Awards time! Our Englandsblogg Premier League Team of the Season

It’s been a joy covering the league this season with plenty of twists and turns, an exciting title race and teams both relegated, in Europe and in the Champions League that many would have struggled to predict before the season began.

In my final Fotbollskanalen column of the season, here is my Premier League 2022/23 Team of the Season…

Goalkeeper – Ederson (Manchester City)

Perhaps the most underrated player in the Premier League in my opinion, Ederson is absolutely fundamental to Manchester City’s tactical set up and how Pep Guardiola likes to play football. Better on the ball than most midfielders, Ederson’s ability to draw players into the press and play in tight spaces in the box with men closing him down is outstanding. 

His long range passing is also exceptional, a secret weapon City used often this season to break the high press with laser-like accurate long balls through to Erling Haaland. A top class goalkeeper.

Right Back – Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United)

A hugely important player in Newcastle’s revival into top four candidates. Kieran Trippier’s maturity, experience and coolness were valuable assets to a Newcastle defence that ended the season with the league’s joint best defensive record. The move to Atletico Madrid has clearly brought on a more rounded, sanguine Trippier who at 32 is as sturdy defensively as he’s ever been whilst remaining a big threat getting forward and on set pieces. 

Centre Back – John Stones (Manchester City)

For me the best defender in the Premier League this season and a player with an argument for being one of the top defenders in Europe right now. And yet, the story of John Stones’s season is playing predominantly in a new midfield position he admits he had never played before. 

Perhaps the key turning point in this season’s title race was Guardiola’s mid-season tactical switch to a three defender system with Stones sat in front of defence with Rodri, and despite never playing the role before Stones performed it excellently. A remarkable 94.3% pass accuracy and 75% aerial duel win percentage were both in the top five in the league. 

Centre Back – William Saliba (Arsenal)

A crucial player for Arsenal and one of the best young players this season, William Saliba’s importance to the Gunners was summed up when he was no longer in the team due to a back injury. Arsenal’s win percentage dropped markedly once Saliba was ruled out for the season, while the number of goals they conceded per game without him also rose.

The Frenchman is emerging as one of the league’s top centre-backs. 

Left Back – Pervis Estupinan (Brighton and Hove Albion)

In a sense a symbolic inclusion, in that Estupinan may not even be Brighton’s best player this season, but deserves recognition for a fine campaign and fits most readily into this team. The left-back has made everyone at Brighton forget the name Marc Cucurella, the club’s Player of the Season last year. 

Estupinan is powerful, energetic, aggressive and a symbol of exactly what Brighton do well – a player who let’s not forget played in the Champions League semi-finals last season yet was signed for £15m, nearly £50m cheaper than Cucurella. 

Midfield – Casemiro (Manchester United)

Despite a wild tendency to fly into challenges that he persists with even having racked up two red cards this season, it is impossible to ignore the impact Casemiro has had in driving Manchester United to a third place finish and Champions League football. 

The Brazilian’s standards, hunger and winning mentality helped raise the bar at Old Trafford after a horrendous start to the season without him. In the games he missed through injury or suspension United looked a completely different team, without that midfield thrust and energy, and his ability to play incisive forward passes through teams with one touch is a huge asset in transitions. Casemiro also came up with some very clutch winning goals for Erik ten Hag’s team and he deserves recognition for his overall impact. 

Midfield – Rodri (Manchester City)

Whilst wanting to balance up the representatives in this team to have a nice mix of clubs, there are certain players who simply have to be included. And Rodri is one of them.

Averaging an outrageous 80.9 passes per 90 minutes (second only to Ruben Dias) the Spaniard is the midfield metronome that keeps Manchester City ticking. With 12 recoveries per 90 on average and 5.7 of them in the opponents’ half, Rodri is so important to City recovering the ball and keeping things moving. Perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the league.

Midfield – Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

Honourable mentions could go to several players here – Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes, Michael Olise and others – but Arsenal’s captain Odegaard deserves his spot in our team of the season. With 15 goals and seven assists the Norwegian midfielder enjoyed perhaps his best season yet in an Arsenal shirt, spearheading them in an impressive if ultimately unsuccessful push for the title. 

Odegaard seemed to save his best form for the final third of the season, scoring vital goals against Chelsea (x2), Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton to help keep Arsenal’s title challenge alive. He seems to enjoy the responsibility of the captaincy and at 24 he still has potential to improve even further. 

Attacking Midfield – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

The best player in the Premier League over the past five years, in my opinion, Kevin De Bruyne is the one true world class difference maker in the league. With seven goals and a league-high 16 assists – five clear of anybody else despite only playing in 32 games – the Belgian may be getting on in years but showed once again that when he is fit and firing nobody can live with him.

A delicious array of passing, a delightful touch, and ability to caress the ball into spaces and a provider and scorer of hugely important goals when his team need him, like in the two wins against Arsenal that ultimately won the league, De Bruyne is a dream footballer we should all enjoy watching for as long as we can. In this league, there is nobody better.

