Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
1) Polished City put legal matter aside
As if more than 100 charges weren’t enough, Manchester City were given one more reason to come out fighting on Sunday. They had just been pushed down to third in the league by their not very noisy neighbours, United, in Sunday’s earlier match. City responded as only they can, by taking the lead while their opponents were still trying to figure out their formation. Was it a 3-2-2-3? Whatever it was, it was 3-0 by half-time. Villa had been overrun, Bernardo Silva was the new João Cancelo and City were second again. By Wednesday night, if they play like the first half again at the Emirates, they will surely be top. They haven’t even had to go on a run. They’re just better than all the rest, with a manager who is in a league of his own. Tim de Lisle Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa
2) Arteta faces key selection decisions
Everybody knows how Arsenal will line up – from one to 11 – and there was a revealing moment on Saturday when the Brentford manager, Thomas Frank, was asked if it made it easier to prepare to play against them. “In a way, yes,” Frank replied. Frank added that Arsenal were still not easy to play against because they do what they do so well. But after a second below-par performance on the spin – Arsenal did not deserve to beat Brentford, having been underwhelming in defeat at Everton – it felt reasonable to wonder whether Mikel Arteta might freshen up his starting team for Wednesday’s home game against Manchester City. Is it time for Fabio Vieira or Jorginho in midfield? Or Saturday’s goalscorer, Leandro Trossard, on the wing? Arteta suggested the question would not have come up if Arsenal had won, which was a fair point. But theyhad not won and, rather abruptly, they are wobbling. Arteta has big decisions to ponder. David Hytner
Match report: Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
3) Jones’s successor will inherit quality
Whoever succeeds Nathan Jones as Southampton manager must attempt to rescue the club from relegation, and may have the players to do so. For 70 minutes against Wolves there was plenty of talent and application on show. Then all fell apart to hasten the Welshman’s exit. In his final match he gave Premier League starts to three players who look useful recruits for the next man. Carlos Alcaraz scored a fine goal and buzzed with energy in midfield. At 6ft 7in, Paul Onuachu appears ideal for a manager favouring a direct approach. And Kamaldeen Sulemana was Saints’ most sustained attacking threat, zipping all over when they were in the ascendancy, though he might also have chased back a little harder. “The coach has nothing to do with the loss,” Sulemana said, though the club’s owners, Sport Republic, did not agree. While João Moutinho said Julen Lopetegui has brought “intensity, quality, calmness” to Wolves, Jones did no such thing for Southampton. John Brewin
Match report: Southampton 1-2 Wolves
4) Félix shows quality but will still leave
“The more we understand him, the more he understands us.” Graham Potter’s post-match verdict on João Félix may have carried undertones of some well-meaning 1970s zoologist trying to force chimpanzees to draw pictures with crayons, but it also raised a note of frustration. Félix is the best and most mature of Chelsea’s flood of new young attacking players. Félix was the conduit for their best attacking moments on Saturday. But the fact he’s a temp with no option to buy is actually quite confusing given he is now part of a team flooded with more permanent attacking parts, all trying desperately to find a shape on the hoof. What is the point of building a team around this non-trialist in such circumstances? No matter how much Potter succeeds in understanding Félix, the prime attacking arrow in his quiver will be off at the end of the season. Which is a genuine shame for both, not least Félix, who looks happy in a Chelsea shirt after his years of ill-fitting compromise under Diego Simeone at Atlético Madrid. Barney Ronay
Match report: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
5) Howe still looking upwards amid downturn
Would a typical Newcastle supporter’s pint of brown ale be halfempty or half full? Newcastle were fortunate to leave Bournemouth with a point on Saturday but they are now a club-record 17 Premier League matches unbeaten. There is also a Carabao Cup final on the horizon, sandwiched in between tricky league matches against Liverpool and Manchester City. With 16 games to play, Newcastle are fourth, two points above fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand, but a fifth draw in six league matches offers encouragement to those below them. Eddie Howe, however, is determined to stay upbeat. “You can very quickly come unstuck if you don’t remain positive in our moment,” Howe said. “Whether you are losing, drawing or winning, it is important to be positive and to try not to overreact at any situation. Overall this season we have to be very positive about what we’ve done.” Ben Fisher
