Few would have predicted at the start of the campaign that a January clash between Arsenal and Newcastle United would see first place taking on third in the Premier League table.
The Gunners ended last season outside the top four, having been pipped for a Champions League spot by North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Newcastle spent half of the season in the relegation zone until a combination of the Saudi Arabian-led takeover of the club and appointment of Eddie Howe as manager helped propel the team to an 11th-place finish.
As the two teams meet at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, Arsenal find themselves seven points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the table, with the Magpies third – albeit 11 points behind and having played a game more than Mikel Arteta's side.
Arsenal extended their advantage over City when the reigning champions were held to a home draw by Everton, despite Erling Haaland grabbing his 21st goal of the league season, while the Gunners defeated Brighton 4-2 on the south coast.
Their 14th win in 16 league games left Arsenal on 43 points – at the same stage last season, the Gunners trailed City by 12 points.
Newcastle 0 Leeds 0: Player ratings
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NEWCASTLE UNITED RATINGS: Nick Pope 6: Keeper’s distribution was good, helping set his team off on numerous counter attacks. Good flying save from Rodrigo strike in second half that counted as Leeds' only shot on target during the game. PA -
Kieran Trippier 7: Captain pushed up on the wing for large parts of the game, putting in some great through balls. His set-piece deliveries were their usual high standard and caused Leeds plenty of problems. Reuters -
Fabian Schar 7: The Swiss defender saw an early headed chance go just wide but also also misses two other opportunities and could have had a hat-trick. Strong defensively as Newcastle secured another clean sheet. Getty -
Sven Botman 7: The 22-year-old distributed well from the back and helped to stop several Leeds attacks as he maintained his fine form since moving to Magpies in the summer. He also had his own sliding shot comfortably saved by Meslier after he connected with a free-kick. AFP -
Dan Burn 7: The left-back blocked an Aaronson shot with a sliding tackle and should have scored himself but failed to connect with a shot right in front of goal. Getty -
Bruno Guimaraes 6: Brazilian carried the ball well in the middle of the park, though his passing wasn’t always accurate. Not up to his usual standards and involved in furious row with Leeds goalkeeper Meslier late in game. Getty -
Sean Longstaff 5: The academy product had two brilliant chances which he blazed wide and then high as his side desperatley searched for a winner. AFP -
Joe Willock 6: Former Arsenal midfielder brought energy and pace to his side's attacks. He ran through the defence easily in the first half, but there was little end product. Getty -
Miguel Almiron 7: Paraguayan was full of action, firing wide from distance in the first half. Produced his usual lung-bursting runs up and down the wing but couldn't add to his nine league goals this season. Getty -
Joelinton 8: Brazilian performed admirably at both ends of the pitch. Battled with Ayling on the left and was often a key player in his Newcastle's attacks. Getty -
Chris Wood 5: Big striker nearly got an early assist after getting past Meslier, but he failed to cross towards Joelinton. Denied second-half goal when Leeds goalkeeper came sliding out to block his shot. Getty -
SUBS: Callum Wilson (On for Wood 63') 6: England striker showed show good strength to win the ball in the air and bring it down, and he won a number of free-kicks near the edge of the box. Getty -
Allan Saint-Maximin (On for Willock 63') 6: French attacker showed flashes of his pace and trickery on the wing but couldn't inspire a Newcastle goal. AFP Jacob Murphy (On for Almiron, 84') N/A. -
LEEDS UNITED RATINGS: Islan Meslier 8: The French keeper was lucky to see Botman head wide as Newcastle wasted a number of chances, but generally saved everything thrown at him and commanded his area well. Annoyed Newcastle with his time-wasting late on. AFP -
Luke Ayling 6: The 31-year-old did well as he battled with Joelinton on the wing. Picked up a yellow card as he clipped Willock on the attack, leading to a dangerous free-kick. AP -
Pascal Struijk 5: Belgian had to head away a lot of balls as Newcastle launched cross after cross into the box. Didn’t always make the best decisions with his clearances and tackles. Reuters -
Robin Koch 6: Leeds defender often struggled against the Newcastle attack, but he put in some good challenges at the back. Getty -
