Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

SO in football this week we have learned that Jose Mourinho still knows how to park the bus and Pep Guardiola might not be as clever as we thought.

We’ll find out more about those on Sunday but in the meantime, PREMIER LEAGUE WEEKLY focuses on the Champions, would-be Champions and the man who wants to be the King up front.

Are Arsenal the real deal?

MONDAY will be the 12^th anniversary of the end of Arsenal’s Invincibles run. It was on 24 October 2004 that their incredible unbeaten run came to an end at 49 after that famous 2-0 defeat to Manchester United. Arsenal went to Old Trafford as Champions, but their aura was broken, and it has never been repaired.

So, here we are again, asking the same question – are Arsenal the real deal? Could this be the season they finally win the Premier League again? They are currently second on goal difference behind Manchester City but face Middlesbrough at the Emirates tomorrow with a chance to go top before City play Southampton on Sunday.

Arsene Wenger’s team have won six in a row in the league and their last seven in all competitions, scoring 25 in the process. Their football has been fluid and exciting and confidence is rising. The front three of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott is purring.

The form of Walcott has been especially notable, considering he has already got more goals than he managed in the whole of last season. Wenger’s best teams have always had brilliant attackers and he needs his current three to carry on the traditions of Henry, Bergkamp and Overmars to have any chance of success come May.

The signings of Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi have improved the team and it feels like the time for excuses at Arsenal is long gone. Surely a home game against a newly promoted team in a slump is not going to burst the bubble around the Emirates just yet.

Player of the Day: Daniel Sturridge

DANIEL STURRIDGE started the last two matches for his country. But why is England’s No.9 finding it so hard to start matches for his club? As we head towards winter, Sturridge is still to score a goal in the Premier League. He grabbed two against Burton in the League Cup in August and one against Malta at Wembley a fortnight ago.

It’s a far cry from a couple of seasons ago when he and Luis Suarez were on fire as a pair, scoring 53 between them as Liverpool came within a whisker of winning the league. The season after, Sturridge’s status increased after Suarez had left for Barcelona and manager Brendan Rodgers was pining desperately for Sturridge’s return from injury.

Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge (Peter Byrne/PA Wire) — Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Yet, ever since Jurgen Klopp walked through the door at Anfield 12 months ago, there has been a sense that he has never truly embraced his main striker. Sturridge has started four times in the league this season but has never lasted more than 76 minutes. Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane seem to have Klopp’s confidence to play in the advanced forward position for this fluid Liverpool team.

Watching Sturridge live against Leicester last month, I noted how more unselfish his play seemed to be that day. Yet, a month later while on international duty, the old selfish traits resurfaced, which Ryan Giggs was quick to pick upon on punditry duties. There is no doubt that Sturridge is incredibly talented, but it’s hard for him to shake off that selfish perception. Look at that goal celebration of his whatever the score. No one else can join in with him and it screams ‘Look at me’.

However, Sturridge could do with getting it out again soon, preferably starting tomorrow against West Brom at home, if he wants to convince the doubters that he can still be the top dog for club and country.

Champs or Chumps – where do we stand on Leicester?

LEICESTER CITY – remember them? They were the team who stunned the whole of football back in May to claim the most unlikely title in the history of English football. Not only that, they finished ten points clear off the pack – the supposed elite teams of the Premier League era.

Yet, now just eight games into the new season, their crown is slipping. With only two victories and eight points from those fixtures, they are down in 13^th place and below Watford and Bournemouth. They have lost all four of their matches on the road, albeit difficult games at Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, but the losses have all been comprehensive.

Four league defeats are more than they recorded in the whole of last season. The defence has looked shaky, especially at set-pieces, the midfield is missing N’Golo Kante’s energy and Jamie Vardy has only grabbed one goal in attack.

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (Mike Egerton/PA Wire) — Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

However, it has been a different story in the Champions League. Three wins out of win has them top of their group and only one more win away from a place in the knockout stages after Christmas. Claudio Ranieri’s men have not conceded a goal and have been more like the team who swept to glory last season.

So why such a difference? Leicester are novices in European football, so it creates that sense of adventure which characterised their performances last season. Plus in Club Bruges, FC Porto and FC Copenhagen they have been dealt a very favourable draw. In the league, no one was expecting them to retain their title and of their eight results, only the opening day loss to Hull was an upset. But it has been the manner of the losses and the difficulty to strike the balance between last season’s stars and integrating the new arrivals that have caused the problems.

A visit from Crystal Palace offers the chance for a reassuring home win, but this is not the same Leicester, so maybe we should not be expecting the same things we saw from them in 2015/16.

Stat of the Day

37.33% – The average amount of possession per game so far this season for Burnley. The Clarets spend nearly twice as much time without the ball as they do with it.