Key Points
- Arsenal lead the Premier League after 21 matches in the 2025-26 season, ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa on points and goal difference.
- Traditional powers such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are competing for European places rather than the title, while Brentford and Newcastle United remain firmly in the top-half mix.
- Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland are adjusting to life back in the top flight, as West Ham United, Burnley and another struggling club face an intense relegation battle.
London (The Leeds Times) January 10, 2026 – Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table at the halfway stage of the 2025-26 season, with Mikel Arteta’s side building a six-point lead over Manchester City and underlining their emergence as the most consistent challengers in English football’s title race.
According to current league tables compiled by major sports outlets, Arsenal have taken 49 points from their first 21 matches, winning 15, drawing four and losing only twice, with a goal difference of +26. Manchester City follow on 43 points from the same number of games, matching Arsenal’s goal difference but dropping more points, while Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brentford complete a tightly packed top five.
How are the leading teams shaping the 2025-26 Premier League title race?
Standings published by ESPN, worldfootball.net and other statistical services show Arsenal’s strong first half of the campaign has established them as the pace-setters, combining the league’s best defensive record with a prolific attack. Manchester City remain in close pursuit, with a superior goals scored tally but the same goal difference, underlining that Pep Guardiola’s side continue to create chances and score freely even as they chase the leaders.
As reported by ESPN’s statistics desk of ESPN, Arsenal’s 40 goals scored and 14 conceded after 21 games, and Manchester City’s 45 goals scored and 19 conceded, illustrate why both clubs remain the primary contenders in the title race, with Aston Villa and Liverpool forming a competitive chasing pack just behind them in the top four.
Which clubs are overperforming or underperforming expectations so far?
Data collated across ESPN, Sofascore and other live-score platforms indicates that Brentford’s presence among the top six represents one of the season’s standout stories, with the west London club keeping pace with more financially powerful rivals and maintaining a positive goal difference. Newcastle United and Manchester United sit in the upper half of the table but outside the leading positions, suggesting solid but unspectacular form after previous seasons of inconsistency.
Are established giants struggling to dominate the league landscape?
Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur find themselves competing in a tight cluster around the mid-to-upper positions, with all three recording a mix of wins, draws and defeats that leaves them off the title pace but still in contention for European qualification. According to tables published by worldfootball.net and other reputable outlets, each of these clubs has dropped points regularly, with relatively modest goal differences compared with Arsenal and Manchester City, reflecting the challenge of sustaining top-level form across a demanding schedule.
How are the promoted and lower-ranked sides coping with the 2025-26 campaign?
The season has also highlighted the different trajectories of the newly promoted clubs. Leeds United, Burnley and other recent arrivals are positioned in the lower half of the table, with Leeds hovering just above the relegation zone on a points tally in the low twenties after 21 matches and a negative goal difference, suggesting a competitive but often stretched defensive record. Burnley, by contrast, are entrenched in the relegation places with significantly fewer points and a much poorer goal difference, underlining the scale of their survival task.
Teams such as West Ham United and Nottingham Forest are also involved in the relegation battle. According to standings shared by major statistics providers, West Ham have collected fewer than 15 points and carry one of the league’s worst goal differences, while Nottingham Forest sit just above them with marginally better results. The implications are clear: for these clubs, every match in the second half of the season is likely to carry significant consequences for their Premier League status as the 2025-26 campaign moves towards its conclusion.
