Chapter 746 - 137: Advancing Early! Aiming for the Golden Ball Award! Making the Premier League Submit! The Big Three’s Crazy Goal-Scoring Race!

Manchester City defeated Wolves 3-1 at home, while Liverpool beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 away. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur secured a 3-1 home victory over Queens Park Rangers, with Bell scoring a brace.

After this round of matches, the landscape of the Premier League remained largely unchanged. Manchester City continued to top the table with nine wins and one draw. Arsenal followed closely behind in second place with nine wins and one loss. Manchester United, having only accumulated 23 points, had fallen four points behind Arsenal and five behind Manchester City. Further down the table sat Newcastle with 21 points.

It was clear that the title race for this Premier League season had already become quite distinct: it was a three-horse race between the two Manchester clubs and Arsenal.

BBC’s Match of the Day program heavily analyzed the current state of the Premier League. Many guests invariably used the word "bizarre" to describe the season, and for good reason.

Manchester City’s dominant lead wasn’t actually all that surprising. Thanks to the Blue Moon’s massive investments over consecutive years and their overall squad strength, they were overdue for real results. Arsenal, however, was the biggest surprise.

Match of the Day specifically broke down this season’s heavyweight clashes: Manchester United’s 5-4 home win against Arsenal, Manchester City’s 6-1 slaughter of Manchester United at home, Arsenal’s 5-4 home victory over Blackburn, and their 4-3 comeback against Tottenham Hotspur. And in this latest round, they had just secured an away 7-2 comeback victory against Chelsea.

For the fans, these were undoubtedly breathtaking football feasts, the kind of classic matches countless supporters yearned to watch. Yet, industry insiders widely agreed that seeing so many rare, spectacular matches in quick succession was absolutely extraordinary. Even Ferguson himself had felt baffled after losing to Manchester City, unable to comprehend why Manchester United had suddenly suffered such a crushing defeat.

"That is a great question, but it’s hard to answer," host Gary Reinke said. "Is it because the Premier League has suddenly produced an abundance of elite goalscorers this season? Or are the teams playing a more open style of football?

"Or could it be that the defenses of all the top-tier teams have become more fragile?"

Reinke expressed that the whole situation was incredibly complex and equally bizarre. Furthermore, no one knew how long this trend could continue.

"It’s like a Premier League thriller; nobody knows what’s going to jump out next!"

And when it came to the most bizarre element of the season, it was undoubtedly Arsenal. On one hand, they were an unstoppable force at home, securing victory after victory. On the other hand, they repeatedly staged dramatic comebacks in their away matches. They could score goals effortlessly, but they were just as prone to conceding them. It was incredibly strange.

However, regarding this particular team, Gary Reinke and his guests actually had a rather clear consensus. The summer transfer rebuild and the loss of key players meant that Arsenal’s overall squad strength wasn’t actually that formidable. When placed among the top four teams, the Gunners were now barely on par with Manchester United and Chelsea, and only slightly superior to Liverpool. They were still a noticeable step behind Manchester City.

"The catch is that Arsenal has Wang Shuo!"

As two of the greatest goalscorers in England’s football history, both Gary Reinke and Alan Shearer were full of praise for Wang Shuo. They unanimously agreed that Wang Shuo’s greatest value to Arsenal right now was his consistent goalscoring.

"To some extent, he is single-handedly dragging Arsenal forward in the standings right now!"

Why did they say this? Alan Shearer brought up the numerous media reports from the start of the season. Back in August, when the league had just kicked off, Rooney scored seven goals in the first four rounds, Aguero scored six, and Wang Shuo also had six goals at the time.

"Remember, at the end of August, right before the national team training camps, a lot of media outlets predicted that this Premier League season would see an explosion of goalscorers. Many stars, including Rooney, Aguero, Wang Shuo, and Van Persie, were expected to shine brilliantly.

"But I said it back then: it was too early to tell.

"Standing here now, about to enter November, let’s look back. After Rooney scored one goal in the fifth round, his tally has remained stuck at eight goals ever since. Aguero’s goal count so far is only at nine. Van Persie had a poor run of form earlier, but he has also managed to score eight goals by now.

"We can see that as the season progresses, the form of many players gradually dips. They constantly go through ups and downs, and it’s quite easy for them to fall into a goal drought.

"But what about Wang Shuo?

"So far, he has scored in every single match he’s played for the Gunners. His consistency is absolutely unbelievable. Twenty-two goals in ten Premier League rounds—he has maintained his scoring form straight from the start of the season."

Reinke fully agreed with Alan Shearer’s assessment. As Wang Shuo’s head coach, Wenger was actually incredibly fortunate.

"Wang Shuo gives him a highly stable goalscoring expectation. All Wenger has to do is figure out how to improve the team’s other areas—such as defense, Midfielder interceptions, and so on—based on that foundation of guaranteed goals.

"There’s another point. Although the Gunners’ away games this season have been full of ups and downs, a careful analysis easily reveals that they are performing better with every single match.

"From the 4-5 against Manchester United, to the 5-4 later, then the 4-3, and leading up to yesterday’s 7-2 against Chelsea, they have been improving in every game. The team is gradually taking shape!"

Alan Shearer also brought up a factor rarely mentioned by others: the schedule.

"After playing Chelsea, within ten league rounds, they have faced almost all of the other five teams in the Premier League top seven, excluding Manchester City. And except for Liverpool, all those matches were played away."