Opinion

It’s that time of week again, and after the International Break we finally welcome back thoroughly missed Premier League football, and here is our team of the week for the weekend just passed.

Jordan Pickford – Sunderland

The 22-year-old continued to impress in a depleted side during the Black Cats 3-0 victory over Hull City.

He was calm and composed between the sticks and this threaded through to his defence with Sunderland claiming a clean sheet. The Englishman made five fine saves to ensure he kept his clean sheet and was superb in the the much needed victory.

Victor Moses – Chelsea

The once forgotten man is now helping Chelsea top the table after becoming a crucial player in Antonio Conte’s new system.

Moses has been a revelation this season thus far and enjoyed another win with the Blues against Middlesbrough with five crosses, one take on and never ending defensive assurance whilst offensively being superb. His fine performance was granted with the MOTM award.

Virgil Van Dijk – Southampton

Throughout the 90 minutes Van Dijk was superb against an attacking trio of Firmino, Coutinho and Mane - who returned to the St Mary’s for the first time after his departure in the summer.

One immense last ditch tackle on his ex-teammate Mane was the best of the lot and probably was a point saving tackle. The stats behind his performance are very impressive with 79% passing accuracy, 100% tackles won, two interceptions, two clearances and 75% aerial duels won.

David Luiz – Chelsea

Once again, David Luiz makes our TOTW for as many weeks as I can remember.

This is getting quite easy now to be putting him in our team each week, he has been a revelation since his return to Stamford Bridge and the Brazilian enjoyed another good defensive display at the weekend with eight clearances, one take on and 78% passing completed.

His form has helped his club top the table as the season starts to take shape.

Nathan Ake – Bournemouth

Can Nathan Ake do it on a cold winters day away to Stoke City? Yes he can.

The 21-year-old was brilliant defensively and had a tough afternoon in dealing with Wilfried Bony but came out on top. He was very calm in possession and scored the games only game with a powering header. Ake finished the match with 100% tackles won whilst making 15 clearances which just shows how busy the Cherries man was all afternoon.

Harry Winks – Tottenham Hotspur

What a dream first start for this 20-year-old. Playing in a London derby is big enough, but to do it in style and grab yourself a goal is everyone’s dream, and it was almost an introduction for himself with Spurs relishing from yet another fine youngster.

Playing in the midfield he saw the ball quite a bit and manager 86% of his passes completed, whilst creating once chance and scoring one goal from two shots. Efficiency at its finest.

Jack Wilshere – Bournemouth

Maybe, just maybe we now going to see the best of a fully fit Jack Wilshere. The Arsenal loanee had an excellent match away to Stoke City in the Cherries 1-0 victory and nearly doubled the scoring after seeing his fine effort hit the outside of the post. The midfielder created three chances whilst completing 84% of his passes. One Frenchman, called Arsene Wenger will be very pleased with his performances of late as Wilshere tries to save his Arsenal career.

Yaya Toure – Manchester City

There is nothing like a beautiful come back story, is there? I mean the whole Premier League has missed Toure, and his comeback may have finally turned the head of Pep Guardiola.

Toure scored two goals in a dream return to the City starting XI, he managed two take ons whilst showboating his beautiful movement for his first goal. A quality display.

Roberto Pereyra – Watford

Watford beat the current Premier League champions 2-1 at the weekend and the game included a fine goal from their summer signing Roberto Pereyra.

He was excellent throughout and was a real problem for the Foxes, completing five take ons, scoring one goal and creating one chance he helped the Hornets take all three points.

Victor Anichebe – Sunderland

Sunderland have picked up six points from six and finally look like a team worthy of challenging in the Premier League.

There was one hero on Tyneside on Saturday afternoon and that man was Victor Anichebe, his brace saw the Black Cats see of Hull City with the forward also completing three take ons, making himself a nuisance for the Tigers defence.

Diego Costa – Chelsea

Honestly, Diego Costa is the best number 9 in Europe at this current moment.

