“Top Four Talk” is a column by Marco Haynes about the 2024-25 English Premier League in which he breaks down the week’s four most consequential talking points.
Buyako Saka and Gabriel Martinelli top Arsenal’s injury list
The international break couldn’t have been worse for Arsenal, as the club will have to cope without two critical stars in their upcoming Premier League games. It was recently announced that Brazilian international winger Gabriel Martinelli suffered a muscle injury after his country’s 2-1 victory against Chile in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification. The break continued to go terribly for the Gunners, as Buyako Saka came out of the game with an injury during England’s 2-1 defeat against Greece in the UEFA Nations League.
Furthermore, the club was already dealing with more ailments to versatile forward Kai Havertz — who missed German duty due to a knee issue — and defenders Jurrien Timber and Ben White haven’t reached match fitness to rejoin the squad.
Thankfully for Arsenal, the injuries are all relatively minor problems. Several players are racing to get their fitness up before the Gunner’s next game against AFC Bournemouth on October 19. At the latest, manager Mikel Arteta will hope to have Saka and Martinelli available for selection in the club’s heavyweight matchup against Liverpool on October 27.
In the meantime, Arteta will have to make decisions to replace their pivotal attacking threat of Saka and Martinelli until they’re fit enough for the matchday squad to keep the club in the title push against Manchester City and Liverpool. The England international sits atop the Premier League assist leaderboard with seven, adding two goals as well. At the same time, his Brazilian teammate’s form was red-hot in October, racking up two goals and two assists in his last three league matches.
The Gunners have started the Premier League season with a bang, winning five games and drawing twice, making them one of two clubs still undefeated in the league, the other being defending champions Manchester City.
This early test for the Gunners against Liverpool will be pivotal for Arteta’s squad, which is looking to win Arsenal’s first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season.
Erling Haaland breaks Norway’s top-goalscoring record
If there’s one player whose form hasn’t spiraled, it’s Erling Haaland. The Manchester City forward keeps breaking records and stamped his name on another one by recently becoming Norway’s all-time top goalscorer with his brace during the 3-0 victory against Slovakia in the UEFA Nations League.
Striker Jørgen Juve held the record for 90 years until Haaland found the net twice on October 10. The former record holder scored 33 times in 45 caps for his country between 1928 and 1937.
Haaland, only 24 years old, has now scored 34 goals in 36 caps, continuing his extraordinary form for club and country.
In the Premier League, the clinical forward leads the way for the Golden Boot with 10 goals from seven appearances. He’s carried his club to second place in another title-defending season and has been impactful in potentially making City the first team in the Premier League to win the league five times in a row.
Since joining the Citizens in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund, the two-time Premier League winner has netted 101 goals in 101 appearances in all competitions, including two Golden Boots. It’s pretty clear that Haaland has been crucial to Man City’s success, and during this campaign, the Norwegian will have to keep the numbers going if his team will continue its Premier League winning streak.
New information on Lucas Paqueta’s possible ban
Lucas Paqueta has found himself in the media spotlight a lot in the past year for all the wrong reasons. West Ham’s Brazilian star could face a lifetime ban from the English Football Association for his involvement in an alleged betting scandal, which would not help his club or manager Julen Lopetegui, who is under serious pressure after an underwhelming start to the season.
The West Ham player was charged earlier in the year with breaching betting regulations after deliberately receiving four yellow cards in the 2023-24 season to benefit bets made by people associated with him. Reports claim that the FA took possession of Paquetas’s mobile phone to examine messages, calls, and bank statements and returned it. However, they requested it back in the investigation and then reported that the Brazilian had discarded his old phone and bought a new one.
In response, the FA is now pushing for a lifetime ban due to the West Ham player’s lack of cooperation.
Paqueta has denied all the charges since it was announced he had potentially breached betting regulations.
Whatever the outcome for the West Ham playmaker, it puts his team in an even more dire position. Paqueta has been underperforming this season and hasn’t settled into his new manager’s system. He’s only scored two goals this campaign and, like his teammates, hasn’t found consistent form yet. His club sits 12th in the league, but since hiring Lopetegui, the team itself hasn’t given Hammers fans much joy or hope for European qualification.
While on international duty, the media scrutinized his performance in Brazil’s 2-1 win over Chile, which surely didn’t help his confidence either.
A vital player during former manager David Moyes’s tenure at West Ham — finishing in a European place three times and winning the 2022-2023 UEFA Conference League — Paqueta has seen such a dip in his quality and form in the last few seasons. This season, there was an expectation for him to be the team’s creative spark in midfield and bring value to his $61.5 million price tag, but his career might end in the blink of an eye.
England chooses Thomas Tuchel over Pep Guardiola
The six-time Premier League champion and current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola’s future remains a mystery. Will he stay at the Citizens, take on international soccer or move elsewhere in club football?
There was speculation that the English Football Association wanted the next England manager to be the legendary Barcelona and City manager until they agreed on a deal to sign former Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel. The Man City coach has six months left on his contract and will announce his decision in the coming weeks about whether he will stay at his current club or continue to coach elsewhere.
Guardiola will be a manager on high alert for many clubs as he’s one of the most prestigious managers ever in the game, with 35 trophies to his name during his spells at Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Man City, including three Champions League trophies.
If he does leave the Citizens, it will be a new test for the club as the ownership will have to make a monumental decision to replace its most successful manager in club history. If Guardiola departs for an international job or another post, maybe another Premier League club can finally dethrone City as the country’s dominant side.
Many would argue that having near-unlimited amounts of cash to spend on transfers would have inevitably led to this dynasty, but you can’t deny Guardiola’s impact. The players he’s purchased have all been highly successful within the structure he’s built and have created a year-after-year winning machine.
At the moment, Guardiola is still the manager on the blue side of Manchester, but the club will hope for a decision sooner rather than later to start preparing his replacement.
“Top Four Talk” runs every Wednesday.