London and Manchester were both painted red over the derby weekend, Chelsea’s big spending shows no signs of slowing down and Gerard Pique’s spat with ex-partner Shakira has become more public.
A win on Sunday sent Arsenal eight points clear at the top of the league. And they also did it in the garden of Tottenham.
Manchester United too beat their local rivals on Saturday – thanks in part to controversial refereeing – and in the Women’s Super League, a goal by Sam Kerr blew up the title race.
All that and more is covered in this week’s roundup of the best tweets from the weekend’s football action.
1. Arteta’s Young Gunners Keep Shooting
Sunday’s win was the first time Arsenal had beaten Spurs in the Premier League since 2014.
Mikel Arteta was still in the Gunners squad at the time – and the Spanish manager’s faith in the youth is paying off as a Premier League title win looks increasingly likely.
After the match, former Arsenal player Theo Walcott wasted no time in rubbing the knife in the wound, reminding Spurs fans of a FA Cup match in 2014 when the score was the same.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Super League, a draw for Arsenal against Chelsea leaves them three points behind leaders Emma Hayes with one game less.
The WSL title race is wide open and Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben Moy seems to be relishing the moment.
2. Football shows support for Mead
Beth Mead from England paid tribute to his mother June Friday, after his death after “a long and courageous battle with ovarian cancer.”
On Sunday, Arsenal’s men’s and women’s teams showed gestures of support for the 27-year-old striker.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa beat Tottenham in the WSL on Sunday and Mead’s former Arsenal team-mate Jordan Nobbs revealed this tribute post.
3. “A shocking decision”
Manchester United have made a strong statement beating Manchester City at Old Trafford the Saturday. It means the Red Devils have lost just one of their last 19 games in all competitions and are now just a point behind their city rivals.
That win came in part thanks to a controversial Bruno Fernandes equaliser.
Marcus Rashford, in an offside position, appeared to chase the ball before Fernandes fired home. However, the 25-year-old striker was considered not to interfere with the game, despite raising the flag.
Micah Richards called the decision “shocking”.
He was not alone in this opinion.
4. How far can United go?
Despite Arsenal’s eight-point lead, Gary Neville made a big call, arguing that they will end up under Manchester United at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, in the WSL, United celebrated a decisive win over Liverpool to move up to second…
… but United striker Alessia Russo is aiming even higher.
5. Rhyme and Reason
A defeat against Southampton, the last Saturday has dragged Everton further into the quagmire of relegation and left manager Frank Lampard to fight for his job.
It threatened to get ugly at Goodison Park, with local fans staging protests against their owners.
But once you hear those banners delivered by the voice of Dr. Seuss, as this tweeter suggests, it becomes rather hard to shake that thought off.
6. Chelsea keep splashing the cash
Chelsea are going at it a lot in the transfer window. On Sunday they completed £89million signing of Ukraine striker Mykhailo Mudryk of Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Blues obviously rate the 22-year-old as, apart from the fee, they have also committed to an eight-and-a-half-year contract for him.
Mudryk is Chelsea’s fifth signing in the January transfer window. Since a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly took over the club in May 2022, they have spent over £400m on transfers but sit 10th in the league.
7. Strong Statement
Liverpool again looked unrecognizable this weekend compared to the side that competed for so many years with Manchester City.
They were executed in tatters by Brighton and fell to ninth – 10 points from the top four.
Jurgen Klopp didn’t mince words in his post-match interview.
8. Ings in the right place at the right time
There was a moment of serendipity in Aston Villa’s win over Leeds on Friday, when striker Danny Ings appeared in the right place, at the right time, in front of the billboards…
9. Pique vs. Shakira
Shakira, ex-partner of Gerard Pique dropped a viral ‘diss track‘ last week, in which she called out the former Barcelona defender about their breakup.
Out of Your League was viewed over 63 million times in just 24 hours, making it the most viewed Latin song during that time.
In one lyric, Shakira sings about Pique’s alleged new partner, 23, likening the relationship to swapping “a Ferrari for a [Renault] Twingo”.
Subsequently, over the weekend, the 35-year-old former Spain international was seen driving around in a new car.
Is that what you might call “owning the joke,” or does that add to the embarrassment? You decide.
10. Xavi the manager has arrived
Barcelona legend Xavi lifted his first trophy as club manager on Sunday as the Catalans completed a comfortable 3-1 win against rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final.
It’s a trophy that Xavi has won eight times as a player. And with Barcelona currently three points ahead of Real at the top of La Liga, he could be celebrating again before the end of this season.
