The future is bright for high-flying Arsenal

We can definitely start talking about the Gunners as candidates for a top-four spot.

For a team who have gone 19 matches without defeat, little has been said about Arsenal this season but their excellent performance in a thrilling 4-2 win in the north London derby means they have to be mentioned among the country's elite.

Full credit to Unai Emery. His team flew out at Tottenham in a manner that Spurs are heralded for under Mauricio Pochettino.

In fairness, both teams looked in a different league to the pedestrian effort Manchester United put up at Southampton.

This incarnation of an Arsenal team were tough, pressed hard and played with a great intensity of purpose and the Emirates crowd, who are so often derided for creating a reserved atmosphere, lapped it up.

Finally a Premier League derby game lived up to the hype and Arsenal look capable of going from strength to strength.

2 West Ham won't be in the bottom half for long
The Hammers were brushed aside by Manchester City last week, but responded excellently when winning 3-0 at Newcastle and should push up from their current berth of 13th.

Javier Hernandez and Felipe Anderson will probably be wondering how the victory was not more comprehensive, but City are the only team to have beaten West Ham in their last five Premier League matches.

The fixture list provides them with a great chance to ensure they can be even more ambitious than just finishing in the top ten.

Manuel Pellegrini's side face Cardiff, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Watford, Southampton, Burnley and Brighton before Arsenal head to the London Stadium on January 12 and they look an interesting proposition at 13-10 to finish in the top half.

3 Cardiff's home performances could keep them up
After claiming promotion from the Sky Bet Championship last season, Cardiff's ambitions have to be more modest than those at West Ham, but the Bluebirds showed they should put up a decent fight.

It's a cliche to suggest that it will be their home results against the teams around them that will decide their destiny - it will be just as important to gain results against the better teams too.

However, this season has been a tale of the top teams beating the rest, so Neil Warnock's side have to ensure their rivals dread a visit to the Cardiff City Stadium.

They have won three of their last four home games against Fulham, Brighton and Wolves, and Southampton head to South Wales on Saturday, so motivation levels should be at fever pitch for that one.

4 Brighton are no longer a soft touch on the road
Huddersfield didn't help themselves by having to play just under an hour with ten men on Saturday, but Brighton were written off when playing away last season so any success on their travels has to be grabbed with both hands.

The Seagulls have taken seven away points so far - they also won at Newcastle and claimed a 2-2 draw at Southampton - so their tally is only four short of their total for the whole of last season.

No team outside the top six suffered fewer than their four home defeats last season and with only Tottenham having been the only team to win at the Amex, their passage to safety should be calmer.

5 Villa are on the cusp of a strong promotion challenge
Dean Smith has not even been at Villa Park for two months but his team are flying and the compact nature of the Sky Bet Championship means a push for the playoffs should not be out of the question.

They have claimed four wins and a draw in their last five matches, adding a 3-0 thumping of Middlesbrough to their list of impressive successes, which includes a win by an identical margin at Derby.

Villa have scored a total of 15 goals in those matches, so the good times are definitely rolling.

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