Liam Cooper 7: Captain's height proved important against the constant threat of Newcasttle pumping crosses into the box. Defensively solid. AFP -
Adam Forshaw 6: Midfielder helped to cut out play in the middle and was diligent defensively. He was taken off at half time, just after stopping a Willock cross into the box. PA -
Tyler Adams 6: American midfielder mostly sat back Newcastle piled on pressure for last hour of match. Was lucky to get away with a challenge in the box on Schar that could easily have resulted in a penalty. Reuters -
Jack Harrison 5: Midfielder was quiet for most of the game, though he burst his way through the defence at one point with some good footwork before firing a shot wide. Reuters -
Brenden Aaronson 6: Young attacker added a burst of energy up top for Leeds but never looked like scoring. Getty -
Wilfried Gnonto 6: Italian attacker prodoced some nice flicks to help create attacks. Also guilty of wasting the ball and giving away some fouls in the first half. Booked for repeatedly failing to retreat far enough away from Trippier free-kicks. AFP -
Rodrigo 6: Striker showed some good hold-up play as his teammates joined the attacks. Came close to scoring in rare Leeds attack after break but was denied by Pope. Getty -
SUBS: Marc Roca (On for Forshaw 45') 5: Midfielder committed a number of fouls and was booked for challenge of Guimaraes. He was also involved in a heated exchange with Joelinton. AFP -
Mateusz Klich (On for Harrison 63') 5: Midfielder nearly got himself on the end of an attacking through ball but it was fired just past him. Gave away several unnecessary fouls. PA -
Crysencio Somerville (On for Gnonto 69') 6: Attacker didn’t get many chances as his side defended with everyone behind the ball. PA -
Rasmus Kristensen (On for Ayling 69') 6: The defender came on to provide some fresh legs and instantly had to deal with Saint-Maximin on the wing. He was beaten several times but also blocked some crosses. Joe Geldhart (On for Rodrigo 81') N/A. Reuters
“It sounds amazing,” said Bukayo Saka, who scored his seventh goal of the campaign at Brighton. “At the start of the season if you asked us if we wanted this, we would bite your hand off. We are really happy.
“It is a great opportunity – a great place we have put ourselves in,” the England attacker added. “We are not focusing on that now. We are focusing on the next game because we know how well Newcastle have been playing.”
Spanish manager Arteta insisted he was taking nothing for granted in the title race. “It’s still a long, long run to go,” he said.
“My excitement comes when I go in the dressing room and the players are talking about what they should have done better today.
“And that means that they know that we can still play better and be better, and against Newcastle we have to be better.”
For Newcastle, meanwhile, the transformation has been impressive considering they were 19th in the table this time last year.
Brighton 2 Arsenal 4: Player ratings
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BRIGHTON RATINGS: Robert Sanchez 4 – A tough night for the Spaniard. He’ll be kicking himself about Arsenal’s third in particular, when he failed to hold onto Martinelli’s cross. Nketiah bundled home. Prevented a bigger scoreline. AFP -
Tariq Lamptey 5 – Lost the ball in the Arsenal half in what lead to the opening goal. Overall, it was a tricky task guarding Martinelli. The Brazilian got the better of him several times, three times at key moments, including Arsenal’s fourth goal. Looked dangerous going forward. AFP -
Lewis Dunk 4 – The central defender was undone by Odegaard’s nimble feet in the first half, and was then asleep when Nketiah reacted first to bundle home Martinelli’s spilled cross. Got away with a shove on Nketiah in the second half, too. Getty Images -
Levi Colwill 6 – The best of Brighton’s defenders, who did his best to nullify Odegaard. Was guilty of slowing the play when he received the ball, though. Reuters -
Pervis Estupinan 5 – The Ecuadorian looked good going forward but was undone a few times in his own half. Getty Images -
Billy Gilmour 5 – The Scot was always looking for the ball to drive forward, but he looked lightweight against Arsenal’s swashbuckling midfield. He did, however, link well with Gross in the build-up to Brighton’s first goal. Getty Images -
Pascal Gross 6 – Took a while to get into the game and then almost scored from a corner. He got his third assist of the season in the second half when he played a neat ball through to Mitoma. Getty Images -
Solly March 6 – Had Brighton’s first effort of the game, but it was blocked by Gabriel. Looked dangerous on the flank, but was lucky to stay on the field with a high challenge on Odegaard. AFP -
