Jarrod Bowen dazzles with a hat-trick for West Ham, Phil Foden steps up for Man City while Bukayo Sa
Chelsea and Liverpool were absent from the Premier League this weekend as they battled it out for glory at Wembley, but that didn’t take anything away from a drama-filled gameweek.
There were red cards, goals galore, thrashings, late winners and epic strikes, with big developments in the stories at both the top and bottom of the table.
Arsenal kept the pressure on title rivals Liverpool and Man City with a thumping 4-1 win over struggling Newcastle, while City themselves also capitalised on a weekend where Liverpool didn’t play to close the gap following their narrow victory over Bournemouth.
Elsewhere, West Ham got back to winning ways against Brentford, new Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner got up and running against Burnley and Manchester United were stunned at home to Fulham.
Last week’s Power Rankings saw Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice at the top of the leaderboard, but after the pair starred for the Gunners against Newcastle, have they done enough to keep their places?
Bukayo Saka starred for Arsenal in their 4-1 win over Newcastle, but does keep his No 1 spot in this week’s Power Rankings?
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. Pascal Gross 5. Erling Haaland
9. Joao Gomes 4. Ollie Watkins
8. Calum Hudson-Odoi 3. Rasmus Hojlund
7. Mohamed Salah 2. Declan Rice
6. Kobbie Mainoo 1. Bukayo Saka
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10. Joao Gomes (down one)
The Portuguese midfielder is beginning to take flight at Molineux after an unassuming start to his career with Wolves.
While Gomes is Wolves’ all-action combative ball winner, the 23-year-old didn’t have a single contribution to his name at the start of the month. Now he has two goals and one assist in the blink of an eye.
After scoring a brace against Spurs in his previous game, he put in another impressive display in his side’s 1-0 win over Sheffield United.
He had a pass success percentage of 87 per cent, making 48 accurate passes and six tackles – more than anyone on the pitch as he played the full 90 minutes and helped secure a clean sheet as Wolves earned back to back wins.
Joao Gomes continued his recent form with a solid display for Wolves in their win over Sheffield United
9. Douglas Luiz (new entry)
What a season the Brazilian is having. I’ll have whatever he’s having for breakfast.
Luiz bagged a double to inspire Aston Villa’s 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest – two quick fire goals ten minutes apart in the first half to take the game away from the visitors.
That takes his tally to ten for the season in all competitions, and that’s from central midfield! He overshadowed top scorer Ollie Watkins, who netted the opener, to cap off a superb day at the office.
Luiz had a pass success rate of 97 per cent, with his two goals coming from three shots. He is also proving how much he enjoys home comforts – all nine of his Premier League goals this season have come at Villa Park.
Douglas Luiz continued his superb goalscoring form for Villa this season with a brace in their 4-2 victory against Nottingham Forest
8. Pascal Gross (up two)
The veteran German playmaker must be one of the most underrated players in the Premier League this season.
Brighton have had an up and down campaign – but the performances of Gross haven’t wavered. He’ll soon earn the nickname of ‘assist king’ after providing yet another in their 1-1 draw against Everton this weekend.
He made a total of 111 passes, 99 of them accurate, including six key passes as he pushed his side all the way before setting up Lewis Dunk’s stoppage time equaliser to claim a point against the Toffees.
With ten assists this term, he has more than any Brighton player in a single Premier League campaign – and the joined most assists in the top division alongside Ollie Watkins and Kieran Trippier. A vital player for Roberto De Zerbi.
Pascal Gross is fast becoming the ‘assist king’ for Brighton after registering his 10th in the Premier League to set up Lewis Dunk’s stoppage time equaliser against Everton
7. Lucas Paqueta (new entry)
Here’s a simple way to highlight just how crucial Lucas Paqueta is becoming at West Ham this season.
West Ham beat Brentford 4-2 on Monday night. Lucas Paqueta played. Before that, they were beaten three times in a row, shipping 11 goals in that time. Lucas Paqueta did not play.
In fact, West Ham’s last win before this weekend came in a 2-0 win against Arsenal in December. That was the last Premier League game Lucas Paqueta played before picking up a calf injury.
Summary: When Paqueta plays, it’s a good thing for West Ham. He’s played in all 11 of their wins this season. The Brazilian, who has two goals and five assists in the Premier League, has helped the Hammers pick up 1.9 points per game when he plays, compared to 0.4 without him.