Forward – Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

Spurs have had an extremely mediocre season all things told, and in truth I feel there are flaws in Harry Kane’s game that could be exposed playing in a bigger team where finishing fourth is not considered a success and winning trophies is seen as almost an afterthought. Kane gets an easy ride at times, both from the British media and pundits, and with his position at Spurs unquestionable he has not had to live with the scrutiny of being at a club where he has to win at all costs. 

That said, 30 goals is still an excellent return, and without him Spurs may well have been flirting with relegation this season. He probably edges a place in this team ahead of Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Michael Olise, Kaoru Mitoma and others just through the sheer weight of goals he scored, even if many of them came in defeats or draws. 

Forward – Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

The record breaker, the show stopper, the Player of the Season and the league’s undisputed superstar, Erling Haaland’s first season in English football was ‘not bad’ as he put it. 36 goals in 35 games tells its own story – the 22-year-old adapted to Premier League life immediately and ripped up the record books in his debut season. No player in Premier League history (i.e. since 1992) has scored more goals in a single season as Haaland broke Andy Cole and Alan Shearer’s record of 34.

The fact he scored nine goals in his first five Premier League games and three hat-tricks in three consecutive home games just sums up the Norwegian’s dominance this season. A goalscoring machine who will surely only get better. 

A season that started with the sudden shock departure of manager Graham Potter to Chelsea will end with Brighton in Europe for the first time in their history after qualification for the Europa League was confirmed in their 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City. 

Brighton have done it their own way, playing some of the best football you will see anywhere in England – maybe even Europe – under a manager with a unique style of play that even the great tactical wizard himself Pep Guardiola said he has never seen before. 

The charismatic Roberto De Zerbi is the man who has guided Brighton to their highest ever league position of 6th, thanks to his mixture of discipline, leadership, fiery ambition and tactical ingenuity. 

But Brighton’s rise is not solely down to one man or manager. What makes the story so compelling is the overall package. Brighton are arguably the best run club in English football right now, leading the way in both player trading and talent identification to develop a squad packed full of players wanted by every big club in the land, a winning culture from top to bottom and a wonderful, vibrant, attacking style of play.

Under Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton’s statistics stand out among the best in any of Europe’s top five major leagues. De Zerbi’s Seagulls average an incredible 16.7 shots per game – only bettered in Europe’s top five leagues by Bayern Munich (18.7) and Real Madrid (17.7). 

Their average possession is 63% – fourth best in Europe after Manchester City (65.3%), Bayern Munich (64.7%) and FC Barcelona (64.2%) and above teams like Napoli and Real Madrid. And they have built this all spending less than £50 million in the last two years, less than Chelsea paid for one player, Marc Cucurella (£63 million). 

It is an incredible story worthy of a Hollywood movie or Netflix series. 

De Zerbi is the leader on the pitch. His teams play an extreme possession-focused style in which the goalkeeper holds onto the ball for as long as possible in the build-up phase, drawing in opponents to break their shape before releasing the ball and quickly playing through the lines. 

By destabilising teams in this way it allows Brighton space to create chances using their array of excellent, exciting attacking talents in players like Julio Enciso, Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis MacAllister, Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo, Solly March and forward prodigy Evan Ferguson. 

Stopping this style is a challenge for anyone. In the process of qualifying for Europe Brighton have beaten Manchester United home and away, Liverpool twice, Chelsea 4-1 and destroyed Arsenal 3-0 at Emirates Stadium to end their title challenge, completely outplaying them in a stunning win. 

Such dominance not only of the ball but in the sheer number of chances they create has led to huge praise. “Pay attention to what I’m going to say because I’m pretty convinced I’m right,” said an enthusiastic Pep Guardiola, “Roberto de Zerbi is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years. There is no team playing in the way they play – it is unique.”

”I had the feeling when he arrived in the Premier League that the impact would be great but I couldn’t expect he would do this in this short a time. He creates 20-25 chances on average a game. He’s better by far than all the opponents, he monopolises the ball in a way I haven’t seen for a long, long time.”

Such praise is only echoed by De Zerbi’s colleagues at Brighton. “There is no ceiling for him,” Brighton technical director David Weir told Sky Sports. “He’s constantly pushing, day in day out he’s pushing to be better. He’s tactically very good. His attention to detail is very clear, from day one the players know exactly what’s expected of them and what he wants. He’s installed a hunger and desire.”

If De Zerbi is this good, you might be thinking, how did Brighton of all clubs find him in the first place?

To answer that question, you have to look at the top in Brighton’s owner and boyhood supporter, Tony Bloom. 

The Starlizard secret weapon

If you had never heard of Roberto De Zerbi prior to this season, you may also never have heard of Starlizard.

