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Premier League Team of the Week - Son Heung-min, William Saliba, Kevin De Bruyne

sportsmole.co.uk, 18 September 2022, 21:06
Fourteen Premier League teams took to the field for a depleted gameweek seven, as policing preparations for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral forced the postponement of a number of matches.

The top three were all in action, though, and Arsenal cemented their position in first place in the table courtesy of a 3-0 win over Brentford, during which 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri became the Premier League's youngest-ever player.

Prior to the Gunners' London derby victory, Manchester City had briefly gone top with a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers before Tottenham Hotspur claimed a 6-2 success over Leicester City.

On Friday night, Aston Villa edged a dull encounter with Southampton 1-0, while Fulham ran out 3-2 winners in the battle of the newly-promoted sides with Nottingham Forest.

Newcastle United's wait for a win continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Bournemouth, but Everton picked up a vital three points with a 1-0 triumph over West Ham United in the weekend's final game.

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

DEFENCE

There was a strong case to select Everton number two Asmir Begovic after the Bosnian veteran put in an exemplary showing against West Ham in place of the injured Jordan Pickford, but Bournemouth's Neto was imperious in between the sticks at St James' Park, coming up with six saves and four high claims to ensure a point for his side.

Manchester City's Joao Cancelo may not have directly contributed to his side's win over Wolves, but the Portuguese was still a dominant force out wide with five tackles, two interceptions and four out of five successful dribbles, and he has been shifted to the right-hand flank for the purposes of this XI.

On the other side, Bournemouth left-back Jordan Zemura experienced far better fortunes against Newcastle compared to his half-time withdrawal against Nottingham Forest, picking out Philip Billing for the Cherries' goal and making a total of five key passes in a promising display.

Neal Maupay rightly got the plaudits for getting Everton over the line against West Ham, but the acquisition of James Tarkowski is paying dividends for the Toffees, who saw the Englishman rack up nine clearances and five blocks during a rock-solid defensive showing.

Finally, Arsenal starlet William Saliba may not have cut the mustard at Old Trafford, but the 21-year-old's near-post header set the Gunners on their way to a comfortable win over Brentford, during which he completed 89% of his passes and was as defensively sound as ever.

MIDFIELD

The North London theme continues in the engine room, as Rodrigo Bentancur enjoyed one of his finest appearances in a Tottenham shirt against Leicester - winning the ball back and storming forward to score his side's third, while also claiming an assist and making four interceptions, three tackles and three blocks in an exemplary performance.

Across the capital, Fulham have also struck gold with one of their midfield signings in 2022, as Joao Palhinha curled a delightful first-time effort into the far corner during the five-goal win over Forest while also winning four of his five ground duels and four of his six aerial duels for the Cottagers.

In contrast to Bentancur and Palhinha, Man City's Kevin De Bruyne did not increase his goal tally at Molineux, but it was another midfield masterclass from the Belgian, who set up Jack Grealish and Phil Foden's efforts as he sets his sights on the Premier League's playmaker award.

ATTACK

Bukayo Saka has been overshadowed by his fellow Arsenal attackers during the start of the season, but the 21-year-old was back to his best against Brentford, with his corner meeting the head of Saliba before he claimed a second assist for Fabio Vieira's first Gunners goal, and the England international also posted a 93% pass accuracy on the day.

Saka will soon link up with Jack Grealish for England's Nations League matches, and the Man City winger will enter the international period on the back of one of his best performances in sky blue to date, as he wrestled his way in front of Wolves defender Jonny to prod home the opener at Molineux and completed all four of his dribble attempts successfully.

While Saka and Grealish will be rightly lauded for their contributions, the attacking headlines have been dominated by one man. After going eight games without scoring and being dropped to the bench, Son Heung-min took just 13 minutes to score a hat-trick against Leicester - including two sublime curling efforts - and Antonio Conte has joked that the 30-year-old can expect to be benched more often if he can repeat such excellence as a substitute.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (4-3-3): Neto; Cancelo, Tarkowski, Saliba, Zemura; De Bruyne, Bentancur, Palhinha; Saka, Son, Grealish

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