Good morning, TSFers. Arsenal are three points clear of the cheaters at the top of the Premier League table, five points clear of the “true” second place side Brighton, and nine points clear of Liverpool in 5th. The side got a significant monkey off their back with a league win at Anfield, too. It’s a very good day.

I don’t want to get too ahead of things but that nine-point gap after nine matches is a significant one. Liverpool (15 points, 1.8 points per game) would have to pick up 2.4 ppg to match Arsenal’s league-winning, 85 point mark from last season (85 in 38 is approximately 2.24 ppg). So basically Liverpool would have to improve their current points percentage by 33% and sustain a rate higher than Arsenal’s title-winning pace for three-quarters of the season. And oh by the way, Arsenal are 7 points up on equivalent fixtures from last season.

The Premier League season is long and difficult. Weird things happen. Teams get hot. The bottom can drop out. But from strictly a numbers perspective, it’s going to be really tough for Liverpool to challenge for the title from where they are now. Knock on wood, cross your fingers, and do whatever other anti-jinx hoo-doo suits you.

A few more fun facts / numbers:

Did y’all come across any other good stats?