Starlizard is the company where lifelong Brighton fan and professional sports bettor Tony Bloom made his fortune, amassing hundreds of millions of pounds through an online sports betting empire that allowed him to invest more than £360 million of his personal fortune into buying Brighton and transforming them from League One strugglers playing at a stadium with a converted athletics track to one of the most attractive teams in Europe. 

A company that provides data and statistical modelling for betting companies, Starlizard is the secret weapon that drives Brighton’s success. Brighton pay Bloom’s Starlizard millions per season in consultancy fees (£3 million in 2021/22) in exchange for access to the data they collate that monitors leagues around the world in extreme detail to provide betting insights for their clients.

Using this data, Brighton’s intuitive and wide-ranging scouting system is able to find the hidden gems like Enciso, signed from Libertad in Paraguay for £9.5 million, Facundo Buonanotte and Moises Caicedo, now valued at £70 million after receiving bids in January from Arsenal and expected to leave this summer. 

Finding these gems, however, is only one part of the equation. In the age of data and video analysis, any club can scout players. You have to be willing to sign them, take a chance on them and play them. 

Brighton are willing to do this. They are guided by smart people like chief executive Paul Barber and they also have the infrastructure in place to allow these players to develop and grow. Bloom bought Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise in 2018 and Brighton often use it as a developing ground for some of their signings. Mitoma and Deniz Undav have spent time there in recent seasons. 

This excellence in the transfer market reaps its own dividends. While Brighton have spent less than £47 million since 2021, they have made more than £200m in transfer fees on player sales. Cucurella was sold to Chelsea for £63m. Ben White to Arsenal for £50m. Yves Bissoma to Spurs, £35m. Leandro Trossard to Arsenal, £27m. The list goes on.

This summer the player carousel will continue. World Cup winner MacAllister is expected to join Liverpool. Caicedo could move for £60m or more to Arsenal. Mitoma is another highly-coveted talent. 

Brighton may lose players, but they have the replacements already. Buonanotte, only 18, and Enciso, 19, were outstanding against Manchester City. Yasin Ayari signed from AIK. And in Evan Ferguson, discovered in Ireland and signed despite interest from Liverpool and Manchester United, Brighton have a player who could well be the Premier League’s next big star. 

Find them, develop them, sell them for profit. Lose one good manager, replace him with another top manager. It’s the Brighton way. 

And as they continue to outsmart, out-think and outplay the Premier League’s big clubs, long may this innovative, attractive football club keep punching above their weight. 

Defeat for Arsenal at relegation battlers Nottingham Forest summed up a meek capitulation for Mikel Arteta’s men when it mattered. Despite an impressive season overall the Gunners stared down their rivals Manchester City in the eye on the home straight of this enjoyable and tense title race and blinked first. Even with, at one point, a chance to take an eleven point lead at the top of the table, Arsenal simply faded and ran out of steam. 

But enough about the runners up. Today is about the champions.

Under Pep Guardiola, City have been carefully constructed into a near unstoppable force. Driven by their manager’s astounding tactical mastery, elite squad conditioning and a relentless winning mentality that runs through the entire squad and football club, Manchester City have established a period of dominance over the past six years not seen in English football since the Sir Alex Ferguson days across town at Manchester United. They will enjoy a champagne evening in what could be historic season.

Five Premier League titles and three league wins in a row is a period of such supremacy it now fairly opens up questions about City’s ranking among the great teams in English football’s long and storied history. Were Guardiola’s team to go on now and complete the treble over the course of the next three weeks, their position among the greats would be assured: only one team in the entire history of the English game has managed to win the prestigious treble of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League and that is Manchester United in 1999.

Regardless of what happens in those two cup finals, this Manchester City team really is a formidable force worthy of all the praise they receive and more. 

100 points in 2017/18. 98 points in 2018/19. 86 points in 2020/21. 93 points last season. And now champions again with 85 points and three games remaining. Near total dominance for more than half a decade. 

In Pep Guardiola City have a manager that has done it with style, grace and tenacity, scoring over 100 goals in at least two of those seasons and playing with a swagger and tactical ingenuity that has reimagined how football should be played time and time again.

When you look through Guardiola’s team it is a squad capable of coming up with answers for every scenario you throw at them. Squad depth, check. A goalkeeper who is as good with the ball at his feet as most number 10s, check. A full-back that can go one v one against the world’s quickest wide players and beat them for pace, check. The best midfielder in the league over the last five years, check. 

A central defender – John Stones – who is just as comfortable in midfield as he is heading clearances away at the back, check. Wide players in Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez that are quick-witted, intelligent, intuitive and full of skill, check. An outstanding midfield ball-winning destroyer in Rodri that can play a bit and score goals too, check. And of course, a dominant monster of a forward breaking goalscoring records for fun in his first year in English football, check.

This season, Manchester City have proved they can do it all. They can play it around you. They say pressing traps for you to fall into. If you sit deep they are intricate enough to find pockets and play through you. If you play high they can stretch the play and go long with the brilliant Emerson in goal pinging pinpoint long passes and Erling Haaland’s speed in behind, as shown when they thrashed Arsenal at the Etihad. 

