Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
SERIOUSLY? Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta shows his frustration as his side succumb to Bournemouth - and the pressure of the title race - at home. Pic: Glyn KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Football is such that, when you’re down, there’s a good chance the game boots you in the solar plexus, and that’s exactly what happened to Tottenham at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland’s winner coming by way of a deflection.
But you can also take steps to help yourself and, though Roberto De Zerbi’s midfield setup made some sense – he picked three hard-runners in order to compete with Sunderland’s physicality – even pre-match, it wasn’t clear who would create their chances.
It’s true that Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus are out injured, but in that context, it is surely even more important a place in the XI, whether in midfield or out wide, be found for Xavi Simons, left on the sidelines until the 85th minute.
Simons is not perfect, but of the players De Zerbi has available he is the only one with the imagination and technique to make things happen.
He may lack physicality, but what Spurs need more than anything is quality.
It didn’t take long for the anxiety to seep through at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Despite Mikel Arteta’s attempt to create an intimidating atmosphere for the lunchtime kick-off against Bournemouth, all the early enthusiasm evaporated when Eli Junior Kroupi opened the scoring and it was replaced by a sense of foreboding that didn’t shift even after Viktor Gyökeres had equalised from the penalty spot.
Arsenal have conceded the first goal on 12 occasions this season but won only three times, with all of those victories coming away from home. After there were boos at the final whistle, Arteta defended supporters’ right to vent their frustration but must recognise the tense atmosphere is not helping Arsenal.
“That’s emotion,” he said. “It comes from the right place. It’s not a day for sure to demand anything like what the fans have done today.”
It’s taken a while for him to establish himself properly – he was, for example, left out away to Manchester United and Real Madrid – but as things now stand, it’s hard to argue that Rayan Cherki isn’t comfortably ensconced as Manchester City’s creative fulcrum.
A unique talent who sees the game differently to everyone else, Cherki’s appreciation of time and space, allied to an improvisational but pure technique, allows him to pass on the off-beat, the disguised ball he fired into Marc Guéhi to create his team’s second goal a perfect illustration.
And, though it required a terrific first touch to tame, that is part of the point: Cherki’s style makes demands of his teammates and is difficult to plan for.
Opponents can seek to crowd him out or stop him getting possession, but once he has it, though no one has a clue what he’s going to do, his teammates know that if they make the right runs, he will find them – so they’d better be ready.
Chelsea started reasonably well against Manchester City but, when the first half ended goalless, it was no surprise to see them eviscerated in the second.
Their recruitment policy has left them with lots of good players but few, if any, elite ones, and there’s no sense of identity nor of something building.
Most of this is not Liam Rosenior’s fault but, in the three and a bit months since he was appointed head coach, performances have improved little, if at all – there is no sense his team are compelled by him.
Of course it takes time to inculcate ideas and principles, but time is one thing Chelsea managers do not get, four defeats in five Premier League games – and if we go back one more we find a draw at home to Burnley – putting him under significant pressure.
With Chelsea three points off the Champions League spots having been humiliated by PSG in the last 16 of that competition, a lot must change for Rosenior to still be in post this time next year.
Rio Ngumoha lifted a contest, a crowd and the spotlight on Arne Slot with a performance against Fulham that Liverpool have craved from the wing this season.
The burning question is whether he will get the opportunity to repeat it from the start against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, when Liverpool must overcome a 2-0 deficit to salvage their Champions League campaign.
On the basis of Slot’s approach in Paris, the answer would be no. One of the main reasons for his five-man defence in the first leg was to stop the penetrating runs of PSG’s rapid full-backs, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, by pressing Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong up against them. It did not succeed.
On the basis that Liverpool need to lift their performance against the European champions, ignite the occasion and sow some doubt in Luis Enrique’s defence, then the answer is an emphatic yes.
When defending his system in Paris, Slot asked: “What if we would have played with real wingers here today? How would that have looked like against Hakimi and Nuno Mendes?” Anfield needs to find out.
