The 2022/2023 Premier League season is now into its twenty-first game week, and the entertainment continues to be relentless and thoroughly enjoyable.

As a result, we will be breaking down each round of fixtures by picking out 3 of the biggest talking points, covering the biggest results, goals and general talking points from the week. We then will round off by picking our player of the week and game of the week based on what we saw in that round of games.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have seen anything in a game that you think we should be talking about, or have anything to share from what you’ve seen at a game that week. Any funny stories, tactical analysis or general comments will be featured.

An Emirates Classic

Arsenal’s 3–2 win over Manchester United at the Emirates felt like one of those games people will still talk about when they remember the 2022/23 title race. United came in with momentum after beating Manchester City the previous weekend, and Arsenal were trying to prove they weren’t just top of the table by accident. What we got was a frantic, high-quality game that swung back and forth and summed up why both sides felt “back” in their own way.

Marcus Rashford lit it up early on with a stunning low drive from distance, continuing his red-hot post-World Cup form and briefly silencing the Emirates. Arsenal’s response, though, said a lot about the mentality Mikel Arteta had built. Eddie Nketiah pulled them level with a clever header at the back post after great work from Granit Xhaka, and in the second half Bukayo Saka produced his own long-range stunner, cutting inside and drilling a shot into the far corner in classic “Arjen Robben but from the right” fashion.

United weren’t done either. Lisandro Martínez, of all people, looped a header over Aaron Ramsdale after a scramble in the box to make it 2–2 and set up a chaotic final stretch. But Arsenal kept their composure, camped in United’s half, and pushed for the winner rather than settling for a draw. The decisive moment came in the 89th minute: Nketiah, again, reacting quickest to flick in a close-range effort that sparked bedlam in the stands and a huge emotional release on the touchline from Arteta.

Beyond the drama, it was a statement result. Arsenal showed they could beat an in-form “big six” rival in a pressure-cooker situation, come from behind, and still have the courage to chase all three points late on. For United, it was a reminder that progress under Ten Hag was real, but squad depth and game management were still a step behind the very best. For neutrals, it was simply one of the matches of the season.

Haaland Hat-Trick

By late January, everyone already knew Erling Haaland was a problem for defences, but his hat-trick against Wolves at the Etihad underlined just how ridiculous his numbers were. Manchester City had been wobbling slightly in the weeks before, dropping points and giving Arsenal some breathing space. Wolves, meanwhile, were starting to look more organised under Julen Lopetegui, but Haaland and City simply steamrolled them in a 3–0 win that never really felt in doubt.

Haaland’s first came from a trademark header, ghosting between defenders to nod in a Kevin De Bruyne cross, a combination that felt almost unfair. He added his second from the penalty spot after a foul on İlkay Gündoğan, and then completed the hat-trick by punishing a sloppy Wolves mistake in possession, rolling the ball home with casual inevitability. By the time he was subbed off, it felt like City had simply turned the game into a training exercise built around feeding their No. 9.

The bigger talking point, though, was his season tally. That hat-trick took Haaland into the mid-20s for Premier League goals by January, numbers that used to be enough to win a Golden Boot over an entire campaign. People were already debating whether he’d “break the league,” how many records he’d smash, and whether his presence made City more predictable or simply even more ruthless. There was also the ongoing narrative that City hadn’t quite clicked around him yet, and if this was them still figuring it out, it was a terrifying thought for everyone else.

In the context of the title race, the result felt like a reset button for Pep Guardiola’s side. Questions about mentality and fatigue had been creeping in, but this was City in their most familiar guise: suffocating possession, waves of attacks, and a ruthless finisher at the end of it all. It didn’t solve every tactical debate around Haaland, but it reminded everyone that if he got chances, he’d keep City firmly in Arsenal’s rear-view mirror.

Lampard Gone

At the bottom of the table, West Ham vs Everton was framed as a “must not lose” for both managers, and in the end it was Frank Lampard who paid the price. The 2–0 defeat at the London Stadium, with Jarrod Bowen scoring twice in the first half, felt like the point where the situation at Everton stopped being simply worrying and became outright alarming. It wasn’t just the score line, it was the lack of belief, organisation, and fight on display from a side in a relegation scrap.

West Ham, who had their own problems, looked sharper and more purposeful from the start. Bowen’s first goal came after neat build-up play and a cut-back, and his second arrived shortly afterwards, capitalising on more slack defending. From there, Everton never truly threatened a comeback. The away end was packed, loud, and clearly desperate for something to cling to, but the players couldn’t give them much. Each misplaced pass or hesitant attack just added to the tension between the fanbase and the club’s hierarchy.

The wider context made this result especially toxic. Everton had already been flirting with relegation the previous season and had gone through multiple managers in quick succession. Protests against the board were growing louder, with anger directed at the ownership and recruitment rather than just the man in the dugout. Lampard, to his credit, still seemed to have some personal backing from sections of the fanbase, but results like this left the club with very little choice. The day after the match, his sacking felt inevitable more than shocking.

So this game became less about West Ham’s much-needed win, although it was huge for David Moyes, and more about the sense of a club in freefall. Everton looked like a side without a plan, stuck in a cycle of short-term fixes and managerial changes that never addressed deeper issues. Match week 21 will be remembered as the weekend where that crisis truly boiled over, and where Everton’s fight to stay in the Premier League went from concern to full-blown emergency.

Matchday 21 Player of the Week: Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United A classic at the Emirates as Arsenal bagged a 90th minute winner after the game swung back and forth throughout. With a win to close gap on City, Arsenal will use this late win as a huge morale boost into the closing stages of the season.

Matchday 21 Game of the Week: Erling Haaland Although Arsenal produced their late win, Erling Haaland’s hat-trick made light work of opponents Wolves as the Norwegian once again showed his top quality inside of the 61 minutes played.

Let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) what you made of the twenty-first round of fixtures, and what you’re looking forward to in the next game week.