If you try and rough them up they are aggressive enough, with Grealish, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Haaland to get in your face. 

And if you think you’ve figured them out, just as many did when they lost at home to Brentford before the World Cup last November, they have a manager that can mastermind a new way of playing and outfox his opponents. 

City were trailing Arsenal consistently in the table for most of this season, as far back as eight points behind just over one month ago with ten games remaining. They sold one of their key players, Joao Cancelo, in January and went with no recognised first choice left-back for half a season. Some wondered if Pep was losing his magic touch.

Far from it. He switched to a three man defence, Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji manning the defence in wide areas. He moved Stones into a midfield position the defender admitted he had never even played before. In the middle of a title race. 

The tactical tweaks seemed to reignite City. Pep reasserted his dominance of the dressing room, shipping out star player Cancelo for 18-year-old Rico Lewis. It was a message from Pep to his senior players. We do things my way. 

When the title race began to heat up he publicly criticised his players. “We are a happy flowers team, all nice and good,” he said in January after a win against Spurs. “I don’t want to be a happy flower. I want to beat Arsenal. If we play that way Arsenal will destroy us.”

The aim was to light a fire under the whole club, Guardiola accusing the players, the fans and the whole club of going soft in an extraordinary, but calculated and evidently much needed barb.

“We are far, far away from being able to compete at the highest level. I don’t recognise my team.”

“I want a reaction from the whole organisation. Not just the players.”

Since that day, Manchester City have won 14 of their last 16 games and eleven in a row up to last weekend. The fire was lit. 

And don’t forget, they have done all this whilst actually making a £67 million profit on transfers last summer, after selling the likes of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Of course there is the small matter of an outstanding Premier League investigation that does risk muddying the waters of City’s legacy. The club faces over 100 charges of breaching the Premier League’s financial fair play rules during the period from 2010 to 2018, and the investigation remains ongoing. 

What has happened off the pitch is a matter for another day. But what cannot be questioned right now is the genius we have witnessed on the pitch, led by a manager who is making his case for one of the finest coaches English football has ever seen.

One down. Two to go. Manchester City are deserved champions. 

The benefits of top four not only include a place in the Champions League, but also the revenues behind it and the increased finances and clout that can make a club more attractive to the best players available on the market this summer. 

At recent estimates, a Champions League place can be worth upwards of around £20 million minimum more in prize money compared to the Europa League.

Let’s analyse the main candidates with just a few games to go…

Manchester City and Arsenal – already qualified

Newcastle United

Points: 65
Played: 34
Games remaining: Leeds United (away), Brighton and Hove Albion (home), Leicester City (home), Chelsea (away)

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe was in bullish mood before last weekend’s clash against Arsenal, claiming that the ultimate aim is not just to qualify for Champions League football but “to catch and overtake everybody”. It is a sign of Newcastle’s lofty long-term ambitions, but for now simply finishing in the top four will do.

And this looked all but a certainty for much of the season until that game against Arsenal. Howe’s team were taught a lesson and rather comfortably dispatched by the Gunners in a 2-0 home defeat.

That loss, combined with Liverpool’s form, leaves the door open on the top three positions with just a few games to go. Any more slip ups and Newcastle could still miss out on Champions League football despite being in the top four for most of this season.

The loss of Sean Longstaff through injury for the rest of the season could potentially be a huge blow – the defensive balance he brings in midfield has been crucial to Newcastle’s recent improvement and he was clearly missed against Arsenal. 

The strike duo of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson are both firing goals which will give Geordie supporters cause for optimism – but could Newcastle’s relative lack of experience of the cold-eyed ruthlessness needed at the business end of a top four chase compared to Manchester United and Liverpool end up costing them in the final few weeks?

Manchester United

Points: 63
Played: 34
Games remaining: Wolves (home), Bournemouth (away), Chelsea (home), Fulham (home)

For all the talk of Arsenal bottling the title race, there would surely be no bigger bottling in the Premier League this season than if Manchester United were to throw away a top four place now. 

A month ago Erik ten Hag’s men were 12 points clear of Liverpool with just 27 available points to play for. That gap is now down to one point – and while the Red Devils do have the advantage of a game in hand, anyone watching them play recently would be brave to suggest they can pick up the necessary nine points required to secure Champions League football. 

Ten Hag’s team are spluttering towards the finish line, a mixture of one of the busiest fixtures of any team in Europe (60+ games played and counting), a long injury list and an ill-fitting and poorly constructed squad coming back to haunt them. 

Key injuries to Marcus Rashford, Rafael Varane and Lisandro Martinez has seen United try to win games with left-back Luke Shaw playing as a makeshift centre-back and the unreliable strike duo of Wout Weghorst and Anthony Martial (four goals between them) trying to lead the line and score the goals. 