Aston Villa squandered big moments to kill off Nottingham Forest. Morgan Rogers ballooned over and Ollie Watkins sent another effort off target after being released on goal.
Villa’s best performer was not the player pushing to start for England at No 10 at the World Cup nor the striker who has proven himself a capable understudy to Harry Kane. He was a 32-year-old midfielder whose last international cap came in October 2019, when he scored twice in a 6-0 trouncing of Bulgaria in Sofia – Ross Barkley.
Tyrone Mings, absent from the City Ground owing to injury, was also in the England XI that day; Jadon Sancho arrived off the bench and Tammy Abraham was an unused substitute.
Barkley has started Villa’s past three league matches and was at the crux of their best moves at the City Ground.
Everton have a few candidates when dishing out their player-of-the-season award next month. James Garner’s brilliant campaign has deservedly been rewarded with an England call-up, while Jordan Pickford and Iliman Ndiaye have been highly influential at points.
There can be no doubt Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will also be in the conversation. From rotting at Chelsea last season, he has flourished since joining Everton last summer, driving them as an attacking force and weighing in with seven goals to sit behind only Beto among the club’s highest scorers.
His late equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Brentford on Saturday could yet prove crucial in the club’s quest to qualify for Europe, earning him David Moyes’s praise: “From last season, there’s not many changes, but Kiernan has come in and helped us greatly.
"When I was signing him from Chelsea, he said: ‘I’ll score goals if I’m played in the right way.’ And he’s scored those goals, he’s contributed to the performances. We’ve been really impressed.”
“He’s a machine,” said Jean-Philippe Mateta in front of the Sky cameras, talking about the man next to him.
It was Tyrick Mitchell, who set up Mateta’s equaliser against Newcastle when the left-wingback, inside the area, opted to cross as Aaron Ramsdale rushed out to close the angle.
Others might have panicked in the chaos and poked at goal but Mitchell, even at 26, has considerable experience to fall back on.
The assist was the centrepiece of Mitchell’s 200th Premier League appearance, all of them for Palace.
It’s a fine achievement from a Londoner who joined the club a decade ago after the closure of Brentford’s academy and caps an enjoyable week; Mitchell calmly side-footed Palace’s second in their Conference League victory against Fiorentina after another well-timed run into the area.
The nadir for Jarrod Bowen came when he apologised to supporters after West Ham’s defeat by Wolves in the Carabao Cup in August.
There really was no need, though. No one paying proper attention holds Bowen responsible for West Ham’s slide into relegation trouble.
He has been impeccable since joining six years ago and scored the winner in the Conference League final in 2023. And, while his form has dipped at times this season, his importance to West Ham’s attempt to stay up is not in doubt.
Bowen is so often the player leading the charge. The winger never gives up, even when things don’t go his way. He missed a couple of early chances during West Ham’s 4-0 win over Wolves.
He knuckled down, creating the opening goal for Konstantinos Mavropanos. The captain hit the woodwork in the second half and went on to play a hand in two further West Ham goals.
He is proof of why you always keep trying.
Brighton are known for their clever recruitment, scouring the world for young players with great potential, but they also know the value of experience.
Little scouting was needed for the January signing of the 34-year-old Pascal Gross because he had only left for Borussia Dortmund 18 months previously after seven years with the Seagulls.
He was a calming influence as Brighton secured a fifth win in six matches, at Burnley, on a difficult afternoon for Fabian Hürzeler’s side.
“He is not only a great player, he’s a great connector in the team. He’s a great personality, a great leader. He has the skill to make others better,” Hürzeler said.
“He makes them better by having a really open mind for everyone, by listening to everyone, by being a role model, by performance. In every training session he’s there. In every game he’s there and tries to lead.
"It’s a pleasure to work with him. One of his biggest skills for me is that not only does he have quality, the players around him get better if he’s on the pitch.”
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