Five Premier League talking points as De Gea and Luiz falter

David De Gea and David Luiz both had nights to forget as the Premier League resumed. Meanwhile, a familiar partnership carried on where they left off.

Davids’ fall from grace continues

David Luiz’s 25-minute cameo in Arsenal’s defeat at Manchester City confirmed Mikel Arteta’s decision to bench the Brazilian and all but ended his hopes of a new contract in London (read more on that here). Pablo Mari and Shkodran Mustafi had been preferred at kick off, but injury to the former meant that the former Chelsea defender was summoned midway through the first half.

Was anybody surprised by what followed? A characteristic lack of judgment that allowed Raheem Sterling to open the scoring, before his foul on Riyad Mahrez gave the hosts a penalty and saw him sent off. Arteta’s post-match comments that Luiz’s performance had not changed his view of the veteran were supposedly intended to be cryptic; however, given the context there seems to be little doubt.

It was the fourth penalty that Luiz has conceded in the Premier League this season, and the second that has led to his dismissal (he only received a booking for his foul on Mo Salah against Liverpool in August, which simply left him unable to obstruct the Egyptian later on in a rare show of restraint. The Liverpool forward proceeded to run at goal unchallenged and score again).

Two days later, another clash between north London and Manchester, and this time it was David de Gea with the error at Tottenham. Steven Bergwijn’s shot was straight at the Manchester United number one, but the Spaniard could only parry the ball into the net. Just 17 months ago De Gea produced a match-winning display in the corresponding fixture at Wembley; sadly, he has rarely proved anywhere near as reliable since.

Unlike his namesake, De Gea has time to return to the form that saw him earmarked as Iker Casillas’ heir for club as well as country. For Luiz, however, it seems his stay in the Premier League is at an end.

Manchester United full backs lack incision in final third

De Gea’s error at Tottenham allowed the hosts to sit back and hold their lead against United and, while the visitors did find a late equaliser, Jose Mourinho’s plan to thwart his former side worked for the large part. The Portuguese would no doubt have taken some pleasure from Luke Shaw’s ineffectiveness in attack, somewhat of a vindication for his assessment of the England defender during his tenure at Old Trafford.

On the other flank, Aaron Wan-Bissaka lost possession five times in the opposition half, more than any other player. Only Harry Maguire had more touches than his 101 and yet, an early foray forward aside, his influence in the final third was minimal.

Obviously finding a way past Mourinho’s well-drilled defensive block is no mean feat. However, this display was not an isolated incident. For all of Wan-Bissaka’s brilliance at the back, further forward he is lacking. The summer signing obviously stands out for his ability to retain possession but is yet to score in a red shirt, while he has contributed just two assists in 35 appearances across all competitions. Shaw, meanwhile, has recorded one goal and one assist in 27 games.

Contrast their numbers with that of their fellow England full backs. Obviously Trent Alexander-Arnold’s output has raised the bar with two goals and 13 assists in 2019/20; in comparison, Shaw has two and 15 respectively in his entire career. Ben Chilwell’s late goal at Watford was his third of the season for Leicester in the Premier League. Reece James has four goal contributions in his breakthrough season at Chelsea; likewise, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has nine assists while primarily playing at left back. Kieran Trippier has set up four goals despite playing in a defensive set-up at Atletico. Both of United’s full backs have a long way to go before their stats compare.

Pulisic stakes claim for starting place in Chelsea’s future

The draw between Tottenham and Manchester United on Friday night, followed by Sheffield United’s defeat at Newcastle, meant that Chelsea had the opportunity to open up a five-point gap over fifth place with victory at Aston Villa. The visitors boasted over two-thirds of the possession in the first half yet went in behind at the break after Kortney Hause’s close-range finish. Ten minutes into the second half Frank Lampard introduced Christian Pulisic, who repaid his manager’s faith with an equaliser just five minutes later. A further goal from Olivier Giroud gave the Blues all three points.

Chelsea have been making waves with their recruitment in recent months following a 12-month transfer ban in the 2019/20 season. Forwards Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are set to join the club at the end of the campaign, and neither have signed to sit on the side lines. This only leaves the left-wing position open in Lampard’s front three and, despite the impending exit of Willian and Pedro, there remains several challengers for the place. Pulisic was the club’s penultimate permanent signing before UEFA’s ban came into effect and has not featured consistently in his debut season. However, Sunday’s goal was his seventh in 23 appearances across all competitions this season. In contrast, academy product and fellow winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has three goals in 25 games. Meanwhile Mason Mount, who started on Sunday, has only scored twice since October 6th. On current form, it will be the American starting alongside Werner and Ziyech next season.

A familiar partnership at the London Stadium

Wolves’ 49th game of the season saw them score twice late on to defeat West Ham on Saturday evening. The visitors had taken the majority of efforts on goal without any success until the introduction of Adama Traoré shortly after the hour mark. Just nine minutes later the powerful winger found space on the right to cross for Raul Jiménez to open the scoring, his 14th goal in the Premier League this season. Fellow substitute Pedro Neto then sealed the win with an emphatic volley after good build-up play from Traoré again.

At time of writing, no player has assisted another more times in the Premier League this season than Traoré has Jiménez (six). The Mexican has himself returned the favour on three occasions, accounting for 75% of Traoré’s league goals.

Both players have been linked with a move away from Molineux,

and it is clear that they each have plenty to offer to the sides above them in the standings. Traoré has seemingly found the end product that has eluded him up until now; his tally of 12 goal contributions dwarves his previous record of two in a single Premier League campaign. Jiménez, meanwhile, has proven that he can consistently find the net against England’s elite. It would take a substantial sum to snatch either player, but perhaps the smartest investment would be to acquire the pair.

Captain Coleman revels in starting role

Liverpool’s title celebrations have been put on hold a little longer after they could only draw at Everton in the Merseyside Derby. It was actually the hosts who had the better of the chances from open play but could not apply the finishing touch in front of goal, with Richarlison and Tom Davies both going close. Sunday’s stalemate was the third in a row between these sides at Goodison Park and ensures that the Toffees must wait until next season to end a winless run against the Reds that is now at 22 games.

While Carlo Ancelotti named a youthful side for the clash with the champions elect (particularly in attack), Everton’s star player was one who actually featured in their last win over Liverpool in 2010. Now in his 12th season at Goodison Park, 31-year-old Seamus Coleman made a match-high four tackles during proceedings as he was tasked with keeping tabs on Sadio Mané. Including the Republic of Ireland defender, the average age of his side’s starting XI for the derby was just 24 years old, with Michael Keane the next oldest at 27.

So far this season the club captain has shared the role at right back with loanee Djibril Sidibe, having started exactly half of Everton’s 30 league games. However, with fellow veterans Leighton Baines and Gylfi Sigurdsson less suited to Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 system, it appears that Coleman’s experience will be invaluable to his team mates moving forward. For example, as 23-year-old Mason Holgate continues to hold down a first-team place, having the club captain alongside him at the back can only help. Between the two of them they made six tackles, six interceptions and ten clearances on Sunday, in the process becoming only the second defence to shut out Liverpool in this league campaign.

*Stats via WhoScored