United have scored as many goals this season as relegation-threatened Leicester City (49) and 40 fewer goals than rivals Manchester City – a sign of just how much work there is to do at Old Trafford this summer in continuing ten Hag’s rebuild. Add to this David De Gea’s recent fumbles, a terrible away record and back-to-back defeats at West Ham and Brighton and United are truly crawling to the end of the race.

Ten Hag, however, is remaining upbeat. “It’s a test of courage if we can do it because we are in the right position and we have to finish it,” he has said. For his sake he had better finish it – United fans will not be able to rest all summer if they are pipped to the top four by the old enemy Liverpool. 

Liverpool

Points: 62
Played: 35
Games remaining: Leicester City (away), Aston Villa (home), Southampton (a)

Liverpool looked dead and buried in the chase for a Champions League place for much of 2023 and sat as low as eighth just one month ago behind Spurs, Brighton and Aston Villa. Their turn in fortunes however has been remarkable; they’ve since won six matches in a row to revive like The Undertaker and put the pressure on rivals Manchester United, giving themselves a real chance of sneaking into a top four spot at just the right time.

Key to their revival has been a mid-season change of tactics that saw Jurgen Klopp copy Pep Guardiola’s tactic of playing a defender in midfield, namely Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has moved into a more central midfield position.

The switch has worked a treat, unlocking all of Alexander-Arnold’s immense creativity and opening up different angles for him to operate in midfield and spray passes, whether out wide right in attacking situations or with crisp through balls from deeper in midfield. The England international has five assists in six games during that winning run, while the return to prominence of Mohamed Salah has also paid dividends.

Klopp for his part has tried to downplay Liverpool’s chances of top four whilst putting the focus on Manchester United, but privately he must fancy his team’s chances with three very winnable games remaining. 

”We have to make sure we finish the situation in the best possible way,” he has said. A top four finish would certainly delight Liverpool fans and salvage what looked to be a largely disappointing season – particularly if it comes at the expense of their bitter rivals Manchester United.

Before the game the stakes were high. Arsenal knew they needed a win to keep pressure on Manchester City. Newcastle knew victory would almost certainly guarantee them a place in the UEFA Champions League. Defeat would open the door again for Liverpool.

And perhaps with that in mind, and Arsenal’s recent run of two points from nine away from home, Eddie Howe decided to go attack-minded with his team selection in a bold move that simply did not work tactically. 

Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson have been competing for the main striker role in recent weeks, but Newcastle manager Howe decided to start both forwards together for the first time here. It was an incredibly attacking lineup that left their midfield wide open, with injury to midfielder Sean Longstaff also a determining factor.

After a rendition of ‘God save the King’ – sung at all Premier League matches this weekend to mark King Charles’ coronation – the action on the pitch started furiously. Jacob Murphy hit the post in the first minute, and Newcastle fans’ enthusiastic support only added to the intensity of the opening exchanges. 

Like at Anfield last month, Arsenal tried to slow the game down at every opportunity to quiet the crowd. Aaron Ramsdale, especially, attempted to waste a few seconds at every chance. 

VAR came to Arsenal’s rescue in the eighth minute. Newcastle were awarded a penalty for a handball by Jakub Kiwior, to huge cheers from the home fans. But after what seemed like an endless pause for a VAR check it was correctly overturned by referee Chris Kavanagh for hitting the Polish defender’s leg before his arm. 

From there Arsenal stepped up a gear and took the lead. A link-up between Bukayo Saka and Jorginho down the Gunners’ right side was squared to Martin Odegaard and the Norwegian made no mistake, firing a rifle of a shot left footed into the bottom corner from outside the box for his 15th goal of the season. Advantage Arsenal. 

For twenty minutes in the first half Odegaard grabbed hold of this game and looked like he would almost single-handedly put it out of Newcastle’s sight. A sumptuous through ball put Gabriel Martinelli clean through, but Nick Pope saved his low effort with his legs, then Odegaard himself picked up a loose ball and curled an effort that Pope had to tip out for a corner.

Saka went one-v-one against Pope in the 23rd minute but could not finish. Minutes later Joe Willock forced a save from Ramsdale, though Willock should have scored against his former club. Willock is on record as saying Thierry Henry is his idol, but the chance to emulate his hero by opening his body for the classic ‘Henry style’ finish went missing. 

Newcastle struggled to get their Swedish star Isak into the game in the first half and it felt as if manager Eddie Howe had gone too attacking, maybe buying into the pre-match hype that put Newcastle as favourites to win. 

Willock, Joelinton, Wilson, Murphy and Isak all flew forward in attacking transitions but to little effect, while their midfield was left far too open by this shape, allowing Odegaard the freedom to run wild.

A mistake from Joelinton minutes later backed this up. A dreadful pass was intercepted by Odegaard and a dangerous counter-attack developed that should have seen Arsenal score again. Martinelli’s effort however was tame.

