Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as they came through the north London derby with a win. The Gunners capitalised on a controversial result at OId Trafford, which saw Manchester United come away with three points in the Manchester derby, while Chelsea got back on track with a narrow win in their London derby with Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere, Everton’s woes continued as they threw away a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 against Southampton, while Brighton dominated Liverpool in a 3-0 win at the AMEX, continuing the Reds’ poor season start.
There were also wins for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Wolves as Leeds United, Leicester City and West Ham continue to look to be moving in the wrong direction and towards the drop zone.
Here’s who we thought stood out from a dramatic weekend.
📰 Table Of Contents
- 1 GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- 2 RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
- 3 CB: Benoit Badiashile (Chelsea)
- 4 CB: Levi Colwill (Brighton)
- 5 LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
- 6 CM: James Ward Prowse (Southampton)
- 7 CM: Moises Caicedo (Brighton)
- 8 CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
- 9 RW: Solly March (Brighton)
- 10 ST: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
- 11 LW: Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)
- 12 Read more:
GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Arsenal were in cruise control for the first half against a hapless Tottenham side, but the second half was far more even. That the Gunners came away from a north London derby away from home with a clean sheet for the first time since March 2014 was largely down to Aaron Ramsdale, who made a massive seven saves, preventing over 2 xG from hitting the Arsenal net.
🥇 Our north London derby Player of the Match…
🧤 Aaron Ramsdale
😍 How much love for Aaron yesterday, Gooners? pic.twitter.com/uPtD8CB9rz
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 16, 2023
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
What a few weeks it has been for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. From being virtually at the Old Trafford exit to starting and excelling in the Manchester Derby win at the Theatre of Dreams. The right-back has taken his opportunity with both hands in Diogo Dalot’s absence, winning seven of his nine duels and helping to keep Phil Foden anonymous in the first half.
Aaron Wan Bissaka activating Ronaldinho mode 🕷️🕷️ pic.twitter.com/INLRhiH68E
— Mohammad Alsayad 🇵🇸 🔰🇾🇪 (@MohammadAlsaya5) January 14, 2023
CB: Benoit Badiashile (Chelsea)
Badiashile stats today…
– 100% Tackle success
– 73 passes attempted (71 completed)
– 9 clearances
– 4 tackles
– 0 dribbled past
– 5 aerial duels wonFlawless display.. 👏 pic.twitter.com/PGllrAP0dh
— Conn (@ConnCFC) January 15, 2023
CB: Levi Colwill (Brighton)
From a new Chelsea signing to a Blues loanee, Levi Colwill will soon be in the England squad if he can continue to turn in performances like he did against Liverpool. The 19-year-old centre-back was immense alongside Lewis Dunk, and kept a poor Reds front three almost anonymous for 90 minutes. Managing a 93% pass accuracy and winning 100% of his ground duels, Chelsea have found another youth academy gem.
Levi Colwill is a future £120m defenderhttps://t.co/yQslmQmPJC
— The Other Side Of The Coin (@TOSOTC_CFC) January 16, 2023
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
Big games need big players to stand up, and Oleksandr Zinchenko did just that for the Gunners over the weekend. Heading to a ground where they hadn’t won in nearly a decade, the Ukrainian provided some much need poise and creativity from left-back, often inverting to support the Arsenal midfield on their way to an eventually routine win.
Levi Colwill is a future £120m defenderhttps://t.co/yQslmQmPJC
— The Other Side Of The Coin (@TOSOTC_CFC) January 16, 2023
CM: James Ward Prowse (Southampton)
Where would Southampton be without their captain and talisman? James Ward-Prowse came up with two goals to rescue them against Everton and leave them still bottom, but with a fighting chance of survival. Capping off a week in which they also beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, Nathan Jones has a platform to build on, largely thanks to his skipper.
1️⃣8️⃣ – David Beckham
1️⃣6️⃣ – @Prowsey16Closing in… ✨ pic.twitter.com/3ZkOvFAgI4
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 14, 2023
CM: Moises Caicedo (Brighton)
Moises Caicedo may not be a Brighton player for much longer amid interest from Chelsea and Liverpool, but while he is the Ecuador star continues to excel for Roberto de Zerbi and bossed the midfield against Jurgen Klopp’s side over the weekend.
Winning all of his tackles and attempting 85 passes with 90% accuracy, he continued to underline why he is valued so highly alongside fellow star Alexis Mac Allister, and that pairing is helping Brighton continue to punch well above their weight in the Premier League.
Moises Caicedo won possession more times than any other Brighton player against Liverpool (11), while no teammate won more duels (5) or made more tackles (3).
He was everywhere. 🥵 pic.twitter.com/avC1AaKjci
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 14, 2023
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s captain doubled the Gunners lead with a strike from 30 yards out to pile the misery on Tottenham in a wretched first half, and is currently one of the best players in the Premier League on current form.
A leader on the pitch with the talent to match, his fee from Real Madrid is looking increasingly like a bargain.
What a finish this is! 💥
Take a bow, Martin Ødegaard 🔥 pic.twitter.com/d4qZMhCoVm
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 15, 2023
RW: Solly March (Brighton)
Always hard-working and technically sound, goals have not always been March’s greatest strength. In the absence of Leandro Trossard (frozen out for disciplinary reasons), however, March took his chance excellently, grabbing two goals to help Brighton put Liverpool to the sword at the AMEX stadium. His second, in particular, was taken excellently and continues the Seagull’s excellent run of form.
Solly March. That is all. pic.twitter.com/vQ8RATPS39
— Ryan (@ryanadsett) January 15, 2023
ST: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
The most dangerous player in the first half, Rashford’s game looked to be over when he went over holding his hip five minutes from the interval. However, the Manchester United star carried on, and ultimately continued his excellent scoring form to snatch a winner in the Manchester Derby.
After a shaky couple of seasons, the Englishman is starting to fulfil his enormous potential.
THESE SCENES! 😍🔥#MUFC || @MarcusRashford pic.twitter.com/Ocv00rIbGV
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 14, 2023
LW: Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)
It has been a slow start to Premier League life for Brennan Johnson, who has struggled to continue last season’s fine goalscoring form. That changed against Leicester City, however, with the Welshman grabbing two goals and impressing alongside Morgan Gibbs-White in the Forest side.
Seemingly improving game by game, Forest could be set for a strong second half of the season, with Johnson a key part of that.
Brennan at the double! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/MFeK5o4HtU
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 14, 2023