He has been absolutely brilliant all season thus far and has become a killer in front of goal again under Conte. The Spanish International created four chances against Middlesbrough, completed six take ons and scored yet another goal which was the winner, taking his tally up to 10 for the season. At this rate, Costa is helping his club top the table whilst scoring himself to the Golden Boot.

Antonio Conte is well known for his success playing with a 3-4-3 formation. Now he starting to bring success at Chelsea with the same setup, the 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough being Chelsea’s sixth win in a row and sending them top of the table.

After a stuttering start, the Blues are starting to look like the real deal, and here is three reasons why they can beat the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs to the Premier League title this season.

1) They defend extremely well

Antonio Conte has not always set his Chelsea team up in a 3-4-3 formation this season. He had been playing with four at the back, but following defeats at home to Liverpool and away at Arsenal, Conte decided to change the system.

It has been a success ever since the change. One of the areas in which we have seen particular improvement is in the defensive department. Gary Cahill and David Luiz have been key to the impressive defensive record that Chelsea have maintained since their system switch. The Blues have not conceded a single goal since their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal, conceding just nine all season.

That record means they have conceded just one more goal than Tottenham, who have the best defensive record in the Premier League. All title winning sides are built on good defences. We saw that with Leicester City last season who conceded just 36 goals over 38 matches, and we have seen it with previous title winning sides.

Jose Mourinho made one fatal tactical error on Saturday in the lunchtime kickoff against Arsenal, and it was one that in my opinion ultimately cost United the three points.

United needed to send a statement out to the rest of the Premier League after a poor start to the season, and a win over Arsenal would have been the perfect way to do that. And his side looked like they would secure the three points at Old Trafford, a venue in which Arsenal have not won in ten years.

It took a while for United to break through a resilient Arsenal back line, but Wayne Rooney found space in the box and pulled the ball back to Juan Mata, who stayed cool to fire the Red Devils ahead midway through the second half. It looked like it was going to be a perfect display from a Jose Mourinho point of view.

The midfield of Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera along with the defence of Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Antonio Valencia all managed to keep Arsenal’s danger men quiet throughout most of the game. Alexis Sanchez had minimal impact, and we saw very little of Mesut Ozil, who failed to have a shot on goal or create a single chance. Arsenal were extremely ineffective going forward.

Despite this, and that fact that Arsenal had created next to nothing for most of the game, Mourinho decided to apply his trademark tactic and sit back and defend what he had. We could see a distinct change in the setup with just under ten minutes to go, United just sat back.

This allowed Arsenal more time on the ball and in the end it was two Arsene Wenger substitutes that did the business for the Frenchman. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain beat his man down the right and delivered a delightful cross towards the back post where Olivier Giroud was waiting to nod the ball past De Gea and snatch a late point for the Gunners.

In the end, it was not that United being unlucky that cost them the three points like Mourinho claims. It was the fact that Mourinho instructed his team to sit back in the latter stages of the game. Arsenal offered nothing going forward, not even on the break up until that point. If Mourinho had kept things the same, I am certain that the Red Devils would have walked away with a 1-0 win and all three points.

Will this error make Mourinho change his ways? I very much doubt it. Have your say in the comments section below.

Arsenal need to get at least a draw on Wednesday night to keep their hopes of topping their Champions League group alive. The Gunners have performed well in Europe so far this season, picking up a draw in Paris and then maximum points since. The problem for Arsenal is that PSG are also yet to encounter any hiccups since that opening match day. Now Arsenal need either a 0-0/1-1 draw or a win to ensure they stay top of the group heading into the final match day where they travel to FC Basel.

The Gunners haven’t topped their group for some time now and it will be important for them to change that this time around if they hope to go past the last 16 of the competition, a hurdle where they normally fall.

Goalkeeper: David Ospina

I think we know that Ospina will start this game and quite rightly. Arsene Wenger has put faith in the Colombian in Europe and it has paid off so far. He

Defence: Carl Jenkinson, Skhodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs

There was a lot of worry about Jenkinson going into the game at Old Trafford but he did OK and didn’t stand out as a weak point as many expected him too. I am sure he will keep his place on Wednesday night. Mustafi and Koscielny continue to grow with every game and they must start at the heart of the defence. At left back I’d bring in Gibbs to show Monreal once again that his place is not safe. The Spaniard hasn’t been at his best this season and I think Gibbs deserves a chance in a big game.

