Manchester United’s 3–2 victory at the Emirates has tightened the title race. Arsenal’s lead is now four points after the weekend’s action.

Man City stopped the rot at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Aston Villa were superb in their 2–0 triumph at Newcastle United. Their hopes of making this a thrilling title race have been boosted by Michael Carrick’s Red Devils.

The run-in remains some time away, but the 2025/26 season has entered a crucial period. Below are the next five Premier League fixtures for the three sides and how they compare.

Arsenal (50 points)
Man City (46 points)
Aston Villa (46 points)

Leeds Utd vs. Arsenal (Jan. 31)
Tottenham vs. Man City (Feb. 1)
Aston Villa vs. Brentford (Feb. 1)

Arsenal vs. Sunderland (Feb. 7)
Liverpool vs. Man City (Feb. 8)
Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa (Feb. 7)

Brentford vs. Arsenal (Feb. 12)
Man City vs. Fulham (Feb. 11)
Aston Villa vs. Brighton (Feb. 11)

Tottenham vs. Arsenal (Feb. 22)
Man City vs. Newcastle (Feb. 21)
Aston Villa vs. Leeds Utd (Feb. 21)

Arsenal vs. Chelsea (Mar. 1)
Leeds vs. Man City (Feb. 28)
Wolves vs. Aston Villa (Feb. 27)

Arsenal face two potentially troublesome away days at Leeds United and Brentford, teams capable of disrupting the leaders as Nottingham Forest did in their recent goalless draw at the City Ground. In between those trips the league leaders welcome a home-reliant Sunderland to the Emirates and must also travel to Tottenham before the visit from Chelsea.

The Gunners will be hopeful that Spurs offer some domestic competence when Man City travel down to N17 next weekend. Guardiola’s side may need to put together one of their vintage runs to track down the leaders, but they’ve got to visit Anfield and Elland Road in the next month.

With the 2025/26 season only halfway complete, early leaks are sketching out how several Premier League kits might appear in 2026-27. Below is a focused rundown of the reported designs circulating online.

Arsenal’s home shirt is described as largely classic but with subtle detail: a burgundy collar that features a zig-zag pattern and multiple shades of red across the body. The away design has been likened to a “reverse” of the club’s famous ‘Bruised Banana’ shirts from the early 90s, pairing a navy base with the retro pattern and red and yellow accents. Lightning bolt graphics are said to return on the third kit, drawing comparisons to the club’s 2019-20 and 2021-22 away shirts.

Aston Villa’s leaks suggest a shift from the recent template. The reported home kit uses a sky blue collar on a polo-style design. Discussion persists over away and third colourways, with blue, white, black and yellow all mentioned. Some versions indicate a tribute to the gates of Villa Park on the third shirt.

Chelsea details are still speculative. Early reports point to sharp yellow accents, labelled “Midwest Gold”, cutting through royal blue on the home jersey. That same “Midwest Gold” tone is also mentioned for an away shirt that would sit against a predominantly black base. For the third kit, a vintage badge is said to reappear in homage to the white, red and blue strips of the early 90s, though modern designs are expected to differ.

Leeds United are reportedly set to introduce horizontal stripes on their home shirt for the first time, with clear inspiration drawn from a 2005-06 Admiral shirt that once featured vertical blue and yellow pinstripes.

Liverpool’s home leak takes cues from the Candy-sponsored shirt worn between 1989 and 1991 but in a much darker tone than their 2025-26 home. The away kit is said to use white, grey and red with a retro Adidas logo, while the third is expected to be mainly black with silver and red accents.

Manchester City’s home design appears largely traditional, with fading from sky blue to white at the base. The club confirmed fan involvement in the third-kit process: “Your imagination is your tool 🫵🎨 It’s now your turn to design our @pumafootball 26/27 Third Kit with PUMA AI CREATOR 👕”. The club said 180,000 designs were submitted and the top 10, decided by fans and experts, were unveiled last year.

Manchester United’s leaked home shirt, seen on Bruno Fernandes, shows a clean collar and white accents. The away top is reported to be bright royal blue, while mock-ups of the third project an off-white tone with a central badge and a subtle Lancashire rose in the background.

Howard Webb, head of Premier League referees, has defended the decision not to have VAR recommend a red card for Diogo Dalot following the recent Manchester derby. Dalot remained on the field for the full 90 minutes and played a part in Manchester United’s 2–0 victory.

The choice not to dismiss Dalot has split opinion, with a number of former referees saying the challenge deserved a red card. Webb acknowledged the differing views but argued that the correct process was followed and that the on-field decision should be respected. “Is there excessive force? Some will say, yes,” he told Match Officials Mic’d Up . “I’m not quite there, but I can see that there could be.

“It’s a subjective judgment … but I’m absolutely aligned that once that decision is taken on the field, we leave it as referee’s call and we don’t intervene with the VAR.

“I think it’s one where the referee’s call should stand on the field. That’s what we’ve said we’ll do where there’s a mix of considerations.

“I think there is a mix, and therefore in this situation, it was right to leave it as the referee’s call.”

Webb also warned against judging incidents solely from still images. He said context and speed matter when assessing contact and intent. “At full speed, when you play it in real time, you can see there’s not a great deal of speed in the action, not a lot of intensity,” he continued.

“We were heavily criticised a few years ago for using slow motion and freeze frames because people said, ‘This is not reality, it’s not how the game is played.’

“When you slow it down, it can look a lot worse—and it does. When you freeze-frame it, you can make a lot of situations look like red card offences.

By that reasoning, Webb maintained the on-field decision should remain in place where officials judge there are mixed factors, and VAR should not overturn that judgment.