Two weeks into the new Premier League season, and it's all about the snap verdicts. Chelsea are real title contenders. Chelsea are going to be struggling to qualify for the Champions League.
Cole Palmer is the best player in the league. Chelsea can't win the league if Cole Palmer doesn't defend. And that was just an afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Right now these rankings cannot really tell us who is the fifth-best team in the Premier League and who's the sixth. So we won't really try to reflect that. Instead, consider these a reflection on the most interesting and impressive sides with a little over five percent of the season in the bag.
Not much to be going off, but it's what we've got: At the time of writing, it remains unclear whether Arsenal will be able to use the proceeds of the Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira sales to fund the superstar attacker they so covet. Really, though, that is more a question for the Champions League. In England, they have the depth and quality to see off all but the weirdest crises.
There might have been something rather insubstantial about the opening weekend win over Bournemouth, but the 4-1 crushing of Crystal Palace was more in the mold of the Manchester City we knew pre-Enzo Maresca. Erling Haaland did Erling Haaland things while the trio behind him looked vastly improved for having Rayan Cherki as its center point. Any team that gives up five goals to Fulham and Brighton probably cannot be placed among the title contenders but why is it fair to hold Xabi Alonso to those standards three games into the job?
For now, his team is a bit vulnerable at the back, light on midfield passing, and incredibly fun in the final third. That's not the worst place to be. Though they were held to a draw at Elland Road, this is a team that looks to have come on leaps and bounds even from the quite high floor Thomas Frank left them at.
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