Fabinho the key to Liverpool’s improvement, Pereira parades his talent and Saints regain their cutting edgeThe post-match talk was of Trent Alexander-Arnold ramming it down the throat of Gareth Southgate. But Liverpool’s performance also spelled out why the full-back has struggled to the extent of being considered expendable by England. For Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson to have maximum attacking impact they require a balanced midfield to create space and time to burn forward. Fabinho has spent most of the season either in central defence, standing in for Virgil van Dijk, or on the absentee list. His restoration to midfield and Liverpool’s improvement either side of the international break is little coincidence. The Brazilian’s assurance and simplicity make those around him...
Chances for Arsenal and Liverpool to boost their seasons and for Edinson Cavani and Aleksandar Mitrovic to deliver goalsIf anyone had told Mikel Arteta that last season’s gap between Arsenal and Liverpool – 43 points – would narrow to four by early April he would have been forgiven for envisaging an unlikely title battle. The truth from Arsenal’s perspective is far more mundane; Liverpool’s slump is the story and they travel to the Emirates in urgent need of a win that might recharge their top-four hopes. They cannot afford to drift any further behind Chelsea so this weekend is probably all about keeping pace, given Thomas Tuchel’s side face West Brom, This is not a fixture Arteta or Jürgen Klopp...
Fulham continue to struggle in front of goal, Leicester threatening a second collapse and West Brom play by the rulesAt the start of Scott McTominay’s United career, his place in the team seemed predicated in José Mourinho’s antipathy towards Paul Pogba, his receipt of the manager’s player of the year award the nearest Mourinho could get to presenting it to himself. Since then, though, McTominay has improved by several orders of magnitude, contributing power, tenacity and personality – skills that have been crucial in helping United improve from sixth to second. They still struggle to dominate, however, and when Pogba is absent the entirety of the creative burden rests with Bruno Fernandes, who had an off-day at Stamford Bridge. To...
Watkins shows Arsenal what they are missing, Loftus-Cheek shows promise at Fulham and Dummett the man for all jobsOllie Watkins is in a rich vein of form and improving by the game. His winner against Arsenal was his fourth goal in five, bringing his Premier League tally to 10 in 21 games since arriving at Aston Villa from Brentford. He could have had a couple more on Saturday but perhaps the 25-year-old’s most impressive feature is the way he leads the line. Watkins is a hive of movement, rarely giving defenders a moment’s peace, and looks as comfortable coming deep or working the channels as he does operating off the shoulder. He is exactly the kind of striker Arsenal might...
Sam Allardyce takes aim at Arsenal, Danny Ings could return to haunt Liverpool and José Mourinho must change tackOle Gunnar Solskjær has taken significant stick from laymen convinced their footballing expertise trumps his, but even they must concede that Manchester United are better now than at any stage in the Post-Fergie Wilderness YearsTM. Though it’s hard to envisage United winning the title, they must attack games as if they intend to, and should they fail, it will not be because they were too cautious. Solskjær’s side are too ruthful in attack and defence, but can offset these weaknesses by dominating opponents in midfield. Before their midweek win with Wolves, the Norwegian said “we need to go after them and get...