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Premier League Team of the Week - Martin Odegaard, Kieran Trippier, Danny Welbeck

sportsmole.co.uk, 3 May 2023, 08:03
Goals flew in left, right and centre during the latest round of pulsating Premier League action, as Arsenal returned to the top of the table - for 24 hours at least - with a 3-1 win over London rivals Chelsea.

Manchester City had briefly usurped the Gunners with a 2-1 success over Fulham, while Newcastle United came from behind to deepen Southampton's relegation woes in a 3-1 beating.

Aston Villa's remarkable scoring streak under Unai Emery came to an end in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, while Liverpool and Tottenham played out one of the games of the season at Anfield, as the Reds dramatically - and controversially - won 4-3.

Brighton & Hove Albion responded to recent setbacks in astonishing fashion with a 6-0 thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Brentford kept their European dream alive by beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth demolished Leeds United 4-1 in their basement battle, Leicester City and Everton shook hands on an entertaining 2-2 draw, while Crystal Palace edged West Ham United 4-3 in another seven-goal thriller.

Here, Sports Mole picks its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.

DEFENCE

A special mention goes to Leicester's Daniel Iversen, but Bernd Leno was a formidable presence in the Fulham goal during the visit of Man City. There was little that the German could have done for either of the champions' goals, but with seven saves over the course of the game, he had the Cottagers in with a fighting chance of gleaning at least a point.

When Newcastle needed their senior players to step up while facing a 1-0 deficit against Southampton, Kieran Trippier did exactly that. The England international's second-half corner deflected off Theo Walcott and into the back of the net, while he created a total of five chances in another competent performance.

Amid reports of an imminent move to Atletico Madrid, Caglar Soyuncu has been brought back in from the cold to show the Leicester faithful what they will soon be missing. The Turkish centre-back connected smartly with a volley - despite slipping on the turf - to draw his side level, while also making 12 clearances and winning 10 aerial battles during a monstrous display at the back.

One of several Brighton players to force their way into our selection, Pervis Estupinan experienced an abundance of joy on the left-hand side against Wolves, with his cross on the money for Danny Welbeck to head home as well as recording a 91% pass accuracy in that six-goal mauling.

MIDFIELD

Reverting to his familiar midfield role to great effect, Pascal Gross was one of three Seagulls players to breach the Wolves defence twice at the weekend, firstly steering home a sublime first-time finish before picking out the corner with a sweetly-struck half-volley.

Two-goal performances from midfielders were the theme in this gameweek, and Bournemouth's Jefferson Lerma took full advantage of more mishaps from Illan Meslier. Having firstly curled home a delightful opener against Leeds, Lerma capitalised on Meslier's poor handling to thunder home his side's second into the roof of the net and move the Cherries ever closer to safety.

Unlike Gross and Lerma, Tomas Soucek's efforts for West Ham against Crystal Palace were ultimately in vain, but take nothing away from the Czech's domineering display. After lashing home the first of seven goals at Selhurst Park, Soucek flicked on two identical corners at the near post for the Hammers' other pair of goals, and Roy Hodgson's defence will be grateful that they do not have to come up against the 28-year-old from set-pieces every week.

Finally, Martin Odegaard left a lot to be desired at the Etihad last week, but Arsenal's skipper was back to his scintillating best during the Gunners' win over Chelsea. Combining with Granit Xhaka - who was an honourable mention this week - on two occasions, Odegaard produced a fine curling finish off the bar before darting into space inside the box and picking out the bottom corner to help keep Arsenal's title dream alive.

ATTACK

Despite coming up short in his recent head-to-head battle with Alexander Isak for a starting role, Callum Wilson made quite the statement of intent off the bench against Southampton, adjusting his feet for a smartly-taken finish before pouncing on a defensive error and skipping past Alex McCarthy for his second of the day.

While Wilson's efforts were rightly lauded, most of the weekend's plaudits belonged to the Seagulls' soaring forwards, as Deniz Undav and Danny Welbeck ripped Wolves to shreds in the absence of teenage protege Evan Ferguson. Staking his claim for more Premier League minutes, Undav tapped home his side's first before robbing Matheus Nunes and delicately chipping the ball into the back of the net to round off the scoring on the day.

After firstly setting up Undav's opener with a cheeky flick, Welbeck got in on the act himself for Brighton's fourth and fifth goals, meeting Estupinan's cross with a towering header before picking out the corner from a good 20 yards to keep his side in the European conversation.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Leno; Trippier, Soyuncu, Estupinan; Gross, Lerma, Soucek, Odegaard; Wilson, Welbeck, Undav

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