Arsenal had one more chance before half time through Odegaard, but Pope made another brilliant save. Mikel Arteta’s team should have been 3-0 up at half time such was their midfield dominance and chances created, but it was only 1-0. Bruno Guimaraes in midfield was having a desperate game.

Howe surprisingly opted not to change things at half time, and as such the game remained entertainingly open. 

Ramsdale made a reflex save to deny a certain goal for Fabian Schar. Martinelli hit the crossbar. And Joe Willock missed yet another chance he should have taken when set up by Isak. Granit Xhaka tackled brilliantly but Willock should have hit it earlier. Isak, stuck out wide, was struggling to have any influence.

The game was rising to a boiling point in this cauldron of a stadium. Gabriel Jesus, Kieran Trippier, Xhaka and Schar were all involved in flashpoints and the game threatened to explode. 

Who would hold their nerve in this fiery atmosphere? Who would keep a cool head?

It would be Arsenal.

A dreadful ball from Joelinton set Arsenal on a counter attack through Martinelli. The Brazilian has been one of Arsenal’s most dangerous players this season, and he advanced to the area before putting in a cross that was turned into his own net by Schar.

From there the game was out of Newcastle’s reach. Defeat means they are only three points ahead of Liverpool in fifth, though they have a game more to play. The door is just about open for Liverpool to still feel they could claim a late Champions League place.

For Arsenal, it was a magnificent show of character. They were underestimated pre-match, and perhaps also by Howe with his ultra-attacking lineup. It backfired. They won. The gap at the top reduces to one point.

Over to you, Manchester City. 

Two goals from Kevin De Bruyne and a goal each for John Stones and Erling Haaland settled the match. Haaland now has 49 goals this season for City and in the process broke the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season with 32 (since 1992). Rob Holding scored a consolation goal for Arsenal but it meant very little as they were ripped apart.

The game at the Etihad Stadium was billed as master against apprentice, Pep Guardiola meeting his former assistant Mikel Arteta in a match that could have seen Arsenal increase the gap at the top of the league to eight points. The two managers are clever tacticians and the anticipation was for a chess match between the two teams. 

When the team news came in Arteta commented that “there are no left footers in the Manchester City team, so for sure they have worked on something. Like we have,” with a confident, cheeky gleam in his eye. He looked to be relishing the tactical battle with his former mentor. 

But when the game got going both he and his team were outsmarted, outfought and overrun by a far superior City team who showed everybody why they have been so dominant for the past five years.

Rather than engage in a midfield war of attrition, Pep’s tactic of choice for this game was to bypass Arsenal’s press and go long. Patient short passes around their own box before a long ball up to Haaland was City’s plan, with De Bruyne running off the powerful Norwegian into the spaces left behind Arsenal’s midfield two of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka. 

The first goal came in this way. A long pass upfield was brought down by Haaland who outmuscled Rob Holding and laid it off to De Bruyne. The Belgian’s brilliant run saw him power past Gabriel and fire a superb effort into the net with only seven minutes played. 1-0.

De Bruyne, once again the best and most clutch player on the pitch, explained the tactic with almost as much simplicity as he seems to play the game. “They marked with man to man pressure so we tried to go longer to Haaland,” he said. “We normally play with two eights but I was allowed to go left or right and find the space.”

“In this shape,” said Pep Guardiola on De Bruyne, “he can move behind Partey and Xhaka, move with a little bit of freedom and we contact with him for the long balls and second balls to connect with Erling upfront.”

He certainly did this in style. De Bruyne’s game intelligence, timing of when to run and choice of whether to run left or right behind Arsenal’s midfield was majestic to watch. He is the best player in the Premier League and the one key difference maker. He is him.

When coupled in forward areas with Haaland the tactic worked superbly, stretching Arsenal’s man-to-man pressure and opening huge spaces. Haaland scored one but could actually have scored at least three and was quite wasteful in front of goal. Nonetheless he picked up a goal and two assists, even if he was denied his 50th goal of the season by some smart shot-stopping from Aaron Ramsdale. 

The absence of William Saliba through injury was a blow for Arsenal, but they looked like boys against men. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli were barely seen throughout, while Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko struggled to get any foothold in the game. “They were the better team” Arteta admitted. Arsenal have now lost their last ten games against City.

While City were formidable against Bayern Munich this was perhaps their best performance of the season so far, in the most important game. They are almost becoming the complete team at the moment. 

If you drop deep and defend, they can out-pass you. If you play high and pressure man-to-man like Arsenal, they can exploit the space in behind with 70 yard passes from their nonchalant goalkeeper Ederson up to Haaland. If you try and get aggressive, they have a nasty streak too. Jack Grealish and Haaland in particular were roughed up on occasions but showed they are up for a fight. 

They are excellent in possession and now also extremely good out of possession, playing with patience, composure and defensive solidity. John Stones must be a candidate for one of the best central defenders in Europe.

City now take a big advantage in the title race, though they have two games more to play than Arsenal and still have to fit two huge games against Real Madrid in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. They are also in the final of the FA Cup.

