and rising in that list after yet another stunning display for Chelsea on Monday night.
His performance against Newcastle saw him become the outright leader this term for registering a goal and an assist in the same game, now doing so on five occasions in 2023-24.
Palmer is one of the few bright sparks to come from an ocean of Chelsea signings in the last 18 months, and has now got 18 contributions in his first term at the Blues, with only five Chelsea players ever doing more in their debut campaign.
Palmer is fast becoming hard to ignore for Gareth Southgate's first England XI in the Euros this summer - it seems like a long time ago that we were even offering his name up as a surprise contender for a seat on the plane - and regardless of where Chelsea end up this season, he has surely been one of the most exciting players to watch in the entire league.
Cole Palmer has continued his already strong case to start at the Euros with a goal and assist against Newcastle
Since first arriving in the Premier League with Brighton, Alexis Mac Allister has only missed one penalty from 10, and he came up with the goods in arguably his biggest yet on Sunday to equalise against
