In the last ten years, both UK main parties have used the tactic of putting an ethnic minority as Home Secretary so when they enact racist policies it is harder to call them out. Patel, Braverman and now Mahmood are all echoing the far right and it's utterly gross.

I just made the mistake of watching the Sky VAR breakdown with Dermot Gallagher of van Dijk's disallowed goal. Two points: 1) What a pointless presence Dermot is - contradicts himself and misrepresents the rules to always agree with the ref. 2) How have we managed to make offside so subjective?

So, this weekend we went to the North East against a physical side and got held to a draw, while City beat rivals at home. After the break, City go the North east against a physical side and we play rivals at home. Bring it.

I always says goal difference gives you an indication of a team's true ability and where they'll settle. Arsenal and City both have +15. City have the better attack, Arsenal have the better defence. Sounds about right, and it'll be hard fought. City DO have more singular points of failure though.

Szoboszlai could've been sent off there. Deliberate and petulant shoulder into the back of Foden's head who didn't even know he was there. Dangerous. Ref saw it and booked him, makes me wonder what made the ref think that *wasn't* violent conduct.

That Doku goal is the 27th Liverpool have conceded in all competitions this season. 27. Yesterday Arsenal went from 3 to 5.

Doku has destroyed Liverpool today.

Conor Bradley could easily have suffered the Martinelli double yellow there. Absolutely wiped out Doku, ref played advantage and then when the ball broke out, he committed another poor challenge. Not sure which he was booked for but he could've gone. Y'know, if that ever happened to anyone else.

I wanted a draw, I would've taken a Liverpool win as I think City are the bigger threat. This is exactly what we didn't want to happen. Maybe Haaland can punch someone in the second half to make it better.

Tierney just scored his first goal since returning to Celtic.

van Dijk goal disallowed. I agree that if you're in the six yard area and offside you can't be deemed not to be involved. Having said that, I can remember City benefiting from a goal being allowed in very similar circumstances. It isn't consistent - in my view it is the right decision though.

Haaland is even scoring flukes now. That was headed on to him and rebounded in.

Really not sure how van Dijk didn't get booked around the penalty. Sarcastically applauded the ref and then refused to give City the ball. Pick your offence.

Anything but a City win today. A draw is the obvious desire but I actually wouldn't mind a Liverpool win either.

You don't win every game. You don't keep clean sheets in every game. It happens. We move on. We didn't lose (Chelsea did to this lot).

We also looked exhausted at the end, Rice was running on empty. We need the numbers back and hopefully we will have soon. Three tough away matches in a week and we didn't quite have enough to make it perfect.

Very frustrating to concede that late goal, but you can argue a draw was fair. Our goals came from a mistake and a rocket, and while we created a few other openings, so did they. We didn't defend as well as usual and were punished. Tough place to come, others will find that too.

Ugh. Great finish. Might well have been a penalty for them even if he hadn't to be honest.

I love David Raya.

Calafiori lucky not to be booked. We get a decision at last. A wrong one, but...

Prescient. He's been superb today, and out of very little - bang.

Reinaldo finally booked. To say that was overdue is quite the understatement.

Trossard is playing really well - again. His ability to create out of very little is superb.

SAKA!!! Sunderland got cocky there and started trying to overplay at the back. Entirely their own fault, that one.

Would be really nice if Craig Pawson, after playing a non-advantage for any of these hacking fouls, went back and booked the offender later. That said, brighter start to the second half. Need to keep this up.

Especially going forward, we look like a side that is short of numbers and rotation, and has travelled a lot. All of that is true, but you have to overcome. One more big push for 45 minutes.

Half-time, not a great performance so far. Going to have to step up in the second half in multiple ways - Sunderland are being allowed to commit as many late challenges as they like, it's just like coming to Newcastle. Discipline has been good as days like this are frustrating. But all too slow.

Xhaka booked. Easiest prediction you could've made all day. Actually quite a significant one though. He's charging around and needs to calm it down now.

That's a ridiculously soft yellow for Zubimendi. Not his first of that type this season either. Pawson 100% reacted to the crowd there.

Ref just watched a clash of heads and let Sunderland go on to complete the attack anyway. Hmm.

Commentators going on about whether the elbow on Merino was intentional. Well, it being unintentional would stop it being a red card. But most trips are accidental too and they're still fouls.

That’s a foul anywhere else on the field and a yellow card. Why not a penalty?

This won't be straightforward, and it's absolutely the sort of game previous Arsenal teams would slip up in. A win would be huge given the context - not only City and Liverpool playing each other tomorrow but another international break and the players we may have available on the other side.

Extraordinary. It's so easy to look at football and imagine it's free of issues other sports face - corruption, doping - but that's romanticising, especially with the money flowing in and around the game.

Three goals conceded in 16 games. Ten consecutive wins. Eight consecutive clean sheets. Top of the PL, top of the CL.

Nwaneri, MLS, Harriman-Annous and Dowman all playing Champions League football in a comfortable win. The present is fantastic. The future is set too.

Penalty to Prague and it's an evener - incredibly harsh. VAR are checking it so it might be overturned here.

Max Dowman replaces Leandro Trossard. That makes Max Dowman the youngest player ever in the Champions League.

Okay, Merino isn't a fill in striker anymore. He's just able to play that position. Two more tonight and this is suddenly a walk in the park.

Pretty good defensive midfielder, that Merino.

Looks like we're getting a penalty and nobody has a clue why.

Mixed news on Gyokeres. Back after the international break is important, now we just have to get through this week. It's incredible - Havertz, Jesus, Gyokeres, Madueke, Odegaard, Martinelli all out at the same time. If you say we can only win one game before the break, I'd pick Sunderland.

Of the promoted sides, I don't think both Burnley and Leeds survive, at least one goes down. But I'd say Sunderland are already halfway to survival.

Said it before, but think this is actually fair, and both sides will heavily rotate. Had it been played two days after Palace played City in the league, I think they would've rotated for that game and gone for the cup. So, weirdly, I think this change is ok. Player welfare though? Ha.

I think it's pretty clear that the perfect weekend next time up is a win over Sunderland and a Liverpool-City draw. But if you had to ask me to pick a winner in the latter game, I'm going Liverpool. City have frequently started slowly and gone on ridiculous runs. Don't rule them out.

Sunderland v Arsenal next weekend is, weirdly (in one case, anyway) a battle between the two best defences in the league.

After all our rivals slipped up last weekend, this was one of those where they all win and you have to match it. Next week is about beating Sunderland and then enjoying City and Liverpool knowing someone is falling away. Make it happen.

Never fails to amaze me how Bernardo Silva has been in our league for years and has never had articles written about what an absolute shithouse he is. Sneaky late challenges, dives, stud rakes, dissent, the absolute bingo card of stuff the press clutch their pearls about, but nothing.

Thirteen points ahead of Newcastle after ten games is quite the gap.

PGMOL have just decided this season (since the Gyokeres-Pope incident) that any penalty given where the defender even grazes the ball isn't a penalty even if they attacker would still have possession and is clattered. I mean, at least they're being consistent with it, but it's a wrong ruling.