Arsenal beating Hull City and Manchester City losing again has impacted the Premier League title race, but Mikel Arteta's side could have another challenger

Arsenal have been told Brighton are their main rivals for the Premier League title following a second consecutive defeat for Manchester City. The Seagulls beat Enzo Maresca's side last weekend at the Etihad Stadium, with Nottingham Forest then beating City 3-1 on Saturday evening.

A Liam Delap brace and a smart Jair Cunha finish helped Forest to their first home win this season, with that coming just a few hours after the Gunners edged past Hull City. Club captain Martin Odegaard scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half.

The champions are now six points clear of City, who remain second for the time being. However, that could change on Sunday afternoon with Brighton hosting Brentford, where a win would take them above City and five points behind Arsenal.

Though the 2026/27 season is only a quarter complete, that is quite a significant lead, with Jamie Redknapp of the belief that Arsenal will win a second consecutive title. He did, however, suggest that Brighton could yet challenge them.

He said on Sky Sports: "I don't really see anything else other than Arsenal running away with this title at the moment. I know it's really early but I just think they're so much better than everyone else in every single area.

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"That one today is a sore one, it gives you the feeling right now in terms of who can challenge Arsenal? I just don't see one. If you look at the league table, I think right now, probably the one you'd point to, and I never thought I'd say this at the start of the year, but it's Brighton."

24 hours before Arsenal's statement win at Anfield, Brighton beat Man City on their own patch and successfully bounced back from their defeat at Liverpool the previous weekend.

Having also beaten Mikel Arteta's side 3-0 in the Premier League, Fabian Hurzeler's side are the top scorers, with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace also beaten heavily at the Amex Stadium.

One factor potentially not in their favour is being in the Conference League, with the short turnaround between Thursday and Sunday football likely to have an impact. With that competition not the strongest, however, Brighton have been able to rotate.

Hurzeler is also hoping to welcome Kaoru Mitoma back into the fold soon, while Yankuba Minteh was an unused substitute last weekend.

Jack Hinshelwood also returned from injury recently, while the likes of Malick Yalcouye, Chem Andres and Costinha have arguably emerged from nowhere as key players.

Arsenal still have the best squad in the league, but Brighton could mount a serious challenge assuming they avoid injuries. That could become a problem next year when the knockout stages start, with winning a European trophy likely to become the priority.