Could they win the treble? Given this destruction of Arsenal, their recent form and their past experience, it would be foolish to write them off. “Our next three games are vital” Pep said post-match. Arsenal will keep optimistic, but six wins from City’s last seven league games and they would be champions. The real question after this game is – how do you stop them?

He gave a kiss to the cheek of David De Gea at the end but it was Victor Lindelöf who was the hero of this penalty shootout, keeping his cool in the Wembley rain to score the winning penalty with a fantastic right foot finish into the top corner that sends Manchester United through to the final.

Lindelöf has been the subject of scrutiny at Old Trafford lately, indeed as recently as Thursday night when he was part of a hapless defence that crashed out of the Europa League against Sevilla. 

Lindelöf’s situation at United is up in the air for the reasons outlined in my most recent blog. But he proved at Wembley that he is still a solid defender, calm in possession and much more assertive when he occupies the right-sided centre-back role alongside someone other than the nerve-inducing Harry Maguire. 

He is worth persisting with. United should look to keep him and give him more opportunities as third choice centre-back, ahead of Maguire. 

De Gea penalty record goes on

It was a tense penalty shootout in which neither goalkeeper managed to make a save. The two Spaniards Robert Sanchez and David De Gea could not keep any of the 14 penalties out, and after the game finished 0-0 in the end it needed Brighton’s Solly March to smack his spot kick over the bar to give United the advantage that they grabbed with both hands.

Speaking of grabbing with both hands, that is not something De Gea has been too successful with from penalties of late. De Gea memorably failed to save a single penalty in United’s 2021 Europa League final defeat to Villarreal, a shootout which notoriously involved 22 penalties. The Spaniard let every single penalty in and then missed his own penalty to lose the match, after Villarreal’s goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli scored his spot kick.

De Gea has now saved just two of the last 54 penalties on target he has faced – a shocking 3.7%. He seemed to be studiously checking a notebook hidden in his glove bag by the touchline before every penalty, but amusingly, still could not save a single one. Unfortunately for Brighton, March could not keep his effort on target. 

Brighton’s tactical style is worth admiring

“We’ve got a solution for each style that the team comes up against,” Lewis Dunk told the BBC before this game, a huge occasion for Brighton and Hove Albion and only the third time the club has ever reached an FA Cup semi-final. 

“So we’ve got different triggers to move to different shapes and times of pressing. It’s crazy that we’ve got this many ideas in our head but it’s kept simple.”

Dunk’s comments summed up the praise for the magnificent tactical work Roberto De Zerbi is doing at Brighton, and an example of this tactical sophistication in action came as early as the sixth minute of this semi-final. 

Brighton drew United’s whole attacking line into their centre-backs, Dunk and Adam Webster, with some short passes across their box before quickly finding Moises Caicedo whose sumptuous reverse ball beat United’s entire press and put Brighton into a great attacking situation. 

Advancing to the edge of the box, Kaoru Mitoma was fouled by Antony for a dangerous free-kick and the best chance of the opening ten minutes which De Gea saved well. It was a warning sign for United but also an example of just how clever Brighton’s intricate build-up play is in possession.

There’s no doubt, they are one of the smartest and most entertaining teams to watch in the Premier League this season despite this defeat. 

United not at their best but get the job done

Although De Gea was unable to save a penalty, he was excellent at Wembley, making a string of high quality saves during the 120 minutes of open play to remind everyone what a fine shot stopper he is.

De Gea made an unbelievable point-blank save in the second half to deny Julio Enciso, and Brighton will rue several opportunities they let escape them in this match including chances from Danny Welbeck and substitute Denis Undav that went begging.

Though energetic in phases, Erik Ten Hag’s team let their tempo and intensity drop at times, perhaps feeling the after effects of a tough away game in Spain on Thursday night. Brighton were the fresher side, Christian Eriksen in particular struggled to impose himself in midfield, but United stayed in the fight like a boxer that refuses to be beaten and delivered their knockout blow with seven cool penalties in the shootout.

Moises Caicedo is ready for a top club 

Much of the talk around Brighton this season, sadly, has focused on which of their brilliant signings will be sold to bigger clubs in the summer. Arsenal had two bids rejected for Moises Caicedo in January, teenager Evan Ferguson is highly coveted (and was thoroughly missed upfront in this game), Kaoru Mitoma has been one of the best dribblers in the league and Alexis MacAllister has won a World Cup, attracting interest.

Whatever happens in the summer, one thing we learned at Wembley is that whoever manages to persuade Brighton to sell Moises Caicedo is getting one hell of a talent. 

Caicedo was excellent in midfield and plays a crucial part in Brighton’s game plan. He is press resistant, can receive with his back to goal from the goalkeeper or centre-backs, draws players in without losing possession, which creates space for Brighton to attack into, and can break the midfield press with his incisive passing and vision. 

