🔬 The Debrief as Man City's woes continue and Arsenal run riot | OneFootball

The Premier League delivered on its penultimate pre-Christmas outing with five games to enjoy on Saturday.

Here's what we made of it all.

What happened? 📝

📸 PAUL ELLIS - AFP or licensors

Manchester City's woes continued as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa while Nottingham Forest 2-0 win inflicted Brentford's first home loss of the season.

Alexander Isak notched a hat-trick as Newcastle thrashed Ipswich 4-0 and the points were shared at the London Stadium in West Ham's 1-1 draw with Brighton.

In the day's final game, Arsenal ran riot over London counterparts Crystal Palace for a second time this week with an emphatic 5-1 hammering at Selhurst Park.

Player of the day 🔥

📸 Michael Regan - 2024 Getty Images

Gabriel Jesus' failure to claim back-to-back hat-tricks against Palace put Alexander Isak over the top with his own match ball-clinching set at Portman Road earlier.

The Newcastle forward also joined an illustrious fraternity of just three players who have racked up 20th Premier League goals across the current calendar year.

When only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer have also hit those numbers, it proves how integral Isak remains for Eddie Howe's side as they steadily climb the table.

Stat of the day 📊

What this means 🤔

📸 Ryan Pierse - 2024 Getty Images

Forest's victory in west London tipped them ahead of Midlands counterparts Villa in the battle for a top-four place but Arsenal's rout denied them a Christmas in third.

Newcastle are up to seventh after Brighton's failure to hold onto a winning position at West Ham, who remain 14th while Palace and Ipswich are non-movers.

What they said 🗣

📸 PAUL ELLIS - AFP or licensors

Palace defender Marc Guéhi on Arsenal's set-piece threat: "We should have done better with the goal they scored when it was two versus two, but we didn't follow our men on the second phase."

Erling Haaland staunchly defended Pep Guardiola amid City's losing slump: "He will find the solutions. He has been doing that every single year. We still believe in him, we have to work harder than ever right now.”

Isak's hat-trick had Eddie Howe purring: “He’s a world-class talent. He’s got that coolness and composure in front of goal that very few strikers have. When you add how quick he is and how technically gifted he is, for me he’s got it all.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank took a pragmatic view on his side's first home loss: “It’s annoying, but it happens. We were on top in a lot of moments, but we had more dangerous moments without having clearcut chances.”

Meanwhile Nuno Espírito Santo isn't taking Forest's current lofty position for granted: “It’s not about the table. It’s about improving, realising there is still a long way to go and that we’ve achieved nothing yet.”

What's next? 👀

Sunday sees pivotal games at both ends of the table.

Chelsea can temporarily ascend the summit with a win over Everton before current leaders Liverpool travel to face upcoming EFL Cup semi-final opponents Tottenham.

In the battle at the bottom, Leicester City and Wolves face off in a relegation six-pointer while Ivan Jurić takes charge of his first Southampton game at Fulham.

Elsewhere, Manchester United entertain Bournemouth as they aim to break back into the league's top half.

📸 Julian Finney - 2024 Getty Images