EPL | 5 talking points from the week as Pogba shines and Wenger completes 20 years

09/25/2016

It was a week full of spectacular goals all over the Premier League. Here is as brief round up of Matchday 6.

1. David Moyes' nightmarish return continues

There is not much of a difference between Manchester United and Sunderland. David Moyes is proving that with the right man at the helm, any club can achieve similar results. Albeit losing, but it is a result nevertheless.

Six matches into the season, Sunderland are yet to win a game. To make matters worse, they will be now playing three away matches in a row before welcoming Arsenal to the Stadium of Light. If Moyes manages to retain his job till then, given how impatient clubs usually are these days, Jermaine Defoe will have to continue creating chances upfront, and score them himself as well. At the age of 33, you could have opted for a much more comfortable life in the MLS, Jermaine!

In the post-match conference after the 2-3 loss against Crystal Palace, Moyes accepted that his team were lucky to have taken a 2-goal lead at the hour mark. However, having taken lead, he would have expected his team to put up a better defensive performance at the back. Papy Djilobodji and Lamine Kone continued their struggle as a pair as goals from Joe Ledley, James McArthur, and Christian Benteke, who inexplicably was left unmarked in the box while defending a freekick in the 94th minute, saw Palace turn the match on its head.

2. 20 years of Wengerism marked by demolition of Chelsea

Personally, I do not believe in destiny. It is too definite for my liking. But days like yesterday makes you wonder about its existence. At the Emirates on Saturday, everything came together for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger's philosophy was translated poetically on the pitch, his big money signings—Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, and Shkodran Mustafi—provided commanding presence on the pitch. Youth products like Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin repaid Wenger's faith, while Theo Walcott showed signs of the Theo Walcott he was expected to grow into a long time back.

Every variable came together to write an ode to the Frenchman on his 20th anniversary as the Arsenal manager. The Stadium stood on its toes and applauded what Arsene Wenger has created. For one day, everything was perfect in Wenger's wonderland. Football does not hand out free gifts to anyone, but if anyone in England deserves to be an exception right now, it is Arsene Wenger.

Perhaps, the result seemed more significant because it came against Chelsea. A club which challenged Wenger's philosophy under Roman Abramovich. A club which Arsenal have struggled to beat in the recent past. Perhaps, it was Providence.

3. No Fellaini, No Rooney, works fine for United

After hinting at dropping his captain for the match against Leicester City, Jose Mourinho struck gold with the new line up by benching Marouane Fellaini and Wayne Rooney from the stating XI. Following intense criticism after scrapping through to the fourth round of EFL Cup against a lowly Northampton Town, Manchester United seemed like a whole new outfit as Mourinho's changes had a huge impact against Claudio Ranieri's defending champions. Despite starting things slowly, United were out of the blocks after the first quarter of the hour as they entertained the Old Trafford crowd with their breathtaking football.

The second main target for the critics at United—Paul Pogba roared back with a strong performance playing some delightful balls into the box. The Frenchman was at home alongside Ander Herrera in the engine room as he capped his performance with his first goal for United-a thumping header into the net and celebrated with his trademark dab. This will definitely help ease the pressure off Jose Mourinho as United climbed to the top-5 of the table with a scoreline of 4-1.

For Claudio Ranieri, it was an uninspiring outing as Leicester's attack and midfield failed to do well against the hosts. The midfield was toothless, their attack, sans a thunderbolt from Demirai Gray, was profligate and the defence was all over the place while marking United corners which resulted in almost three of United's four first half goals. The Foxes will soon be out of their title defence if Saturday's performances keep repeating.

4. Manchester City stutter but keep their perfect start intact

Pep Guardiola's team are definitely the team to beat this season. With six wins out of six premier league games, ten across all competitions, the Spaniard has proved all those who doubted his chances in England after tasting success in Spain and Germany. Sergio Aguero, coming back from his three-match suspension, was once again the difference between the two sides after City looked unconvincing at half time with the score at 1-1.

Fernando Llorente scored his first goal for the Welsh side as the City defence opened up quite uncharacteristically in the first half. But the Cityzens were once again back in the game after the break as the penalty against Swansea was smashed into the net by Sergio Aguero. Another superb break from City saw Raheem Sterling through to the goal which he coolly slotted past the goalkeeper sealing the three points for City.

With this wealth of talent and depth in their squad, it is to be seen how Guardiola will guide City across four competitions as tough draws await them ahead starting with the fourth round tie of EFL Cup against Manchester United.

5. Son's brace helps Spurs to second place

After pushing for the title against Leicester City until the end of last season, Mauricio Pochettino's men maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign thanks to South Korean forward Son Heung-min, who grabbed two against newly-promoted Middlesbrough to move Tottenham into the second place.

After putting in a man-of-the-match performance in the demolition of Stoke City last week, the ex-Bayer Leverkusen man scored the opener in the first quarter after being set up by Vincent Janssen. Son doubled the lead for the North London side with a brilliant solo goal.

With Harry Kane out for almost two months with a ligament damage, Son's performances will keep the Spurs in making early claims for the title this season.