Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend | OneFootball

Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend, featuring Mohamed Salah’s future, Dejan Kulusevski’s playground, and a potential beneficiary from Ruben Amorim’s arrival at Manchester United.

Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

Nwaneri knocking on the door

Mikel Arteta has urged patience with Ethan Nwaneri but the calls for more regular involvement are getting louder. The 17-year-old opened his Premier League account at the weekend, sealing Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. It’s four goals in just 238 minutes of senior football for the teenager this season, a return that has underlined his clear potential.

Arsenal have benefitted from Martin Odegaard’s return to the side with the Norwegian a player who attracts opponents – freeing room for those around him. Nwaneri is in the same mould and the prospect of the Hale End product combining with Odegaard and Bukayo Saka is an exciting one. Arsenal won’t rush Nwaneri but he’s edging closer to more regular minutes.

The Dekihad

The trip to the Etihad can instil fear in players. Dejan Kulusevski isn’t one of them. The Swede just loves playing at Manchester City and produced another star showing as Spurs ran riot at Eastlands this weekend.

Kulusevski’s first goal for Spurs came at the venue, while he netted a last-gasp equaliser in the thrilling 3-3 draw at Manchester City last season. This, however, was the best of the lot. Kulusevski tormented the champions down the right-hand side in an all-action showing fast becoming his trademark.

He picked out James Maddison brilliantly for the opener, won seven duels and showed his blend of power and poise. Kulusevski’s balletic footwork defies his powerful frame and he’s playing the best football of his career in a Spurs shirt this season.

Cunha is the joker in the pack

Wolves made a mockery of our pre-weekend praise for Fulham after humbling Marco Silva’s side 4-1 at Craven Cottage this weekend. Gary O’Neil’s side secured successive Premier League wins for the first time since February.

Matheus Cunha led the charge and has emerged as the joker in the Wolves pack. The Brazilian is a difference-maker for O’Neil’s side and scored twice at Fulham, including a wondrous first-touch and finish for the equaliser.

After taking time to find his feet at Molineux, Cunha has blossomed into an all-round attacking threat for Wolves. He scored 12 times in the Premier League last season and has seven in 11 starts this time around, in addition to three assists. At 25, versatile, and averaging a goal involvement every 97 minutes in the Premier League, it’s the sort of performance that does not go unnoticed.

Show Mo the money

How have Liverpool got themselves in this situation? Arguably their three most important players are all out of contract in the summer and there has been no progress on new deals.

Mohamed Salah’s situation is headline news again after the forward’s match-winning performance at Southampton, as Salah struck twice to send Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the table. The Egyptian is the biggest success story of Liverpool’s ownership under Fenway Sports Group, a Moneyball-inspired approach to recruitment where data trumps all.

Now, however, there is a conflict in numbers. Salah will turn 33 next summer and at some point a drop-off is inevitable. But that drop-off does not look like coming soon. He is arguably producing the most efficient numbers of his career with 16 goals and assists in 12 league appearances – an average of one every 66 minutes.

His shirtless celebration at Southampton only emphasised his status as a supreme athlete, one who Liverpool can not afford to let leave for nothing. Lucrative long contracts do not fit the FSG philosophy but smart business people know there are exceptions to every rule. Salah is one of them. A compromise must be found.

Diallo can benefit from Amorim arrival

A draw at Ipswich Town might have been an underwhelming start to the Ruben Amorim era but there were plenty of positives for Manchester United to take. Andre Onana’s improvement was evident again, while Amad Diallo was a bright spark at Portman Road.

Used in an unfamiliar wing-back role in Amorim’s newly implemented system, he took less than two minutes to make his mark with a burst forward to set up Marcus Rashford’s opener.

Diallo’s career with the club has never quite got going but he is a player with rich potential. A stop-gap perhaps, but a reinvention into a marauding wing-back should not be ruled out. The early signs are he has the attributes to thrive there.

Read – Premier League Team of the Week – Spurs stars dominate

See more – Premier League Awards – Champions in chaos, quality Cunha

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