Pep Guardiola currently has a lot of problems at Manchester City, from micro to macro. Can he find a way to control the counter-attacks in Rodri's absence? Does he have enough top-age players to provide the necessary consistency?
Given the apparent problems, he could have done without star striker Erling Haaland suddenly going through his most difficult period in front of goal since signing for the club. City's defense is the main concern, but Haaland's finishing was also poor.
It wouldn't have spared them in their 4-0 defeat to Tottenham, but Haaland still had seven shots, the most of any player on the Premier League weekend, so he was to blame for putting City in it for the first time the competition failed to find the net. this season.
His wastefulness has been a trend lately. Fourteen players have beaten him since mid-September, despite the fact that he has had by far the best chances. He is the biggest underperformer in terms of expected goals in the Premier League during this period.
He got away with it against Southampton, but not at Brighton, where he could have doubled City's lead in the first half. Even against Spurs there were a hat-trick of chances in the opening 22 minutes. Haaland is a perfectionist. He'll be the first to blame himself.
His five-match moving average, which compares his goal return to his expected goals, shows that his finishing is generally reliable. Throughout his City career, the gap between how much he scores and how much he should score has never been greater.
Strangely enough, that may be Guardiola's only consolation. The same graph shows that despite all the criticism and concerns, City are still creating a similar number of chances for Haaland. History shows that the striker's dip in form will not last long.
Odegaard's return frees Saka
Bukayo Saka was brilliant for Arsenal in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, relishing the space afforded him on the right wing. No one had more touches in the penalty area than him in Saturday's Premier League action.
As discussed previously in this column, passing the ball to Saka in one-on-one situations is an important aspect of Mikel Arteta's game plan. This has happened 110 times in the Premier League this season, with more one-on-one matches than anyone else.
Still, you have to go back to August to find a match where it happened more often than against Forest. That happened to be against Aston Villa, the last time Saka shared the pitch with Martin Odegaard for at least 80 minutes.
Arsenal have missed their Norwegian playmaker in many ways, but helping Saka get into the right channel is an important part of his role. He found the English winger eighteen times against Forest, while Saka himself returned the favor eighteen times.
Arteta acknowledged the combination between his two best attacking players when speaking afterwards. “It's true that the right side has obviously played a lot of minutes. A lot. That chemistry, that understanding, that timing, it's always there,” he said.
“When he is in the team you feel that there is something different. We talk about fluidity, chemistry and timing, he is one of the best to do that, to control the pace of the game, when you need to speed it up , when you need to slow it down.” It's clear he's been missed.”
Lemina goes on the defensive
Matheus Cunha was Wolves' hero in their 4-1 come-from-behind victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage, but the Brazilian got his equalizer courtesy of a stunning pass over the top from Mario Lemina. The Wolves captain played as a central defender.
The specialist defenders would have been less likely to execute the pass, while Gary O'Neil was also defensively enthusiastic about Lemina. “It's not that I thought it was excellent for a midfielder playing there. I thought it was an excellent performance as a central defender.”
The Wolves boss added: “Physically he has the tools to play there, he's strong, he's fast, he's very good with the ball, but obviously there are concerns when you put someone there who hasn't played there. He hasn't played in the back line for years.
“I don't think he's ever played in a foursome there, so there may have been concerns about his positional things. But I thought it was a real top performance and that's not easy to do at the top level when you're thrown into it. ” a position you are not used to.”
Lemina, who stepped into the role alongside Toti Gomes after injuries to Yerson Mosquera, Craig Dawson and Santiago Bueno, has had to get used to rotating this season. It has had a negative impact on his performance.
His performance in the 5-3 defeat to Brentford was among his worst in a Wolves shirt and it was difficult for him to find rhythm. For example, against Newcastle he started on the right wing, scored as No. 10 and then finished the match at left back.
But against former club Fulham he won more possession than any other Wolves player, while none of his teammates scored more in the final third. It was his driving run that also produced the fourth goal. Wherever he can place him, O'Neil still needs his captain.
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