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Is the title Arsenal’s to lose? That’s the big question now.

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The team has been in position to win it all the past four years, but always found a way to trip up. The Gunners now sit at the top of the table with a three-point cushion.

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This weekend presents a decent challenge for them: This season’s darlings Crystal Palace cross London to play the Gunners. Palace who have slipped to eighth after a draw and a loss following an 18-game unbeaten streak, still pose a big test for Arsenal.

It will be a big match for Eberechi Eze, the former Palace forward who left the club this summer to join Arsenal. Palace have moved on quite easily with Jean-Phillippe Mateta notching five goals on the season so far.

The Palace style under manager Oliver Glasner is courageous and intense defending, leading the league in both blocks and in tackles.

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Arsenal have a deserved reputation as defensive whizzes themselves, having given up a Premier League-low three goals this season, but Palace, oddly for a team that is happy to concede possession and counter, lead the Premier League in expected goal chances with 17 — three better than Arsenal’s 14.

Perhaps we’ve been conditioned with the relentlessness of the four titles in a row by Manchester City and last year’s runaway title by Liverpool that the leader in the clubhouse is destined to win.

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But the Premier League is in a new era. City haven’t negotiated the aging of their squad well, Liverpool are struggling to find chemistry and balance after spending record amounts this summer and a legion of charging clubs — including Palace and Bournemouth — have entered the picture.

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Looking up and down the table, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see any of the teams beat another.

Even the promoted teams have been getting results, none of them are in the relegation zone and Sunderland even sit seventh.

Arsenal, whose net spend was bigger than Liverpool’s, no doubt are in pole position, but this season looks like we’re in for many twists and turns along the way.

Spurs and Chelsea, part of the much-vaunted ‘Big Six’ have shown they have the quality to beat anyone, but also are flawed enough to drop games they should win. It makes every week an exercise in adventure and it’s likely to see the team who can seize the most consistency will end up with silverware come May.

Arsenal are in great shape but this season has shown there’s much more unpredictability than we’ve seen in the past.

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Stock up

Manchester City: Are City back? Won three in a row, four of the past five plus a draw, and have leapfrogged Liverpool and to sit in second place. The issue is still going to be getting goals regularly from someone other than Erling Haaland, but they’ve at least nailed down their defensive gameplay, only Arsenal have given up fewer goals than City in the league.

Bournemouth: The hot start isn’t a fluke anymore. Their entertaining 3-3 draw with Palace was the game of the week. They’ve got a lot of guts, run forever, press and can score. They’re a balanced team that has a number of contributors getting goals and look like they’ll be in the mix of the European places all season. Depth could undo them if they get some injuries, but the players they’re leaning on now are getting it done. They get a wounded Nottingham Forest this weekend to keep the pressure on the leaders.

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Aston Villa: After a brutal start, they’ve won three in a row and look to be back to their best. Last year they were within a whisker of qualifying for the Champions League again, a competition they got to the quarterfinal stage of last season. They’ve righted the ship are scoring goals again, but this week have a massive test against Manchester City — at least it’s at home.

Stock down

Fulham: After looking brilliant against Brentford, they’ve dropped three in a row and have slid to 15th place. Yes, their schedule hasn’t been easy, those losses came against Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Arsenal, and now they face a tricky trip to Newcastle, who sit just one point above them. It’s not a game you’d pick them to win, but losing four in a row is how teams and managers get into trouble.

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Nottingham Forest: I’m not sure how many more examples in how many different sports we need that when an owner meddles in the day-to-day running of any club, bad things happen. Forest did indeed turf Ange Postecoglou after their 3-0 spanking by Chelsea last weekend. He had just 39 days in the job after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo. They’ve since hired Sean Dyche, formerly of Everton and Burnley, their third manager of the season already.

West Ham: The managerial merry-go-round hasn’t helped West Ham, either. They hired deposed Forest manager Santo after dumping Graham Potter, but he has yet to turn around their fortunes. The loss to Brentford last week, at home, has left them win just one draw and four losses in their past five. They go to Leeds on Friday and simply have to get something out of a newly promoted team they’ll be desperate to finish above of. Forget the teams in the top half, the Hammers are looking like they’re clearly going to be battling against relegation come the spring.

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Crisis Club

Liverpool: Three losses in a row, all to late goals, have the defending champions reeling, their worst run of form since 2011. One of the big problems for manager Arne Slot is his efforts to integrate the many new signings they had this summer into the squad. He has been trying to play players into form. It’s not happening. Other than striker Hugo Ekitike, who has been left on the bench in an effort to Alexander Isak up to speed, most of the new signings are struggling mightily. A difficult trip to Brentford is on the cards on Saturday and European form does not mean league form, but Liverpool will be buoyed by a 5-1 thrashing of Frankfurt in Germany in Champions League.

This weekend’s slate

Friday: Leeds vs West Ham.

Saturday: Chelsea vs Sunderland; Newcastle vs Fulham; Manchester United vs Brighton; Brentford vs Liverpool.

Sunday: Arsenal vs Crystal Palace; Aston Villa vs Manchester City; Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest; Wolves vs Burnley; Everton vs Tottenham.

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