Central Midfield: Granit Xhaka, Francis Coquelin

I think in Cazorla’s absence it is essential that Xhaka starts, especially when Coquelin is the other deep lying midfielder. Arsenal need a midfielder at the heart of the game that can pass both long and short. Arsenal spent a lot of money on Xhaka and he performed very well against Spurs but was weirdly left out at Old Trafford. He simply must start this game.

Attacking Midfield: Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi / Alexis Sanchez

Alexis didn’t look 100% against United and I think if there is any doubt over his fitness he shouldn’t start this game. If that is the case then the fresh Iwobi should come in on the left. Elsewhere I think it is important that experienced pair Walcott and Ozil start the game, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain being used as an impact substitute if needed.

Attack: Olivier Giroud

Giroud needs to be rewarded with a start in this game. He was clearly annoyed that he was on the bench again against Manchester United and he seemed pretty smug when he headed in the equaliser. He’s in a rich vein of form at the moment where everything he is touching goes in. He needs to show that when he starts he can perform at the same level though. He has a decent record in big games in the Champions League, having scored against the likes of Bayern Munich in the past. A winner against PSG would ultimately prove himself to be amongst the best.

Games don’t get much bigger than this. It’s Manchester United vs. Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off, with the added spice of Jose Mourinho vs. Arsene Wenger. Arsenal have started the season fairly well, but a result at Old Trafford is needed to show they are serious contenders. Mourinho must surely view this game as a must win to give his team even the smallest of chances of launching a title challenge. Below I look at three key battles that will decide the outcome of this match.

1 – Mesut Ozil vs. Maraoune Fellaini

I think we all know Fellaini is going to start this game and I strongly expect Mourinho to assign him the sole task of stopping Mesut Ozil. Mourinho knows only too well of Ozil’s ability and he will want Fellaini to try and nullify the serious threat that Ozil possesses. The German was given a rest in the international break and considering he’s in a purple patch at the moment, it will certainly be important for Manchester United to keep him quiet if they are to win the game. You can also spin this round, when Ozil has been man marked in big games he often struggles to be at his influential best. It is important for Arsenal that in these kind of games their World Class players come to the fore – it is time for Ozil to earn his money (rumoured £200,000 per week contract) and deliver the goods on Saturday afternoon.

When Jose Mourinho was announced the manager of Manchester United football club, the United faithful straight away started to talk about the big silverware and started to feel their club would rise back to the top again, that is the kind of affect the Portuguese manager can have on your team, with the CV he carries, it was hard not to disagree.

Then come the big summer arrivals, Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and forgotten man Henrikh Mkhitaryan. That is when the United faithful really started believing, and when other clubs fans stated to worry.

With a man that has won everything at the helm, and the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 players of the year arriving to the Theatre of Dreams in one summer you would have put your house on United at least competing to win the Premier League this season.

But, as can happen in football, things have not gone to plan for United, nor for their manager who is certainly starting to come under some strong criticism from pundits and fans alike. After spending more than £150 million in the summer the bar was raised, for Mourinho to take United out of the shadows which Louis Van Gaal left them in. No Champions League football for the club which once conquered Europe and no self belief within the players you could argue Mourinho had a job on his hands to put the club where they belong, but after spending masses of money there should be no excuses set.

Sitting sixth in the Premier League table, one win in their last five league games and just 16 goals scored in 11 matches thus far this season, we take a look at 3 things Mourinho must address to ensure his club start climbing the table, before it is too late.

1) Find a place for Mkhitaryan the starting XI

When Manchester United were linked with all the players they finally singed in the summer, there was one man that I thought, if they get him they will be unstoppable, and that man was Henrik Mkhitaryan. The Bundesliga player of the year, he is a great attacking midfielder who can play on either flank.

How he is not managing to make the 18 match day squad for the Red Devils is, well, quite baffling. A free-scoring midfielder who bagged himself 19 league goals last term, whilst assisting for fun is not breaking into a United squad that is lacking that touch in the final third.