Match report: Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle
6) Marsch’s Leeds tenure divides opinion
What to make of Leeds’s form since Jesse Marsch’s dismissal? Defeat by Manchester United, while promising plenty for long periods, ended up feeling similar to so many results during the American’s tenure. Leeds played at a high tempo, caused their opponents problems and created some presentable chances. A lack of cutting edge ensured they failed to take any of them, and they ended up with nothing. Was Marsch the problem? It’s a question that will remain open to debate. The “no-manager bounce” evident during last Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against the same opposition suggested the players responded positively to Marsch leaving. Marsch himself might argue that performance was largely due to the progress he felt was being made. With each passing week at Manchester United, meanwhile, Erik ten Hag proves the inestimable value of a smart and well-timed managerial appointment. Leeds – and Southampton, now linked with Marsch after firing Nathan Jones – cannot afford to get the next big decision wrong. Luke McLaughlin
Match report: Leeds 0-2 Manchester United
7) March fixes sights on England ambition
For Solly March and Brighton the sky appears the limit. Another outstanding performance may not have yielded all three points against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park but March’s fifth Premier League goal of the season ensured they still made up ground on Tottenham in the race for European qualification. The 28-year-old who spent two years on Palace’s books as a teenager before joining Brighton may even be in contention for an England call-up. Given his excellent recent form , it’s a prospect March believes is not so farfetched. “It’s an ambition of mine so if I keep putting in performances and scoring goals I think I have a chance,” he said. “Now is probably the biggest chance I have to do that. If everyone puts in the effort and we end up in Europe, who knows if they can get a call-up?” Ed Aarons
Match report: Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton
8) Maddison looks a natural leader
Will James Maddison, having led Leicester out for the first time, make a good captain? Leicester’s No 10 has been seen as a joker and risk-taker but he led by example with a goal and an assist against Spurs. Jonny Evans, the club captain, has been sidelined by injury for most of the season, while regular deputy, Youri Tielemans, was out with a calf injury. “That’s the first time I’ve led the team out and it was a nice feeling,” Maddison said. “I do that anyway. I see myself as the captain of this team without the armband. I’m 26 now and I’m one of the most experienced players. Most weeks I’m doing that in the warm-up and in the changing room, getting the lads going.” Brendan Rodgers enjoys a close relationship with Maddison, and said: “He’s a voice, he sees the game at the very highest level and he works to that. In my time he’s been a really influential player.” Pete Lansley
Match report: Leicester 4-1 Tottenham
9) Willian’s revival exemplifies Fulham rise
It’s a good team that can stumble and still be riding high. Before Saturday Fulham had gone 30 days without a league goal. They had also drawn with Sunderland in the FA Cup, but a replay allowed them to find their mojo. Against Nottingham Forest, who lost both centre-backs to injury in the first 10 minutes, Fulham were commanding. They scored twice, conceded none and hit the woodwork three times. Their star was Willian, whose dancing feet have brought three times as many goals in half a season with Fulham as he managed for Arsenal in a full one. All three have been vital: the winner at Leeds, the opener in the statement win over Chelsea, and the first on Saturday. Five Forest players stood in Willian’s way, so his left-foot chip had to go in the top corner – and did. A free transfer from Corinthians, he is offering great value. TdL
Match report: Fulham 2-0 Forest
10) Villa regress to their mean at the Etihad
Pity the Villans. At the Etihad, Aston Villa had to represent all Manchester City’s enemies, both real and imagined. And they had to do it with Ashley Young marking Jack Grealish. They did quite well not to be obliterated. They even scored, with their first shot on target, in the 61st minute. Under Unai Emery they have become rather Spursy, and not in a bad way. Much like Tottenham, they win half their games, go missing in a few others and seldom bother to draw. They have actually beaten Spurs, along with Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton. Their position in mid-table is on a long lease, with only Leicester threatening to bash down the door and nudge them down to 12th. TdL
Match report: Manchester City 3-1 Aston Villa