Scott McTominay’s double rescues Manchester United, Cristian Romero steps up for Tottenham and Erling Haaland is kept quiet for the second Premier League game in a row – but who claims top spot in this week’s POWER RANKINGS?
- Arsenal ended their City hoodoo as they beat them for the first time since 2015
- Tottenham remain top of the league after overcoming Luton 1-0 on Saturday
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Another week of Premier League football has come and gone, with plenty of major talking points from the weekend’s action.
Arsenal beat Manchester City for the first time in eight years courtesy of a late deflected effort from Gabriel Martinelli to condemn the Premier League champions to a second consecutive defeat.
Across north London, Ange Postecoglou’s revolution shows no sign of stopping as Spurs remained top of the league with a hard-fought win at Luton and Scott McTominay scored twice in injury time to rescue Manchester United against Brentford.
But now the dust has settled, who features in Mail Sport‘s latest Power Rankings?
Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected effort secured Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Manchester City
LAST WEEK’S TOP 10 RANKINGS
10. Joachim Andersen
9. James Maddison
8. Alisson
7. James Ward-Prowse
6. Ollie Watkins
5. Mohamed Salah
4. Erling Haaland
3. Bukayo Saka
2. Son Heung-min
1. Martin Odegaard
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10. Scott McTominay (new entry)
Manchester United are still a mess, but the picture could have been far worse for Erik ten Hag had it not been for Scott McTominay.
Introduced with three minutes left at Old Trafford, the Scot scored twice in stoppage time as United secured a 2-1 win over Brentford that had never looked likely at any point.
McTominay has developed a knack of scoring goals for Scotland and Ten Hag could do worse than promoting him in the starting XI this season, given Casemiro is a pale imitation of the player who so impressed in his first season.
Scott McTominay scored twice in injury time to rescue Manchester United against Brentford
9. Bukayo Saka (down six)
The Arsenal star drops down the list purely by virtue of missing his side’s 1-0 win over Manchester City through injury.
Saka had been called up to the England squad for their games against Italy and Australia but has now withdrawn amid concerns over his fitness.
Bukayo Saka missed Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Manchester City but will join the England squad
8. Abdoulaye Doucoure (new entry)
Good news around Goodison Park is all too fleeting and hard to come by these days, but in Abdoulaye Doucoure Everton have a ray of hope.
The midfielder smashed in his third goal of the season in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth, completing two dribbles and making two key passes as the Toffees for once looked threatening going forward.
With James Gardner and Jack Harrison also delivering impressive performances, Sean Dyche may just have enough to work with to keep relegation at bay for another season.
Abdoulaye Doucoure scored his third goal of the season as Everton beat Bournemouth 3-0
7. Erling Haaland (down two)
Having sat at the top spot for most of last month, Erling Haaland’s quiet display in front of goal against Wolves saw him drop out of the top three last time out and his fall continues this week.
The Norwegian goal machine drew a blank for the second game in a row as City came unstuck at the Emirates on Sunday.
Haaland is still the Premier League’s top scorer this season with eight goals but hasn’t looked his usual lethal self over the past two matches, partly due to an uncharacteristic lack of service.
Erling Haaland failed to score for the second consecutive Premier League game in a row
6. Alexander Isak (new entry)
It seems absurd to think that less than a month ago Eddie Howe had to publicly defend Alexander Isak from criticism, after the Swede scored just once in 12 games dating back to last season.
Newcastle’s £63million man helped himself to a brace as the Magpies drew 2-2 against West Ham at the London Stadium.
While Howe was frustrated with the manner in which his team conceded a late equaliser, he will have been delighted with Isak, who has now scored six goals in seven Premier League games this season.
Alexander Isak grabbed a brace as Newcastle drew 2-2 against West Ham on Sunday
5. Cristian Romero (new entry)
Tottenham’s blistering start to the season under Ange Postecoglou may well come to a brusque end at some point, but for now fans and players are enjoying the ride in equal measure.
None more so than Cristian Romero, who was superb as Spurs battened down the hatches to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Luton that kept them top of the Premier League.
The Argentine racked up 12 clearances – three times as many as the next best Spurs player – and won duels in the air and on the ground after Tottenham went down to 10 at the end of the first half.
It was a display of impressive maturity for a man who’s often been far too reckless and erratic since a £42m move from Atalanta two years ago.
Cristian Romero was impressive as Spurs secured a gritty 1-0 win away at Luton
4. Son Heung-min (down two)
Despite, or perhaps because of, Harry Kane’s departure in the summer, Son Heung-min is enjoying a renaissance under Ange Postecoglou.
After scoring six times in his first seven Premier League games of the season, the South Korean failed to add to his tally against Luton but contributed to set up glorious chances in the first half.
Had they been taken, Spurs could have been out of sight by the break, instead they ended up hanging on for a gritty win. Not that it mattered to them, as they remained top of the league.
Son Heung-min is enjoying a renaissance under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham
3. Martin Odegaard (down two)
The Norwegian moves down two spots but through no particular fault of his own, after yet another excellent performance for the Gunners.
Odegaard finished Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Manchester City with an 83 percent passing completion rate, setting the tempo as Mikel Arteta’s men narrowly won the midfield battle against their rivals.
The Arsenal skipper is crucial to everything his team does. No wonder Mikel Arteta and the Emirates crowd held their breath as he went down after a brutal challenge from Mateo Kovacic.
Martin Odegaard led from the front as Arsenal beat Man City for the first time since 2015
2. Mohamed Salah (up three)
In the grand scheme of things, Liverpool’s draw against Brighton will go down as two points dropped given the Seagulls’ late equaliser.
But it also served as timely reminder, if ever was needed, of how special Mohamed Salah remains to Jurgen Klopp’s team. The Egyptian was at his best at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, scoring twice and setting up two glorious chances for his teammates.
Liverpool look again at their best when they go forward, but while the personnel around him changes, Salah remains the one constant factor the Reds cannot do without.
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool were held to a 2-2 draw by Brighton on Sunday
1. William Saliba (new entry)
There could be one player taking the spot this week. William Saliba was superb in keeping Erling Haaland quiet on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates, no mean feat given the Norwegian netted 36 goals from 35 Premier League appearances last term.
Yet Haaland failed to muster a single shot on target during City’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and was kept to just 23 touches by Saliba, who won 100 per cent of his duels, boasted a 97 per cent pass accuracy and did not commit a single foul.
For all their attacking flair, Arsenal’s route to the title may well go through defensive solidity as it was the case in the early 1990s. In Saliba, they have a man well-equipped to continue in the Gunners’ tradition of fine centre-backs.
William Saliba was superb as Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Emirates
IT’S ALL KICKING OFF!
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.
It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.
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