Why Mikel Arteta is lucky he’s not in a sack race, the Man United star silencing his doubters and the big winners this weekend – PREMIER LEAGUE THINGS WE LEARNED

The race for Champions League swung back in Chelsea’s favour after they turned over an undercooked Liverpool side, while Newcastle dropped two points on the south coast at Brighton.

Aston Villa kept their hopes alive but Nottingham Forest’s trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night is monumental for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side following last Thursday’s loss at home to Brentford.

Meanwhile, it was a 16th Premier League defeat of the season for this hapless Manchester United side but, somehow, Tottenham remain behind them in the table after their 1-1 draw at West Ham, who are even worse than the pair of them.

It was a weekend where many eyes felt like they were elsewhere, whether that be European football, the summer or the upcoming FA Cup final. The end of the season is near.

In the newest instalment of this weekly column, Mail Sport picks out five of the most interesting talking points to emerge from the Premier League’s latest round of matches.

CITY ARE WEEKEND’S BIG WINNER

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City took care of their business on Friday night against Wolves and they were able to sit back as Arsenal and Newcastle both dropped points.

Wins for Chelsea and Aston Villa meant it wasn’t a perfect card of results for City but it is hard to shake the feeling they weren’t the biggest winner from the weekend.

Guardiola’s side have flattered to deceive for large stretches of this season but are suddenly in contention to finish second and win the FA Cup.

Just a few weeks ago there were real doubts over whether they would secure a top-five finish but those have since been eased.

Southampton, one of the worst teams in top-flight history, are up next, before games against Bournemouth and Fulham to round out the campaign.

Chelsea have to visit Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, while Villa remain on the outside looking in down in seventh.

‘Getting to the FA Cup final is not going to confuse [people into thinking that] the season has been good,’ Guardiola said recently.

‘The club has to take the decision, the right ones, so next season will be better.

‘We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool. I said many times the season hasn’t been good because we define if the season is good or not with the Premier League.

‘This season it could not happen, at the same time we tried to avoid the damage. We have to be calm now and recover.’

But when all is said and done, with all the turmoil and the injuries, second and an FA Cup win, both of which are in their grasp, would be sweeter than Guardiola may want to let on.

GARNACHO CRITICISM IS OVERBLOWN

One of the most criticised players at Manchester United these days is the 20-year-old attacker that has 21 goals and assists this season.

Nobody has played more games than Alejandro Garnacho for United this term and there is a reason people at the club are wary of him coming back to bite them on the backside should they sell him.

Garnacho takes wave after wave of criticism from supporters for his missed chances – which don’t rank inside the top 10 for ‘big chances missed’ – but his continued availability plus output, bettered only by Bruno Fernandes, suggests the flak is undeserved.

The Argentine is not the finished article, granted, but the discourse around every young player being held to the standard of Barcelona phenomenon Lamine Yamal is, frankly, ridiculous.

Were Garnacho to be posting these same numbers at Brentford or Brighton he would undoubtedly be touted for a big-money move this summer.

There is also a reason, too, that Ruben Amorim is so eager to lean on him game after game despite initially not warming to him as quick as he did to others.

Garnacho has bags of potential and the fact he isn’t the complete package at 20 should excite, not anger, supporters.

His 11 goals this season are his highest tally in a single campaign and more often than not he is having to put this team on his back alongside Fernandes with so many underperforming players around them.

In Europe’s top-five leagues there are a handful of Under-21 players with double figures in goals and assists: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Rayan Cherki (Lyon), Desire Doue (PSG) and Garnacho.

The fact United fans would do anything to have the other three players at the club perhaps underlines just how overblown criticism of Garnacho is.

KAYODE IS BRENTFORD’S LATEST GEM

Speaking of players under the age of 21, the performance of Brentford right back Michael Kayode was one to make you sit up and take notice at the weekend.

The 20-year-old, on loan in west London from Fiorentina with an option to buy, dominated Manchester United on Sunday and was topping most of the statistical categories.

Kayode had the most touches (70), won the most duels (10), won the ball more than anyone (seven), had the most successful take-ons (five), made the most interceptions (two) and created the most chances (two).

Add to that the fact he only misplaced one of 31 passes and provided an assist in the Bees’ 4-3 win.

Pace and power, the youngster’s man-of-the-match display felt like a coming-of-age performance for a man who is not well-known beyond his own club’s fans.

Kayode’s stock has been going up and up in recent weeks – he was immense in last Thursday’s win at Nottingham Forest – and he will be a player many Premier League sides will be kicking themselves they didn’t pick up sooner.

Physical, two-footed and dominant at both ends of the pitch, Kayode is one of the most exciting prospects in the Premier League.

LUTON IS CAUTIONARY TALE FOR RELEGATED TRIO

A slight departure here but an important one for the three sides that are preparing to bid farewell to the Premier League in three weeks.

Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich will drop straight back into the Championship with a significant financial advantage over their peers due to parachute payments coming their way.

It is why Burnley, who have won promotion at the first opportunity after going down in 2023-24, and Sheffield United, in the play-offs after finishing third, have both been in the hunt to make an immediate return all season.

So that makes what happened to Luton Town, who have suffered back-to-back relegations, all the more surprising.

Parachute payments always felt like the ultimate safety net but given how poor the relegated trio have been this season, they would be wise to see how badly wrong Luton got it this season as they drop into League One.

Bookmakers will have Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich as the promotion favourites for 2025-26.

But, as Luton proved, terrible Premier League teams are finding it harder and harder to flip the switch after being swallowed by a culture of losing.

Relegated trio: you have been warned.

ARTETA SHOULD BE FEELING THE HEAT

Nobody is putting Mikel Arteta in any sort of sack race with Arsenal second in the Premier League (for now at least) and in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

But how long can he go on without winning anything?

Arteta is six years into the job and unless there is a comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, this will be another trophyless season for the Gunners.

Arteta will point to progress but he has spent handsomely – north of £600million – and on his watch both Manchester City and Liverpool have won the league, with Arsenal’s title challenge becoming meeker and meeker.

He has taken Arsenal from eighth in his first season to within touching distance of the Champions League final and made them a stable presence in the top four, but Arteta needs to start winning things.

For all the criticism levelled at his peers, many of them can end this season with a major trophy.

Arteta has won only one FA Cup in six years and shouldn’t have limitless time to get over the hump.