5 Questions after Matchweek 9

Are Chelsea title contenders?

Chelsea were briefly sat at the top of the Premier League after their 2-0 win at Newcastle on Saturday before Tottenham's win over Man City later on. With the blues only two points behind their London rivals and on a good run of form, could they be challenging for the title come the end of the season? They're looking more like a team than they were at the start of the season because the new signings are settling in really well and they're looking more solid defensively. It appears that Lampard has found his best team and the right system to suit his players with N'Golo Kante back in his more suited defensive role which has helped the blues improve defensively as well as the additions of Thiago Silva and Eduoard Mendy who have both made a huge difference to that backline. Having Kante in the defensive midfield role in a 4-3-3 formation gives players like Mason Mount and Kai Havertz the licence to get forward and express themselves because Kante can snuff out danger anywhere because of his energy and ability to win the ball back. If Chelsea can keep up the consistency throughout the season, they could be there competing for top spot with Spurs.

Have Brighton solved their goal scoring problems?

Brighton have played some nice stuff in recent weeks but haven't killed teams off. But after beating Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday with Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck impressing as a pair up front, have they found a solution to their goal scoring problems. New boy Danny Welbeck took his first goal really well as he dinked it over Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez after picking up the ball from his own half and running with it until he took the shot in the penalty area. The former Arsenal and Man United striker played well alongside Neal Maupay as the pair caused Villa's backline many problems with their movement off the ball and link up play forcing Villa's defenders to take up some uncomfortable positions. This happened time and time again during the game as Brighton got in behind the Villa defence because of the movement of the front two which allowed other players like Adam Lallana and Pascal Gross to also run in behind and cause Villa some problems. If Graham Potter continues playing Welbeck and Maupay as a pair up front, the Seagulls could be a more clinical team in front of goal because of the link up play between the two and their movement off the ball which can drag a defender in and enable the forward to move in on goal.

Is Chris Wilder under pressure?

This time last season Sheffield United were 6th in the Premier League. One year later they're rock bottom with only one point from nine games. This has got me asking if manager Chris Wilder is under pressure. The Blades have been hit hard with injuries to the likes of Jack O'Connell and John Fleck who were both key to their success last season and have been badly missed this season. Another one of their problems this season has been goals. They didn't score a huge amount of goals last season and that appears to be catching up with them with only four goals scored so far this season. They had several chances to score during their 1-0 defeat to West Ham with Oli McBurnie and George Baldock having their best chances. Yet they still could not get the ball past Lucasz Fabianski in the West Ham goal. Chris Wilder has done a great job since he's been at Bramall Lane and he overachieved massively last season as he lead them to a 9th place finish. But with one point to their name and not many goals scored, the pressure could soon get to him with a tough run of games coming up with West Brom, Leicester, Southampton and Man United in their next four.

Can Declan Rice be a regular starter for England?

Declan Rice put in an impressive display during West Ham's 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday. He was playing a range of passes all over the pitch and he even went close a few times with his header in the second half going over the bar. His performance got me asking if he could be a regular in the England side come the Euro's in the summer. Rice has developed a lot as a player this season by playing a good range of passes and getting in the box more to nick the odd goal. He's also become a leader in the side which is impressive for a player at 21 years of age with the rest of his career ahead of him. If he can continue his form between now and the end of the season, he could start for England at the Euro's because of how much his game has developed and England's need of a defensive midfielder which is what they've been lacking during the past few years. Rice will be up against Harry Winks and Kalvin Phillips for that defensive midfield role but if he can continue doing what he's doing, he's in with a chance of starting in that defensive midfield role in the summer.

Have Arsenal become boring?

Arsenal made a solid start to the campaign with 3 wins from their opening four games. Since then they've won once, lost three and drew once with no goals scored from open play. This got me asking if Arsenal have suddenly become boring. Mikel Arteta has made Arsenal better defensively this season which was their problem for several years. Suddenly their main problem is scoring goals and was seen as their strength because of the calibre of players they have in that position like Aubameyang and Lacazette. Those two have not fired at all this season with only five goals scored between them. This could be down to a lack of creativity or lack of service because strikers score goals via service from other players in the team plus Arsenal don't have a player who can create numerous chances during a game. Not having a player who can create a number of chances during a game can make a team boring because the midfielders don't want to be positive with their passing which leads them to be safe and tidy by playing it backwards and sideways which is frustrating for the strikers wanting service. This could be the case at Arsenal and if they want to climb up the table, they need to start scoring goals from open play.