6. Brighton Brighton have a reputation for being a high-flying team that isn't afraid to go all-out attack and take risks to score goals, particularly against the big boys, so it was good to see them dig their heels in for a gritty 1-0 win over Newcastle.

That win should seal the fact that Brighton have a better and more well-rounded squad than Newcastle, who seem to have overestimated their talent in each of the past two seasons.

The issue is that when you tally up the goal differential, Brighton are behind both Chelsea and Tottenham in goal difference despite being ahead of both London powerhouses in the league table.

I still like Brighton's chances of holding off Tottenham for the final spot in the top six, though, because with Carlos Baleba, they have a superior midfield. Spurs have more star power in defense and attack with players like Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min, but you can't beat the Seagulls when it comes to overall attacking depth; their new faces haven't fully integrated yet either.

Chelsea have made very real strides under Enzo Maresca, and everything about the Blues still feels like a work in progress - and I mean that in a good way. You get the feeling that from month to month, Chelsea are improving.

It's impossible to justify ranking Chelsea ahead of Aston Villa when the Lions have been better both this season and in the last two seasons, but on talent alone, Chelsea should be in the Premier League top four.

4. Aston Villa Aston Villa went down early against Fulham but ended up with. convincing 3-1 victory. It's amazing how they have turned Youri Tielemans back into one of the top midfielders in the Premier League while unearthing two of the league's biggest breakout gems in Jhon Duran and the very underrated Morgan Rogers.

Unai Emery is operating at a higher level than any other coach in the Premier League, because he consistently delivers results and visibly develops young talent in ways that other managers simply are not.

3. Arsenal Arsenal can complain about the referees, and there is a legitimate argument to be made that the red card against William Saliba was harsh. But too often these past few seasons under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal haven't been able to find that same resiliency Manchester City do when the chips are down.

At any point against Bournemouth, Arsenal could have stepped up the intensity or found more moments of quality to pull ahead, but, instead, it was the Cherries that looked like a more well-organized side and were ruthlessly opportunistic.

Arsenal came into the summer transfer window knowing that they needed to sign two more difference-makers in the attack at striker and on the left wing, but they remained complacent and have been burned badly, clearly missing out on more options in games like this one.

Right now, Arsenal are a deserved third in the Premier League. They haven't looked better than either Manchester City or Liverpool, and while everyone is rooting for someone to finally take down Man City, it's becoming concerningly clear that Arsenal just don't have the right squad make-up to do it.

Arsenal fans need to also ask some serious questions about where Mikel Arteta ranks among himself, Unai Emery, Pep Guardiola, and now Arne Slot in the Premier League coaching tier, because he may be closer to "good" than "great".

2. Liverpool Liverpool did what they needed to do against Chelsea to get the full three points, and when you have the best player in the league in Mohamed Salah, you are able to win more of these close games than you lose.

The way the Reds are able to overcome key injuries, such as the one to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, is a key difference between themselves and Arsenal, who have looked lost at times without the leadership of Martin Odegaard.

Liverpool are, in my opinion, indisputably better this season with Slot, because he has instilled fresh ideas into a squad that already had the benefit of being well-drilled by Jurgen Kopp, whose fighting spirit was very much visible in the gritty win over Chelsea.

My heart wants to pick Liverpool as the eventual Premier League champions, and they are first in the league right now. But my mind says that Man City's overall depth will, once again, be the difference this season in the long run.

1. Manchester City It's impossible not to pick against Manchester City, because every logical indicator points towards the Citizens successfully retaining their Premier League crown.

Ballon d'Or candidate Rodri's torn ACL has left a massive gap for every other team to exploit, but, in reality, nobody has done that, and, if anything, Arsenal have only disappointed since the Spanish international's season-ending injury.

Manchester City still have a strong defensive midfield even without Rodri, and after signing Jeremy Doku and Savinho in the last two transfer windows, their attacking options around Erling Haaland remain even more dynamic.

On paper, Man City have the most talented and deepest defense in the league. And defense wins championships. Man City vs. Liverpool will be even more down to the wire than the battles with Arsenal in the last two seasons, but until Liverpool truly force the issue or Man City falter to such an extent that they force me to prove otherwise, I can't find a legitimate reason to rank Guardiola's side second.

The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other major outlets. You can contact him at the site's official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site's official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.