Exactly a month ago on this page I wrote glowingly about Brighton, saying this:

"Arsenal's three-goal capitulation was initially a shock, but should it still be a surprise down at Brighton? This season the Seagulls have also scored three against Chelsea and Manchester United, four against Tromso and Aston Villa, while slapping Coventry with five.

"This does not look like a lucky run of form or a purple patch on the pitch; this looks like who they are now."

In that same newsletter, I reckoned they were comfortably capable of a top-six finish. Since then, they have scored seven without reply against Sunderland and old rivals Crystal Palace, while netting four more against Lithuanian side Kauno Zalgiris. My initial suggestion of top six sounds slightly less bold already, though I could argue that top six means anywhere from first to sixth, of course!

So I agree that they have the capability to stay up there, but can they overhaul Manchester City? Probably not, but then again, the question remains: will they need to? Any decent level of points deduction for City changes that dynamic immediately.

The next real challenger is, of course, Arsenal, which brings to mind the aforementioned three-goal capitulation by Mikel Arteta's men back in mid-September.

Even so, I am still not ready to call Brighton challengers for the title. The rigours of European football will not help them with limitations in their squad depth in comparison with City and Arsenal.

Brighton have five games in 14 very stressful days coming up; Liverpool away, Manchester City away twice (once in the cup) and two European trips.

If they are still on a winning streak after that gruelling period, no-one will be counting them out.

In simple terms, it would be a shock but not as big a shock as Leicester City being champions back in 2016.