Norwegian striker Erling Haaland continues to score at a rate of more than a goal per game. Manchester City secured another three points and extended their winning streak to five games in a row. However, this is still not enough to prevent Arsenal from being the leader of the Premier League on Christmas Day. A 1-0 victory over Everton, secured by a penalty from Viktor Gyokeres in the first half, means that Arsenal—seeking their first top-tier English title since 2004—will be top on December 25th for the fifth time since the Premier League was formed in 1992. On none of the previous four occasions did Arsenal go on to win the title. History is not the only thing the Gunners are fighting against. City is the closest rival and is just two points behind in second place after a 3-0 win over West Ham. Haaland scored in each half to reach 19 goals in 17 games this season—thus surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo on the Premier League's all-time top scorers list—and also assisted Tijjani Reijnders's goal. City's manager, Pep Guardiola, is not yet fully satisfied and revealed his message to the team in the dressing room. "I told the players, 'Merry Christmas to everyone, but it won't be enough if we don't improve,'" said Guardiola. Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-1, who finished with nine men, but lost their record signing Alexander Isak to an ankle injury sustained while scoring the opening goal. Chelsea came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Newcastle.
