Arsenal and Manchester City pull clear in title-race talk as VAR debate returns

ArsenalArsenalPremier League · England and Manchester CityManchester CityPremier League · England have been described as separating from the rest of the Premier LeaguePremier LeagueEngland after last weekend's fixtures, in a round whose fallout has centred on two arguments: whether the title race is already down to two clubs, and whether VAR should be scrapped. Both are reactions to a single weekend of results rather than established facts.

The framing is not new. Every early-season round produces a rush to conclusions, and the two clubs most often named as having broken clear are Arsenal and Manchester City. What matters is what the talk leaves out: the season is barely under way, the sample is small, and no club has set out a public position on how the campaign will unfold.

2025/26

Season 2025/26

The title-race question

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Treating Arsenal and Manchester City as the only genuine contenders changes how every other result is read. A draw for either becomes a slip, and a strong start elsewhere is discounted. That is an interpretive choice rather than a finding, and it is the kind of claim that looks firmer in autumn than it does in spring.

The stakes are about attention as much as points. A two-club narrative concentrates coverage, scrutiny and pressure on two squads and leaves everyone else to play with less of it. Whether that is fair is a different question from whether it is accurate.

Neither club has commented on the suggestion that the title race is settled. No manager or player has been quoted describing the gap in those terms, and no official statement has framed the season as a two-horse race.

The VAR argument

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The second thread is officiating. Contentious decisions over the weekend have revived a recurring argument about whether video review should be abandoned. Removing VAR would be a decision for the competition and the bodies that write the laws of the game, not for anyone commenting on it, and no such proposal has been put forward.

How those decisions were reached, and how they were explained, has not been set out publicly. No explanation of a weekend ruling has been issued, and the league has not said whether it will review the officiating. Without that, the argument is about the principle of video review rather than about a specific call.

What happens next

The next round of fixtures is the first test of both narratives. Arsenal and Manchester City will be measured against a standard set by one weekend, and any dropped points will be read as evidence either way.

On VAR, nothing procedural is in motion. No trial of an alternative system has been announced, no change to the review protocol has been confirmed, and clubs have not been asked to vote on the technology's future. Until one of those happens, the debate will return after the next contentious decision.