All in all last season, the Armenian international scored 23 goals and assisted a further 26, which meant he contributed to a goal on 49 separate occasions for BVB, which is simply breathtaking.

With the likes of Ibrahimovic, Martial and Rashford all struggling for consistency in there play and goals drying up on that front, they have a man sitting in the stands that created a total of 136 chances last season, which again shows how majestic he was last season.

Although he did not shine out when he was given a chance, this is not an excuse for him not to make the squad and in fact, he should be the first name on the team sheet each week.

If Mourinho is to get his side scoring goals and becoming a feared team again, the man in charge must accommodate a place in his team for their fantastic summer arrival Mkhitaryan.

It’s that time again (a bit late admittedly), here’s our team of the week for last weekends action.

Jordan Pickford – Sunderland

The man inbetween the sticks in our TOTW is Sunderland’s impressive shot stopper Jordan Pickford. He had a majestic display against Bournemouth in their 2-1 victory on the weekend and was unlucky not to bag himself a clean sheet after making six saves.

The 22-year-old had plenty to do and was kept busy all afternoon, superb saves to deny Joshua King and Arsenal’s on loan midfielder Jack Wilshere made sure the Black Cats took the three points to Tyneside.

David Luiz – Chelsea

Another week goes by, another David Luiz master class.

When the Brazilian arrived in England most fans and pundits alike raised an eyebrow at the signing, after being torn apart at the back by Arsenal those critics grew louder.

But a turn in form and performing quality displays on a weekly basis has seen the man help Chelsea to 2nd in the league and go unbeaten in five league games, including five clean sheets.

He has been a revelation in Antonio Conte’s new system and has slotted in the back three perfectly, his form is impressive and the boss will be hoping this carries on with some crunch matches on the horizon.

Michael Dawson - Hull

Calum Chambers – Middlesbrough

Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool

Liverpool’s magic Brazilian once again gets himself into our TOTW after showcasing another sublime display at the weekend in their 6-1 demolition of Watford.

The 24-year-old bagged himself a goal and an assist in a fine afternoon and ran the Hornet’s defence ragged whilst creating an abundance of chances.

His early season form has helped the Reds sit top of the Premier League with Jurgen Klopp certainly relying on his majestic form if they are to continue to challenge throughout the season.

Moussa Dembele – Tottenham Hotspur

Man of the Match in a North London Derby and managing to keep Arsenal’s German assist king Mesut Ozil very quiet is why Dembele is in our team this week.

He was the best player on the pitch against the Gunners and was excellent both offensively and defensively, and won the vital penalty for Spurs after going on a brilliant run easing himself past several Arsenal players before being brought down in the box.

He was almost untouchable the way he glided around the Emirates pitch, and after a perfect display he showed why he is so key to the Spurs side.

Granit Xhaka – Arsenal

Granit Xhaka started his first ever North London derby on Sunday afternoon which turned out to be his best game in an Arsenal shirt thus far this season.

The 24-year-old broke up play exquisitely and prevented the away side from building dangerous attacks whilst protecting the back four efficiently throughout. His defensive duties were impressive but in the latter stages of the game his transition play was remarkable, he pushed the ball forward quickly from the midfield in bid to try a find a winner.

His impressive performance saw him finish the 90 minutes with 82% pass completion, five tackles and four interceptions to show his worth to the Arsenal side.

Paul Pogba – Manchester United

Following his world record move to the Red Devils in the summer, Pogba has come under strong scrutiny after a slow start to life at United, his performances were unimpressive and he was slowly starting to frustrate the United faithful.

But, in recent weeks the Frenchman has started to settle more and got himself going, he scored a thunderbolt goal against Swansea on Sunday and is starting to slowly show his worth with more assuring displays, after his immense goal. It’s only a matter of time before the Premier League sees more clearly the talent which Pogba possesses.

Eden Hazard – Chelsea

Zlatan Ibrahimović – Manchester United

Back amongst the goals! Zlatan didn’t have a perfect performance but crucially for United he found his clinical edge again and netted two important goals for his team.

Diego Costa – Chelsea