If this was the audition for a big summer move he passed with flying colours. Liverpool and Arsenal scouts will surely have been watching on licking their lips.

First Manchester derby final

Victory for Manchester United means June 3rd will see the first ever Manchester derby FA Cup final, as the red half of Manchester face their city rivals Manchester City.

With City also in a title race and the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, by the time of the final City could be on their way to winning the treble of FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League, an achievement only ever managed by one team in the history of English football: Manchester United.

Of course, there is a long way to go before then and plenty of football to be played. Arsenal remain top of the league by five points and Real Madrid are Real Madrid. But it could be that Ten Hag’s side have one of the only remaining chances to stop City from matching their greatest ever achievement – a fact that will only add even more spice to an already piping hot rivalry.

It should be a classic.

On a recent TV broadcast, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp commented that Isak ‘could look up to and learn from Callum Wilson’ after Newcastle’s 5-1 win against West Ham United, during which Isak came off the bench to score. 

While perhaps unintentional and harmless enough, the comments were a sign of how little the highly-paid Sky pundit Redknapp must know about Sweden’s hot shot international forward. While no doubt a respectable player with an impressive career to date, at 31 years old Callum Wilson has played for Coventry, Bournemouth and Newcastle, has six caps for England and has never played in Europe. 

Isak by contrast has played football in five different countries, has 39 caps for Sweden, was their main striker at a major international tournament, Euro 2020, has won trophies in Spain and Germany and has played in both the Europa League and, briefly, Champions League. And he is still only 23. 

When it comes to who is learning from who, you wonder if Redknapp’s comments weren’t just a tiny bit ignorant of Isak’s career so far. 

Redknapp’s portrayal of Isak as some young inexperienced kid sat wide-eyed in the Newcastle dressing room, soaking it all in and just happy to be in the Premier League around these big stars is wide of the mark. But it does offer insight into Isak’s profile among an English audience that is largely unaware of his career so far.

Those that have followed his progress from AIK to St. James’ Park however won’t be as surprised as Redknapp to see Isak emerge as one of the Premier League’s most in-form forwards. Given his talent, ability and, importantly, self-confidence, this moment has been a long time coming.

Signed for €63 million from Real Sociedad last summer, Isak is rapidly becoming a household name for English football fans after a string of superb recent performances for Newcastle United. 

The forward has eight goals in just 13 Premier League appearances and has played a key role in the Toon Army’s run of five consecutive wins as they look to secure a place in the top four and next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Since returning from a hamstring injury that stalled Isak’s early progress in England the 23-year-old has been in red hot form. He’s scored five goals in his last five games. He hit the winner against Wolves, two against Nottingham Forest – including a last minute ice cool penalty to win the game – a goal off the bench in the 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United and another crucial winner in a 2-1 win against Brentford. 

Isak is becoming so popular up on Tyneside that some fans have even started taking Sweden flags to Newcastle’s matches – or flags with ‘Isak’ emblazoned across them in yellow and blue, in the style of the famous Swedish brand Ikea’s logo. 

His manager Eddie Howe is similarly delighted. “He’s a different player to anyone that we have in the squad,” Howe commented after the win against Wolves. “He’s got really good versatility to his game, he can do a bit of everything which is a great asset for us to have in our front line. I think he brings a different dimension.”

“I still enjoy watching his goal (against Wolves) a week after.”

Isak scored on his debut for Newcastle and has led the line brilliantly since his return to fitness. His pressure penalty against Nottingham Forest summed up his ability to stay calm under pressure and he has adapted to life in the Premier League almost instantly, as demonstrated when he scored in his first ever Premier League game back in August – against Liverpool at Anfield of all places. 

But the Swedish star is no stranger to pressure.

Thrown into AIK’s first team at just 16 years of age Isak scored eight goals in 19 appearances in his breakthrough year during the 2016 Allsvenskan season – two goals before his seventeenth birthday, two the day he turned 17 and four thereafter. 

At Willem II he scored 14 goals in 18 games as a 19-year-old in the Dutch Eredivisie after a troubled spell at Borussia Dortmund where he saw little game time. At Real Sociedad he was leading the line as a 20-year-old, registering 44 goals in 132 appearances before his big money move to England.

He has been used to dealing with pressure and expectation from a young age and continues to do so at Newcastle.

In that respect, it was a surprise to see so few of the top Premier League clubs really make a concerted effort to sign Isak last summer. Manchester United needed a forward. Chelsea spent half a billion pounds and still have no main striker. He could quite easily have suited a team like Liverpool (at a cheaper price than Darwin Nunez) or Arsenal. 

Their loss is Newcastle’s gain however. Isak keeps scoring. If he can maintain his form, fitness and focus and avoid any serious injuries it would not be a surprise if he becomes one of the Premier League’s best and most feared strikers in the years to come. 

For now though, a place in next season’s Champions League will do just nicely for both Isak and Newcastle’s passionate, success-hungry fans.