\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fulham<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s \u2018They\u2019re\u00a0Where\u00a0In The Premier League Table?!<\/a>\u2018 Award goes to\u2026<\/p>\n Fulham. They\u2019re 7th?!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Harry Wilson<\/p>\n Already his best Premier League season ever in terms of goals scored, minutes played and Harry Wilson things being done.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Manchester United<\/p>\n That\u2019s why you reinstate an abandoned transfer \u2018policy\u2019<\/a> to pluck the two biggest xG overperformers of the previous season \u2013 one of whom is apparently a very proud vegan \u2013 from within the Premier League.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Harry Maguire<\/p>\n Do not run from it, Mr. Tuchel. It will nut you square in the face either way.<\/p>\n MORE FROM ANOTHER MANCHESTER UNITED WIN \u00a0<\/p>\n Andoni Iraola<\/p>\n The Marc Guehi to Oliver Glasner\u2019s Alexander Isak<\/a>. It makes sense. Shut up.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nottingham Forest<\/p>\n In the same week that Chris Wood was reported to have been ruled out for the remainder of the season, what a moment for two players to step out of his considerable shadow.<\/p>\n It was Wood who scored twice in that illusory opening win over Brentford in August, since which Forest\u2019s best marksman has been Morgan Gibbs-White on a paltry five goals; only Everton and Wolves have a lower-scoring top scorer.<\/p>\n His need to shoulder more of that burden has taken a toll on the creative juices of a player stretched to and past his limits, so the emergence of players willing and able to step up is more than welcome.<\/p>\n Both Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi carved their goals out of individual skill, belief and persistence. It was the first time in 42 games that two specialist Forest strikers scored in the same league fixture. Wood you believe it?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sensible West Ham<\/p>\n While one particular bounce has proven beyond West Ham\u2019s means \u2013 their last three managers have failed to win their opening game \u2013 the Hammers might be pioneers in the field of the new coach rebound<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rui Barbosa was appointed first-team goalkeeping coach in late October, after which West Ham won their next two matches \u2013 admittedly while conceding three goals.<\/p>\n And since Paco Jemez was brought in as Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s assistant, the Hammers have beaten Spurs away and Sunderland at home.<\/p>\n \u201cThere wasn\u2019t much convincing to do. He told me he needed my help,\u201d said Jemez, even if Nuno did seem less than enthused about either the advice of his right-hand man, or the method by which it was offered, when preparing to bring on Max Kilman at 3-1 up in stoppage time.<\/p>\n That perhaps spotlighted the inherent risk with bringing someone in to work alongside Nuno, who has already been sacked by one club this season for a failure to play nicely with others.<\/p>\n But the dynamic here is different, far less antagonistic and much healthier than that which Nuno encountered with Edu at Nottingham Forest<\/a>.\u00a0Having had a backroom staff reportedly foisted upon him when he took the role, the Portuguese could be revitalised by the arrival of Jemez as a figure who can challenge rather than undermine him.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chelsea<\/p>\n The highest-scoring away team in the Premier League this season, with only Arsenal and Aston Villa picking up more points on the road.<\/p>\n Chelsea are the closest side in the division to perfect equilibrium between points won at home (18) and away (19). Liam Rosenior will have some sort of LinkedIn explanation for that<\/a>, about company synergy or somesuch, but it\u2019s working for him.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yerson Mosquera<\/p>\n Five shots is the most any one player has mustered in a Premier League game against Manchester City since Yoane Wissa terrorised them last January.<\/p>\n And obviously it was a centre-half for the club stranded at the bottom of the table in a 2-0 defeat.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Emi Martinez<\/p>\n An easy target for criticism when he inevitably makes an arse of himself, but it is only fair to highlight the performances which make him such an irresistible maverick.<\/p>\n Only Unai Emery could truly capture the reason behind Martinez\u2019s wonderful display against Newcastle: Marco Bizot.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Matheus Nunes<\/p>\n Not entirely sure how but a \u00a353m central midfielder deemed \u201cnot clever enough\u201d by Pep Guardiola to play in that position<\/a> has accidentally become Manchester City\u2019s most important player at right-back.<\/p>\n He\u2019s elite at defending dribbles according to football analysts Gradient Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matheus Nunes is elite at defending dribbles according to Gradient Sports.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Premier League losers Whether it would represent the biggest bottlejob in Premier League history<\/a> is almost immaterial; Arsenal played like they were consumed by the mere thought of that label<\/a> and the staff and supporters acted in kind.<\/p>\n Three consecutive runners-up finishes will do that, but it was a return to the emotional Arsenal cliche that has persisted for decades despite no longer really being applicable.