Arsenal’s Premier League dominance is not under threat. At least not yet | Premier League

So it turns out that those who had already handed the title to Arsenal were finally right.

It is of course absurd to start handing out the title in November, but a hallmark of modern football is how obsessed it becomes so early with title races. This is perhaps a legacy of the height of the Pep Guardiola-Jürgen Klopp rivalry, where being champion meant accumulating more than 95 points. It then made sense to scan the track far ahead for any potential obstacles, since there were so few. But with less than a third of the season remaining, Manchester City, who arguably remain Arsenal’s biggest danger, have already dropped as many points as they did in the entirety of 2017-18, their 100-point campaign.

It may also be because Arsenal’s title aspiration is so great, having failed to win one since 2004. In this they may have been unfortunate that their first serious title challenge after Arsene Wenger came in 2022-23, when perceptions have been distorted by the Winter World Cup. When the championship resumed, they were seven points clear at the top of the table and it looked like a showdown, even though there was still over half a season to play. It contributed to an emotionally charged atmosphere that seemed partly to blame for the bizarre collapses against Liverpool and West Ham in games they had dominated, and the loss of their lead.

The longer the collision, which in football is almost entirely a psychological state, is, the more it favors the pursuer. Perhaps the biggest threat to Arsenal this season is that awareness of the prize and its proximity induces unnecessary and debilitating anxiety. The fact remains that it was a very good weekend for them. It’s not just that Arsenal won the north London derby with such ease, it’s that Manchester City and Liverpool have erred again and seem incapable of applying the kind of pressure that could disrupt Mikel Arteta’s side.

A late equalizer at Sunderland two weeks ago had put an initial damper on Arsenal’s optimism, particularly when it was followed by City’s demolition of Liverpool. Given the quality of Arsenal and the inconsistency of City, the fact that the gap was only four points seemed to be a rebuke to the narrative that had been constructed that Arsenal might start to run away. After City’s defeat at Newcastle, this gap returned to seven points, which seems much more representative. Arsenal were much better than City. As we approach the third of the season, they have been much better than everyone else.

With Bayern arriving in the Champions League on Wednesday and then Chelsea next Sunday, it could have been a difficult week. The draw at Sunderland ended a run of 10 consecutive victories. Gabriel, one of their most important players, was out with a groin injury (and likely will be for at least the next two weeks). Had they somehow lost to a Spurs side who have been much better away than at home under Thomas Frank, they could have lost the Premier League lead to Chelsea next Sunday, while also facing a team they have lost to 5-1 three times since their last victory between the two.

As it stands, Sunday’s 4-1 victory over their rivals was a crushing statement of intent. Spurs can argue with some legitimacy that Eberechi Eze’s opening goal should have been ruled out for offside (the regulations on what it means to interfere with a goalkeeper are other than those which have only been confused by attempts at a more precise definition) but it was also a game in which they were very lucky to escape with a three-goal defeat: Arsenal hammered them.

After a season dominated by talk of Arsenal’s set-piece excellence, this was a game won by their genius in open play, first by Mikel Merino’s deft pass to Leandro Trossard, then by Eze’s mix of power, grace and guile. If Gabriel’s absence was noticeable, it was perhaps only in the fact that they did not score from set pieces; Piero Hincapié fits perfectly alongside William Saliba in central defense. Spurs, it’s true, posed very little threat, but the match confirmed the notion that Arsenal have been, by far, the most complete and cohesive team in the Premier League.

Can anything stop them? Of course. There are still 26 games to play. Misfortunes may arise, doubts may arise. The history of football is strewn with improbables dei ex machina from scandal to injury to questionable lasagna. But nothing that has been seen in the Premier League this season can stop them. Liverpool, surely, are gone now, too adrift and too muddled in their minds. Maybe Chelsea or City could put together a run that could make it a contest, but Arsenal look ruthless. They do not let in goals and can score from open play or from set pieces. It was a weekend to dispel doubts.

• This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly Guardian US look at soccer in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. A question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com and he will respond as best he can in a future edition.