The changing face of English football as attack appears to the best form of defence. Jack Sumner considers why?
 
Spurs 1 Manchester City 5. Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2. Spurs 4-0 Liverpool. Manchester United 1 Manchester City 6. And now, Chelsea 3 Arsenal 5.  Never before in the Premier League has such an outlandish set of results been produced in such a short space of time.

And what’s more, all of these rugby scores have arisen from what in recent years have generally been perceived as tight, cagey fixtures. 

Football is evolving in the Premier League, and the onus now appears to be on attacking football, particularly in clashes between the league's top teams. Where for years, the big games have been decided by the odd goal with chances coming few-and-far-between, now the top sides' array of goal-scoring talent are running riot against each other. We are witnessing the kind of football that hasn't really been seen on these shores since the entertainers that were Keegan's Newcastle employed their 'attack, attack, attack' philosophy. Defending? 'We don't care if you score, because we'll score more than you.' 

Even in Man United's 3-1 win over Chelsea this season we could have ended up with a 6-6 scoreline. Yesterday's game at the Bridge could have produced any score. The thing is that, despite the big scores recently, sides are missing hat-fulls of chances, as highlighted by the Fernando Torres miss of the season, and the stat produced at the beginning of October showing that then league leaders Man United had conceded more chances than any other team in the top-flight. 

Speaking of stats, it looks as though this season is on course to break the last campaign's record number of Premier League goals. And it isn't just the big boys who are producing thrillers, see Norwich 3 Blackburn 3 on Saturday. The evidence conclusively suggests that attacking football is rife throughout the league.

But lets be honest, it is the fresh unpredictably of the top sides that has stuck a chord, and produced shock, and awe. Can you remember another time in Premier League history when we were talking about Man United conceding the most chances? Or a Chelsea side this side of the Abramovich era, shipping five goals at home? 

Chelsea conceded just 15 goals all season in Jose Mourinho's first year in charge, a total that they have already equalled this term. Yet after conceding five yesterday in a home defeat to a side who couldn't outscore the struggling Blackburn Rovers, Andre Villas-Boas came out and defended his teams attacking approach. 

“This philosophy is a personal value and a club value.” A personal value it may be Andre, but a club value? I'm not sure Roman Abramovich would agree, given his apparent preference for success over style, at least if his track-record for sacking managers is anything to go by. 

Also, what has happened to the so-called big four now? In the early weeks of this season fans had been deliberating over who might finish fourth, taking it as a given that the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea would make up the top three. Newcastle apparently wouldn't last, in fact Stoke were given a better chance, Liverpool and Spurs were the other contenders and Arsenal had to worry about a relegation battle.

Gathering fan's reactions to yesterday's events, Arsenal are back in the top-four argument, and along with Spurs and Liverpool could even get third, it's Chelsea who are on the slide. And Newcastle are still there. It's fluid this season, it has never been more open. 

The truth is that the Premier League is as open and unpredictable as it has ever been, and it's all down to this suddenly universal penchant for attacking football.

Is that because it has worked for Barcelona? Is it due to the greater influx of foreign stars, notably Manchester City's David Silva and Sergio Aguero? 

Who cares. It's brilliant.