<\/p>\n Their response to this defeat will be far more important than the result and performance itself. But equally there will be no 20-game winning run to the finish line that has characterised recent champions. The Premier League in its current state will not allow any team to embark on a period of such sustained dominance, so Arsenal as a club must learn how to drop points.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Liverpool<\/p>\n No-one was ever particularly distracted by an unbeaten run which, if anything, highlighted the myriad problems engulfing Liverpool this season. But the end of that streak brought even more things to the fore<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arne Slot must see the issue with admitting he \u201ctried to scream towards them to put the ball out of play,\u201d but his players ignored him and opted to continue a man down due to that most common of ailments \u2013 a Joe Gomez injury \u2013 to the point where they conceded again.<\/p>\n It is not great that Andoni Iraola, who is managing a similar level of squad absences, explained how Bournemouth \u201cnormally go full gas\u201d but \u201cbecause we don\u2019t have the numbers we are choosing when to go, choosing to save a bit of energy until the end of the game\u201d.<\/p>\n Whether that was a specific decision with Liverpool\u2019s late fragility in mind is unknown, but it was the fifth goal the Reds have conceded in second-half stoppage time this season<\/a>, the cost of which has been eight points dropped against Bournemouth, Fulham, Leeds, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n These are innate problems in terms of mentality and physicality, even before reaching the unavoidable tactical red flags which have been apparent for months. And Slot paying for them with his job seems a genuine prospect with each passing game<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Virgil van Dijk<\/p>\n Leave the football before etc and so on.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Crystal Palace<\/p>\n It is worth reiterating, after new depths were plumbed with a red card and penalty conceded in an 11th straight winless game across four different competitions, that this simply won\u2019t work<\/a>.<\/p>\n As lovely a thought as it is that Oliver Glasner and Steve Parish could reconcile and \u201cclear everything\u201d over \u201ca long dinner\u201d, it is also naive in the extreme.<\/p>\n And it presents the very real risk of Palace, 15th and only three points clear of both Leeds and Nottingham Forest with West Ham picking up steam behind them too, being dragged into a battle for which they are painfully under-fortified.<\/p>\n The contradictions have already started. Glasner insists he remains \u201c100 per cent committed\u201d to Palace, but in a separate interview also explained his otherwise entirely valid reasons for choosing to ultimately leave:<\/p>\n \u201cI demand one thing from myself, and that\u2019s 100 per cent, every single day, all the time, and if I feel I can\u2019t provide this to a club anymore, maybe, then I think I have to go, because the club, the fans, the players \u2013 especially the players \u2013 they deserve my full commitment, my full energy, my full motivation to help them, to progress and achieve big things.\u201d<\/p>\n That maths ain\u2019t mathing and it\u2019s impacting the same club, the same fans and the same players Glasner believes \u201cdeserves\u201d his unbroken dedication.<\/p>\n The Austrian compared this transparent truce to \u201cthe sun shining\u201d after \u201ca thunderstorm\u201d, but the dark clouds will likely hang over Palace<\/a> for as long as they have a manager in charge who, by his own admission, does not fully want to be there.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Spurs<\/p>\n There is precisely nothing new to say, not a single fresh angle from which to approach the now decaying, rotting elephant carcass in the corner of the Spurs cheese room.<\/p>\n Thomas Frank can continue because he is and will. But he shouldn\u2019t considering the main thing keeping him in gainful employment is the desperation of those who appointed him to not be seen to have made an absolute hash of the club\u2019s first post-Levy appointment.<\/p>\n It cannot be based on their Champions League prospects, as for how well Spurs have taken to reaching the knock-out stages<\/a>, they will make no further meaningful progress through the tournament. And even if they won it, Frank\u2019s predecessor was sacked for masking rank domestic failure with European glory.<\/p>\n The Premier League is ultimately what Frank must be judged on; his experience there\u00a0was a huge part of the reason why he was picked in the first place.<\/p>\n Four more points and a single place higher than Ange Postecoglou had Spurs at this stage last season, backed by investment in the squad to the tune of more than \u00a3220m, does not exactly feel sufficient.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sunderland and Newcastle<\/p>\n Maybe they can finally see eye to eye, having encountered precisely the same problem<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Brighton<\/p>\n A very quiet run of one win in 10 Premier League games, that. Even in this ludicrously bloated stodge of a season, a fall from 5th at the start of December to 12th by late January is mildly absurd.<\/p>\n
* 16 Conclusions from Arsenal 2-3 Man United: DNA, bottle, retro kits, Carrick, Arteta, Mbeumo and more<\/a>
*\u00a0Man Utd and Carrick show succeeding Amorim to be simplest job in football<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Matheus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Matheus-Nunes-Grades-Bar-2025-2026.jpg\")
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\nArsenal<\/p>\n