If you were wondering, the answer is Yes, they can be that good. It was one of the best Arsenal performances in a long time. So good was the performance that the normal cliché of questions and words being asked like, ‘where was the desire? , where is the leadership? , Where is the passion?, was replaced by only one question; Why can’t they play like this always? Shkodran Mustafi came back into the starting 11 after being out for 6 weeks –after that experiment at the Etihad backfired– ,and he was immense. He was a major influence on both sides of the pitch as he took turns with Laurent Koscielny to totally nullify the threat posed by Harry Kane all game and also set Arsenal on tone with a brilliant looping header towards the far post. In attack, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez linked up perfectly and Spurs just couldn’t cope with the brilliance of the trio and that brilliance was demonstrated in the build up to Alexis’ goal and Arsenal’s second. Spurs weren’t that bad on the day themselves Performances from Davinson Sanchez and Moussa Sissoko(Deployed in a more central role) can be considered as positives from a game where their opponents totally out gunned and just annulled every strength they had in their attack. There was supposed to be a power shift and Spurs may have the better team but in the first North London Derby of the season, Arsenal misread the script and were simply not having any of it.
Pogba, Zlatan return for Amazing United.
Manchester United welcomed midfielder Paul Pogba back into their starting 11 for the visit of Newcastle United on Saturday. The former Juventus midfielder was returning after a 6-week lay off and it was as though he never left. His return showed United exactly what they were missing as Pogba produced that needed spark missing from the United side for some time now. His confidence on the ball, his tremendous self belief and that kind of arrogance on the field of play brings back memories of some of United’s more celebrated midfielders. He brings some sort of drive to his side’s game and is the guy to go to if you need someone to try something different of take a gamble when the time comes. This was very evident in the run up in the build up to his goal on Saturday (The brilliant cushioned header from Marcus Rashford played a huge part too) . It was a game where United had to do it the hard way as they had to come back from a goal down to score 4 . It’s been a long time since United played this way as the pace and tempo they played with was just too much for Newcastle who in fact started the game very well. It’s still 8 points between United and City but with Pogba coming back, alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who saw out the final minutes of the game, United may just return to their early season form and keep up with their noisy neighbours.
Salah
He is undoubtedly the signing of the season so far and yet again showed his class in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Southampton. Momo Salah has been a revelation this season. With all the controversy surrounding Philipe Coutinho and Sadio Mane struggling to get back on form after a 6-week layoff, it was very evident Liverpool needed inspiration for somewhere. Mohammed Salah is that inspiration. Back to back braces in the league have just gone on to prove how important the Egyptian has turned out to be for the Reds. His lightening pace is undoubtedly his biggest asset but another side to his game that is very much underrated is the perfect timing of his runs. It’s one side of his game that has improved so much and a major reason he has scored lots of goals this season. He is currently the premier league’s top scorer and his £38m transfer fee is beginning to look like a big bargain in this current transfer market. He has emerged favourite for both the BBC and CAF player of the year award and a year that began with a heartbreaking loss in the AFCON 17 final might just end very well for the Egyptian forward.
Valencia
It’s now a record 8 consecutive La Liga wins for Los Che and it’s turning out to be a memorable season. Their success have been down to very impressive recruitments in the summer as all 6 summer signings have contributed massively to their excellent form. Being their top scorer this season, Zaza has led their line very well this season and has been in tremendous form but you would be mistaken to attribute Valencia’s success to just him. There have been excellent performances all over the pitch. Murillo has been a rock in defence, Kondogbia has been magnificent in midfield alongside Dani Parejo and Zaza’s own attacking partner Rodrigo, has been outstanding. Youngsters Andreas, Santi Mina and Guedes have also come in to contribute their quota in what has been the best start to the season for Valencia in over a decade. The question remains; how far can they go? For the Valencia faithful however, they are enjoying the ride in dreamland and don’t you dare wake them up.
Madrid Derby
The points were shared in Madrid but both clubs will be far from satisfied as a failure by either side to clinch the maximum points meant joy in Catalonia. The Madrid sides now trail Barcelona by 10 points and face a very tough task in toppling the Catalan giants. The game itself epitomised whatever is wrong with both teams this season as their problems were grossly exposed in 90 minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano. Madrid dominated the game and created some decent chances but the best chances of the game fell to Atletico as Correa in the second minute and Gameiro in the dying stages failed to hit the target. The abysmal form of Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo is a worry to both managers and they will need their star men to start performing as soon as possible. Zidane said after the game that they could catch Barcelona and I wouldn’t expect him to believe less in his very talented squad. But at this stage, he faces a task to even catch up with Valencia, who are 6 points ahead and in second place.
Eli Avot.
The Green Turf 
Leave a comment