Lucas Paqueta has been influential for West Ham this season – he has featured in all 11 of their victories in the Premier League
6. Kai Havertz (new entry)
Arsenal fans have found a fun way of brushing off criticism of Havertz since his big money move to the Emirates from Chelsea last summer.
Every time he scores, a familiar chant begins ringing its way around the stadium: ‘£60million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again.’ Supporters were in full voice with that number once more after he found the net in back-to-back league games in Arsenal’s 4-1 thumping of Newcastle.
After putting Mikel Arteta’s side 2-0 up, the German also picked up an assist for their third, setting up Bukayo Saka as he continues to pick up confidence during a revamped role which has seen him play as a forward from time to time.
He now has seven goals for the season and two assists. Not bad for a player who was nearly written off as a transfer misfire earlier in the campaign.
Kai Havertz continues to make a mockery of criticism of his move to Arsenal after scoring again in their 4-1 win over Newcastle
5. Phil Foden (new entry)
Pep Guardiola wants players he can depend on at Manchester City. He’s got that and then some with Phil Foden, who is on absolute fire this season.
Unlike his England team-mate Jack Grealish, who is struggling for both game time and form at the Etihad this season, Foden continues to make himself a focal point for the team after bagging the winner in their 1-0 win against Bournemouth.
Foden has started 24 of City’s 26 games this season and now has 15 goals and 10 assists.
He is delivering for Guardiola at a crucial stage of the season with another match-winning display at the Vitality – having netted a hat-trick away at Brentford to mastermind a 3-1 victory earlier this month.
Phil Foden is proving to be a crucial member of Pep Guardiola’s Man City team this term after bagging the winner against Bournemouth
4. Jarrod Bowen (new entry)
There was no way this man wasn’t getting included in our rankings this week. What an incredible performance from the forward after grabbing his first senior hat-trick in West Ham’s 4-2 win against Brentford.
With 14 Premier League goals for the season, this is Bowen’s best campaign in front of goal and will do his chances of making Gareth Southgate’s England squad at Euro 2024 no harm whatsoever.
Bowen will be relieved to get back on the scoresheet for the Hammers amid their difficult run of form this calendar year – with his last Premier League strike coming in a 2-0 win over Man United in December.
Jarrod Bowen got back on target for West Ham with a brilliant hat-trick to down Brentford
3. Declan Rice (down one)
No one will regret spending a penny of that £105m that brought Declan Rice from West Ham to Arsenal. If the Gunners are to win their first title since 2004 this season, the England midfielder will have been at the heart of it.
He was pivotal at the Emirates in breaking up play and also breathing life into Arsenal’s attacks against the Magpies.
Rice finished with a passing accuracy of 92 per cent, completing 50 passes, with seven ball recoveries – the joint most in the game – and four chances created, more than anyone on the pitch.
A superb outing for the former Hammer, who has started every single Premier League game for Arsenal this season.
Declan Rice was the heart and soul of Arsenal’s midfield as he provided an assist vs Newcastle
2. Ollie Watkins (up two)
After taking number four spot last time, Watkins deservedly creeps up to second after finding the net once again in Aston Villa’s 4-2 win against Nottingham Forest.
It should prove nigh-on impossible for Southgate to snub the 23-year-old in his England squad this summer after notching his 14 of the season, following up his double in their 2-1 win at Fulham with the opener against the relegation battlers.
Watkins cracked off four shots – two of which were on target. He’s shown he can produce the good in front of goal, as well as turn provider. Watkins is in double figures for both goals and assists, of which he has ten this season.
Ollie Watkins looks to be in a great position to claim an England spot after his superb goalscoring run this season
1. Bukayo Saka (non mover)
Where is Rio Ferdinand now? After netting a double in Arsenal’s 6-0 win at West Ham, the pundit caused a stir by claiming Bukayo Saka wasn’t yet world class.
Saka then followed that up with another double in a 5-0 win over Burnley and – no surprise – he was on target once more in their subsequent 4-1 win over Newcastle.
That makes it five straight games Saka has scored in, blitzing seven in that spell, taking his tally for the season to 13, with seven assists – and that’s just in the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka will soon have no one doubting his is world class after notching for the fifth straight game for Arsenal – keeping his place at the top of our rankings
In all competitions, if we include his trevails with England too, he’s got 23 goals and 14 assists.
Those are some serious numbers. Every time Saka gets the ball he looks like he’s going to do something special with it and without him they might not still be treading water in this title race.
So, world class? We’ll leave that open to debate – but he’s certainly the top in class when it comes to our power rankings.
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