Adam Lallana 5 – Failed to get to grips with Arsenal’s lightning start and despite growing in stature, he was later replaced. Getty Images -
Kaoru Mitoma 7 – Pulled a goal back for Brighton, and almost a third, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. The goal that stood followed a neat touch and a cool finish just inside the area. The one that was cancelled was an equally impressive finish. AFP -
Leandro Trossard 6 – Looked a threat going forward, but his best effort was tipped over the bar by Ramsdale in the first half. Getty Images -
Evan Ferguson (Trossard, 60’) 7 – The teenager got the better of Saliba to net his first Premier League goal and give Brighton hope with the Seagulls’ second. Getty Images -
Jeremy Sarmiento (Lallana, 61’) 7 – Looked a threat when he came on, delivering a number of teasing balls into the Arsenal area. Getty Images -
Julio Enciso (March, 76’) N/A – Didn’t quite have the same impact as the player he replaced. Getty Images -
ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale 6 – Was the quieter of the two keepers, but he had to be alive to Trossard’s long-range effort in the first half, and Gross’ effort on the turn in the second. Could do little about either goal. Reuters -
Ben White 7 – Went about his business quietly. His impact was most notable after he’d been replaced, at which point Arsenal’s right-hand side looked weak. Getty Images -
William Saliba 4 – Put through a delicious through ball to Saka in the first half, but he was worryingly poor at the back. Made a number of mistakes, one of which led to Brighton’s second. EPA -
Gabriel Magalhaes 7 – Was the better defender by some distance. Came close to scoring at the other end, too. Getty Images -
Oleksandr Zinchenko 7 – Came close to doubling Arsenal’s lead inside four minutes, but his close-range shot was well saved by Sanchez. A threat going forward throughout. AFP -
Martin Odegaard 9 – Displayed wonderful footwork in a neat team move with Martinelli that almost saw Saka score a second. He then doubled Arsenal’s advantage with a mis-hit shot that went into the ground and bamboozled everyone. His best bit, though, was an outrageous pass that set Martinelli free for Arsenal’s fourth. Reuters -
Thomas Partey 8 – Won the ball from Lamptey to start the move that saw Arsenal take the lead. Linked up with Martinelli again in the build-up for the third. AFP -
Granit Xhaka 5 – Arguably the weakest link in Arsenal’s performance. The Swiss midfielder was unusually quiet. Getty Images -
Bukayo Saka 8 – Got the Gunners off to an electric start inside the first two minutes when he beat Sanchez on the half volley. Had several other chances to score in the first half. EPA -
Edward Nketiah 8 – Came close to netting inside the opening 10 minutes, but his shot on the turn finished just wide. He made up for it immediately after the restart when he reacted first to tap home from close range to net his second in two games. Getty Images -
Gabriel Martinelli 9 – Played a big part in the opening goal when his shot took two deflections before finding Saka, who stroked home. He then threaded a delicious pass to Zinchenko moments later as Arsenal threatened to run riot. He was involved again in Arsenal’s third, and crowned a fine performance with Arsenal’s fourth. Devastating. Getty Images -
SUBS: Takehiro Tomiyasu (White, 6’0) 5 – Had a tough time against Sarmiento after coming on. Getty Images -
Kieran Tierney (Zinchenko, 60’) 6 – Came on for White in what was a defensive switch, and he made some good – and much-needed – interventions. Getty Images -
Mohamed Elneny (Partey, 74’) N/A – Found it hard to get into the pace of the game, and Arsenal lost control of the midfield. Getty Images -
Rob Holding (Odegaard, 87’) N/A – Came on to help close the game out with Brighton threatening. Reuters
And it is a sign of how far they have progressed that there was a sense of frustration at the end of their goalless draw with Leeds United at St James' Park on Saturday.
Despite dominating the game for long periods, the Magpies were unable to find that elusive goal that would have secured a seventh consecutive league win.
And now taking on the league leaders in their own back yard will provide Eddie Howe's side with a good litmus test of where they are at.
“I think we’ll learn a lot,” admitted manager Howe, whose team are unbeaten in 12 matches – a run which goes back to August. “It’ll be a fascinating and high-level game.
“I’ve watched a lot of Arsenal this year and been hugely impressed, I think Mikel has done an incredible job. You look at the turnaround of the team and how they play, their identity is clear every week.
“Players look like they’re enjoying their football and playing a high-level game. It’s going to be a really good examination of how far we’ve come.”
