6 Truths: The title race has been transformed, Spurs the real deal

The true magnitude of Danny Welbeck’s 95th-minute intervention may not be known until the final weekend of the season, but it felt like a hugely significant goal, sealing a dramatic turnaround for Arsenal as they came from one goal down to win 2-1 at Emirates Stadium and inflict only a third defeat of the season on Leicester City. Arsenal are responsible for two of them, and they are now within two points of the shock leaders.

One thing is certain: had Arsenal not produced an answer to Jamie Vardy’s penalty – somewhat controversial won as he flicked out a leg to find Nacho Monreal – their title aspirations would have been destroyed. “We were eight points behind at half-time,” said Wenger afterwards, with relief etched on his face. Bridging that gap with 12 games remaining would have been an insurmountable challenge for this Arsenal team.

And yet, with a chorus of critics ready to cry ‘same old Arsenal’ if Leicester took all three points, the home side found a way. Theo Walcott showed the misfiring Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey how to finish with a lovely goal from Giroud’s expert cushioned assist, and after a prolonged panicky period, Welbeck leaped to meet an Ozil free-kick in injury time to complete the comeback.

Will Arsenal win the title? There is too far to go before we can confidently answer that question. But Welbeck’s late, late goal has put them firmly back into the conversation. Title wins can hinge on such momentous events. And this was a momentous day in the Premier League, fully living up to the billing.

Much more impressive than Arsenal’s 2-1 victory at home to Leicester was the 2-1 win enjoyed by North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur away at Manchester City, which had a similarly seismic impact on the title race. If it didn’t end City’s hopes completely – a gap of six points to Leicester isn’t quite fatal – it did expose Manuel Pellegrini’s side as frauds, while reinforcing the feeling that Tottenham are the best team in England right now.

This was quite a statement of intent. Spurs had lost their past five Premier League games at Etihad Stadium but this season’s iteration of Tottenham are a very different prospect indeed. They may have benefitted from a hugely fortunate penalty decision when Raheem Sterling was penalised for a phantom handball, Harry Kane scoring from the spot, but it was Spurs who looked the best organised team, Spurs who had the best game plan and Spurs who exhibited the strongest character.

When Christian Eriksen raced onto a lovely pass from Erik Lamela to strike the ball home with seven minutes remaining, it didn’t just condemn City to their seventh defeat of the season and take Spurs above Arsenal on goal difference, it positioned Mauricio Pochettino’s side as the most convincing title contenders. “We are confident we can beat anyone in the league,” Kane said. And you know they mean it too. Spurs will take some stopping now.

Perhaps we should read something into the fact that Manchester City’s goalscorer on Sunday, Kelechi Iheanacho, is also far-and-away the lowest paid player on their team. For many of the rest of the squad something – and we can only presume it is the money – has blunted their hunger and workrate.

Yaya Toure has been off the pace for weeks now, yet has not been dropped. Vincent Kompany was rushed back into the starting line-up after injury – because expensive signings Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi have so far failed to live up to their price tags – and ended up playing Christian Eriksen onside for the decisive goal. Raheem Sterling was unlucky to give away a penalty, but offered very little attacking threat in return at the other end.

We already know that Pep Guardiola is studying this City side intently, effectively pulling double-time as he completes his contract at Bayern Munich while preparing for his new role in Manchester. A part of him may be relieved that it looks like he will not be inheriting a title winner again – but a much larger part of him will be distinctly unimpressed with what he has seen from certain players in recent times. Many of them might be playing for their long-term futures at the club now, and it will be interesting to see if that provokes a reaction on the pitch.

If N’Golo Kante does not win the Premier League this season with Leicester, it will not be through want of trying. Against Arsenal, the small midfielder with huge talent was absolutely everywhere. His first-half performance – tackles, passes, interceptions shots; the whole package – was one of the most complete you will see this season, but entirely in keeping with his general excellence for Leicester City.

Kante, signed for a paltry £5.6m from Caen in the summer, has been one of the standout stars of the Premier League campaign and it was not for nothing that comparisons with Roy Keane were flying around on Sunday. A tough tackler who relishes winning the ball back, Kante is also superb on the ball and enjoys joining in attacks too. The Frenchman is a real box-to-box star, even if his finest skills lie in deep areas, as the praise below from Rio Ferdinand demonstrates.

Having lost just one of their previous five league games (we had to double-check that too), perhaps some were starting to wonder if it was beginning to turn around for Villa. Sunday saw any such neutrals disabused of that notion, however, as they were beaten 6-0 at home by a Liverpool side who have had their own issues in recent weeks. Six different scorers for the Reds means Villa are not only bottom of the table, but have the worst goal difference too. Those are two key indicators they are unequivocally the worst team in the league – something Sunday’s result added further evidence too.

"I feel humiliated,” Remi Garde said afterwards. “This is very, very painful. It's the worst defeat I've had."

Batterings can happen to any side – sometimes the luck just isn’t with you – and fans can get over it if the commitment is at least obvious. But Villa on Sunday were a mess, and number of players seemed desperately lacking in any hunger to turn things around. “I don't know who has let down who in this football club,” Garde added. “I am trying to concentrate on my job and working with the players who want to fight."

They will have to work to win the fans back around, however. A lack of quality is painful, but a lack of effort is utterly unacceptable.

Jurgen Klopp may have tempered his post-match comments out of consideration for Aston Villa’s struggles, but deep down he must surely have been delighted with an almost perfect afternoon for his side – after a few weeks of ups and downs. For the first time the German was able to start Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in the same side, and then he saw Sturridge take just 16 minutes to get on the scoresheet. Back-up forward Divock Origi then also notched later in the game, giving both men huge confidence boosts as they look to salvage disappointing campaigns.

The one player who did not score, of course, was Christian Benteke – who may have experienced conflicting emotions on the return to his former side. The Belgian is in a difficult patch at the moment, missing some glorious chances in the FA Cup loss to West Ham, and his failure to score on Sunday when six team-mates did (including Kolo Toure!) will be reflected upon ruefully by the boss. Klopp will be eager to see Benteke get a goal as soon as possible. If he does, suddenly the German’s attacking options look a whole lot more promising.