Jesus and Nelson among Arsenal stars in Premier League team of the week
It’s a red domination this week as both Arsenal and Manchester United are represented in the team of the week with three players each. While the Gunners started Sunday off with a thumping 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest, United ended it with a hard fought 1-0 victory over West Ham. Players from Leeds, Everton, Manchester City and Newcastle also feature.
Leeds made a big statement on Saturday evening as they beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield, ending a run of eight games without a win in the league, and in fact ending a 70-game unbeaten league record Virgil van Dijk has held at Anfield since joining the Reds. A player who played a big part in this was Illan Meslier, who despite conceding one, still managed to make 15 recoveries and nine saves, the latter the joint-most in a Premier League match this season, to help Leeds to a massive three points and earn himself a WhoScored rating of 8.75.
Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) – 8.31
Manchester United carried on their recent positive form with a hard earned three points at home against West Ham, winning 1-0. The Standout player for the Red Devils was Diogo Dalot at right-back, who maintained a tackle success rate of 100% throughout the game up against a tricky Hammers attack, while also making five clearances and more interceptions than any other player in the game, with three. This earned Dalot a WhoScored rating of 8.31.
Harry Maguire (Manchester United) – 7.75
With Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof both sidelined for the game, it was Harry Maguire who got the nod at centre-back, in what was his first start since returning from injury. Up against both Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio at different times during the game, Maguire did well to handle the pressure, making the most clearances in the game with eight and winning two aerial duels to keep the United backline solid and earn himself a WhoScored rating of 7.75.
Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United) – 7.64
Alongside Maguire at centre-back for United was Lisandro Martinez, who continued what has been an excellent start to the season for the Argentine. Martinez had the best pass success rate of any of his teammates with 92.3%, providing a key link from defence to attack. As well as this, he won all his tackles and even made three clearances and one interception, earning him a WhoScored rating of 7.64.
Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton) – 7.75
Everton played out a 0-0 draw on Saturday against Fulham at Craven Cottage, lifting them to 12th in the league table. Vitaliy Mykolenko at left-back helped in keeping a clean sheet for his side with a 100% tackles success rate, five clearances and two interceptions, while also making one key pass in the game, earning him a 7.75 WhoScored rating.
Arsenal returned to winning ways after their 2-0 loss to PSV, with a 5-0 thrashing of bottom side Nottingham Forest. Coming on for the injured Bukayo Saka in the first half, Reiss Nelson made his first appearance of the league season and did so in style, scoring Arsenal’s second in the 49th minute and then third, three minutes later, as well as grabbing the assist with a neat layoff for Thomas Partey for the fourth, earning him a WhoScored rating of 8.95.
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) – 8.41
Martin Odegaard was an ever present around the Forest 18-yard box on Sunday and as well as grabbing Arsenal’s final and fifth goal of the game, he also managed to be a key link in the attack, with a pass success rate of 85.4%, which included creating five goalscoring chances, the most by any player in the game, earning him an 8.41 WhoScored rating.
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 8.16
Despite being without main man Erling Haaland up front, Manchester City still had enough to seal the three points on Saturday as they won 1-0 away from home against Leicester. Kevin De Bruyne sealed the win with a superb free-kick, which will have to be seen as an early contender for goal of the season. The Belgian also made four key passes, while maintaining a pass success rate of 86.4%, and this helped to earn a WhoScored rating of 8.16.
Newcastle continued their remarkable start to the season, beating Aston Villa convincingly 4-0. Joelinton grabbed himself a goal in the game and maintained a pass success rate of 88%, creating two chances in the game, which during his time on the pitch, only Kieran Tripper could better, with four. This landed the Brazilian a WhoScored rating of 8.29.
Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) – 9.05
While many may point to Gabriel Jesus being without a goal since the start of the month, his performances during matches have still been impressive and this week’s man of the match display saw him named the WhoScored player of the week. Though he didn’t score one of the five goals, he was still involved in two, while also creating four key passes and two big chances, and managing to have three shots on target. Clearly, he was a constant threat in the Gunners attack. His efforts earned him a WhoScored rating of 9.05.
Callum Wilson (Newcastle) – 8.82
Alongside Joelinton as the second Newcastle representative is Callum Wilson, who was the highest rated player in their win over Aston Villa with a WhoScored rating of 8.82. While he scored the opening two goals of the game, bringing his league tally up to six, he also managed to grab an assist for Miguel Almiron's second half strike to add to Villa’s long afternoon. Wilson also had more shots than any other player on the pitch, with five, and was a constant presence around the Villans box.
