October 11,2022

Another spectacular set of Premier League fixtures has now come to a close, and first place in the table still belongs to Arsenal after the Gunners edged a five-goal thriller with a faltering Liverpool side 3-2.

Manchester City remain hot on the heels of the North London club after putting four past Southampton without reply, while Tottenham Hotspur remain on the podium after getting the better of Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0.

Chelsea took advantage of the Seagulls’ slip-up to rise to fourth with a 3-0 success over Wolverhampton Wanderers, closely followed by Manchester United, who came from behind to beat Everton 2-1.

Newcastle United remain in and around the European places after thumping Brentford 5-1, and the Bournemouth revival continued with a come-from-behind 2-1 success over Leicester City.

Elsewhere, West Ham United saw off London rivals Fulham 3-1, Crystal Palace ran out 2-1 winners over Leeds United, and the Monday night clash between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa ended 1-1.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures

Seeking to consign his North London derby performance to history, Tottenham number one Hugo Lloris was head and shoulders above the rest in his side’s success at the Amex, coming up with four vital saves to keep Brighton at bay and steer his side to a much-needed victory.

Leaving Kieran Trippier out of this XI almost felt criminal, but there can be no overlooking the contribution of Joao Cancelo – who takes the right-back role for the purposes of this team – against Southampton, with the Portuguese finishing with aplomb after some slick footwork before adding another assist to his tally for Erling Braut Haaland.

Cancelo is not the only member of Pep Guardiola‘s backline who makes his way into our Team of the Week, as Nathan Ake continues to justify his selection in the rearguard, winning all five of his ground duels and four of his five aerial battles against Southampton, as well as completing 95% of his passes.

Despite his status as one of Europe’s leading centre-backs, Kalidou Koulibaly has found plaudits difficult to come by at Stamford Bridge so far, but the 31-year-old was a star performer against Wolves, making five tackles, four clearances and winning four of his five aerial duels in a dominant performance

Attacking proficiency has not been on the menu for Aston Villa in recent weeks, but a 37-year-old Ashley Young provided the necessary inspiration in the final third against Forest, coming up with a sumptuous equaliser from outside the area to help a below-par Lions outfit take home a share of the spoils

The wealth of potential that Eberechi Eze possesses was on full display as Palace got the job done against Leeds at the weekend, as the 24-year-old’s delightful twinkle toes and thumping finish earned the Eagles all three points, and he also drew six fouls as the Whites defence struggled to contain him.

Barely a weekend goes by where Arsenal fans do not rue what could have been with Bruno Guimaraes, who was at the heart of Newcastle’s thrashing of Brentford. From his somewhat fortunate header into the corner to a driving run and finish at St James’ Park, the Brazilian is fast becoming one of the Premier League’s leading midfielders.

Keeping with the relatively youthful midfield theme, Chelsea starlet Mason Mount was at his playmaking best when Graham Potter‘s side saw off Wolves with ease, floating a cross into the box for Kai Havertz to meet before a lovely turn and through ball for Christian Pulisic, while he also made five key passes to his teammates without adding a third assist to his tally

Choosing from just one of Gabriel Martinelli or Bukayo Saka for the attacking trident was a thankless task, with Liverpool failing to keep either man quiet, but we have gone for the latter, who took advantage of some woeful Reds defending to put Arsenal in front just before half time and continued to banish his Euro 2020 woes with a perfect game-winning penalty in the second half – he also played a big role in Martinelli’s opener with less than a minute gone.

With Haaland only managing to score the one goal this weekend – somewhat disappointing given how he has taken the Premier League by storm – our City representative in the attack this week is Phil Foden, who laid the ball off for Cancelo to fire home before adding to his tally chart with a delicate chip against the Saints.

He may have been forced to accept another substitute outing in the Premier League, but Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated his timeless class when brought on to replace the injured Anthony Martial against Everton – completing his side’s turnaround before half time – and with two successful dribbles and three aerial duels out of four won, it was a much more promising all-around display from the 37-year-old

Premier League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Lloris; Cancelo, Koulibaly, Ake, Young; Eze, Guimaraes, Mount; Saka, Ronaldo, Foden