Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea have questions to answer in best of the rest race

Arsenal endured what they hope will be a blip at Brighton on Saturday afternoon, but even in spite of that 3-0 reverse, they and Manchester City will still go into the first international break as the Premier League's top two.

After four games the two teams, who have battled it out for the title in three of the past four seasons, had perfect records. Four wins from four.

Arsenal have been tipped by some to retain their Premier League crown with relative ease. They've hardly been out of second gear. City, despite their mass overhaul on the pitch and in the dugout, could provide more of a challenge than some expected before a ball was kicked.

The bookies have Arsenal favourites at 11/10 to win the title, City just behind at 8/5. The next best after that is 20/1, which tells its own story of how the Premier League is shaping up.

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But the battle to be best of the rest could prove one of the most intriguing subplots of the season, even if it is only five weeks old. The so-called top six may remain from a financial point of view, but rarely have we seen them finish in the top six for some time.

Last season saw the bulk of the big hitters come to the fore, and those who didn't generated excitement with some of their decisions over the summer. But already things aren't necessarily shaping up as we'd expected.

Arsenal's loss at Brighton aside, they and City have looked levels above the rest. So if third is the new first, who might land that spot come May?

Andoni Iraola took on the challenge of whether he could step up a level having continually outperformed his resources at Bournemouth. At Liverpool he's had to deal with the weight of expectation and a squad, which whilst expensive, lacks balance and still has obvious flaws.

Bradley Barcola became the third £100million plus player to arrive at Anfield in the last 12 months, following Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. And yet Liverpool appear a side boasting stellar individuals struggling to become a collective.

Defensively they can be got at and plans need to be made for life after Virgil van Dijk. The lack of an obvious holding midfielder remains and finding a position for Wirtz, which doesn't harm the team, is becoming more of an issue.

Three draws already has underlined their issues, the only win coming over Ipswich. Iraola has claimed the team cannot yet do what he's asked, in pre-season he claimed they couldn't do it for long enough. His Bournemouth success owed to huge buy in from the players, and huge work rate. Failure to get those could make things problematic.

However frustrating it's been at Anfield though, it is nothing compared to what's going on at Old Trafford. Before the season started many had the Red Devils in the mix for the top four, at the very least.

The loss in the Manchester derby will have stung, not least because Pro Ref admitted the winning goal shouldn't have stood. But the failure to take advantage of City's red card highlighted a lack of a killer instinct. The good will from last season's rise to third spot under Michael Carrick has largely disappeared, even if there is a desire from the fanbase to see one of their own succeed.

The opening-day loss to Hull was an eye opener and, even in the demolition of Ipswich, United still conceded twice on their own patch. Choosing to not add defensive reinforcements in the summer looks a massive blunder and the midfield doesn't, currently, look like a unit that has had £150m spent on it.

Carlos Baleba is yet to make his debut, but it's a stretch to think he can solve their problems alone. An inability to manage games or keep goals out looks set to plague Carrick's team for months, unless something changes soon.

Two games in, despite games being somewhat chaotic, the Blues looked to be upwardly mobile. Xabi Alonso, of all the new managers in the top flight, has the most pedigree owing to his Bundesliga success with Bayer Leverkusen.

They acquitted themselves well enough at Arsenal, even if they did lose from a winning position, but the results since have showcased, had their been any doubt, that this is a team still very much learning. Hull taking a point from Stamford Bridge came before the damaging loss at Brentford.

In Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer they'll always offer a threat in the final third, but like some of their rivals they lack overall balance throughout the team.

Enzo Fernandez wasn't replaced on deadline day, leaving a notable void, and Alonso can ill afford for the Blues to concede at the rate they are. Shipping 12 goals in five games gives them the worst defence in the top flight.

Aston Villa? Brentford or Brighton? Before a ball had been kicked you may have looked at Tottenham as a top four contender, not now. Newcastle already flirt between being a good side and one that will frustrate, but they are embarking on a new era.

As the table stands going into the international break its the Seagulls, fresh off their Arsenal demolition job, that sit third. They and Brentford can both bask in the glory of 3-0 wins against some of the Premier League's elite for the next few weeks, even if their managers will no doubt get their focus fixed on what's to come, not what's happened.

Both are terrifically coached, with a sprinkling of star quality. Brentford must be wise to the fact Mamadou Sangare could be on the radar of Europe's top dogs before too long.

Villa showed signs of clicking into gear on Saturday lunchtime, but a win over Tottenham is becoming less and less impressive with each passing week. Unai Emery has proven himself time and time again and their season will come down to how quickly his new players can gel and embrace his ideas.

Tottenham off the back of spending £300m on the likes of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Omar Marmoush were an intriguing prospect, but already look as if they're more likely for relegation than European football.

Of course, fast starts are no guarantee of season-long form. Liverpool won five from five last year and were scrapping to make the Champions League after collapsing, so Arsenal or City could well be usurped from the top two positions they currently hold. But conventional wisdom, and recent history, suggests they're the benchmark the others are chasing.