10 thoughts from the weekend's Premier League action

theScore examines the most important Premier League developments from the weekend, dissecting the biggest talking points after a busy slate of action.

Ramsdale provides backbone for Arsenal

Don’t look now, but Arsenal are on a roll after being belittled in the opening month of the season. The Gunners are undefeated in their last seven league matches – including five wins – and haven’t lost since late August.

Aaron Ramsdale has been a massive part of that success.

Spending an initial £24 million to sign the English shot-stopper from Sheffield United wasn’t a widely praised move when it happened this past summer. That’s a significant outlay on the surface for a player perceived as cover for incumbent No. 1 Bernd Leno. But Ramsdale has quickly surpassed the German as the starting netminder and put forth arguably his best performance of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Leicester City.

His obscene one-handed save off James Maddison’s goalbound free-kick will stand as one of the year’s best. Ramsdale sprung to his left and clawed the ball off the line to deny what looked like a certain goal; Maddison was already wheeling away in order to start celebrating.

Arsenal have conceded just four goals in seven league games since getting hammered 5-0 by Manchester City in August. Ramsdale’s calming presence – and shot-stopping ability – have been central to that turnaround.

Leicester’s defense in shambles

On the flip side at the King Power Stadium, Leicester’s defensive frailties were exposed again. The Foxes looked disheveled at the back, particularly on Emile Smith Rowe’s goal in the 18th minute. They rushed back after a turnover without any regard for their defensive spacing and despite having seven bodies inside their own area, they still allowed Smith Rowe to sneak in and slot home a relatively unchallenged chance. Not great.

Some of that can be attributed to the injury-induced absences of defender Wesley Fofana and midfield anchor Wilfred Ndidi, but Leicester still have plenty of talent. Injuries alone aren’t wholly to blame; Brendan Rodgers has work to do.

Only four teams have conceded more goals than Leicester (17) this season. Two of them – Newcastle United and Norwich City – are in the relegation zone, and another, Watford, is already on its second coach of the campaign. That’s not to say that Rodgers is in trouble – he’s actually been linked to the Manchester United job in recent days – but defense is something he must address if Leicester have any intention of pushing for a European place again.

Cornet provides spark for Burnley

Maxwel Cornet’s move to Burnley was among the most surprising and, on paper, unusual moves of the summer transfer window. Signing the versatile Ivorian, a technical player with Champions League pedigree, was very out of character for a club that long valued Premier League experience above all else.

Sean Dyche was publicly critical of the previous Burnley hierarchy for its unwillingness to invest in foreign talent – or any talent, for that matter – but under the stewardship of new chairman Alan Pace, Dyche has renewed backing in the transfer window.

Cornet was the first big swing for the previously risk-averse club, and it’s already paying dividends. The former Lyon man, operating in a more attacking role than he did in France, scored again in the 3-1 win over Brentford, bringing his tally to four goals in his first five Premier League outings.

The Clarets are mired in the relegation zone and need Cornet to keep finding the net.

Weary KDB needs a break

Even the most machine-like stars need rest.

Manchester City substituted an obviously fatigued Kevin De Bruyne after he struggled to make an impact for the second consecutive match, this time after 59 minutes in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace. The Belgian midfielder, who combines elite playmaking with dominant physical skills, is clearly still feeling the effects of a significant ankle injury he suffered at Euro 2020. De Bruyne required multiple painkiller injections to play through the ailment at the time.

“If I had known beforehand what my ankle would have been like afterwards, I would not have played,” said De Bruyne, according to City Xtra’s Harry Siddall.

That injury came after De Bruyne suffered a facial fracture in last season’s Champions League final. The 30-year-old’s body has been through the wringer.

The problem, of course, is that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City need him to keep playing, especially as the reigning champions try to keep pace with Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table. Guardiola’s reliance on De Bruyne to be the team’s nucleus is at odds with the player’s need for a break. Something has to give.

Potter’s star keeps rising

How long until Graham Potter gets the call from one of England’s bigger clubs? Or the English national team, for that matter?

One of the game’s rising managerial stars, the 46-year-old authored another impressive showing on Saturday against Liverpool. It wasn’t so much the final result – a 2-2 comeback draw – as it was the performance. Brighton & Hove Albion ran right over the Reds in the second half and at Anfield, no less.

The Seagulls’ strong start to the campaign has been a continuation of their play from last season when their final position in the table belied their performances. Brighton deserved to finish well above 16th place, with the fifth-best expected goal difference but terrible luck in front of goal.

With their finishing luck coming back around, Brighton’s position right now is a more accurate reflection of the team’s and management’s ability. Potter is widely respected and is destined for a big move very soon.

Fabinho’s absence looms large

Injuries are wreaking havoc on Liverpool’s midfield.

For all of their attacking riches, the Reds’ lack of midfield balance is making it difficult for Jurgen Klopp’s team to keep a lid on matches. Without Fabinho anchoring the trio from his No. 6 position or the oft-injured Thiago Alcantara dictating the tempo with his calm demeanor and passing range, Liverpool have been forced to shift pieces around and it’s creating an exploitable imbalance. Jordan Henderson scored a lovely goal on Saturday, but the Englishman is at his best when playing alongside a more traditional holding midfielder, not assuming that role himself.

Meanwhile, Naby Keita continues to battle injury issues, James Milner is sidelined, and the extremely promising Harvey Elliott, who looked poised for a breakout campaign, is recovering from a nasty ankle fracture.

The end result is that Mohamed Salah and Co. have to keep up their torrid scoring pace, because – as Brighton showed by finding space between the lines – the Liverpool midfield isn’t providing much resistance.

James filling the scoring void

No Romelu Lukaku? No Timo Werner? No problem.

Just like they did last season, Chelsea are getting goals from a variety of sources. In Saturday’s 3-0 win over Newcastle, it was Reece James who came to the fore, delivering a pair of scorching strikes in the second half to help power the Blues past the hapless Magpies.

“In general we rely on our wing-backs to arrive in the box,” manager Thomas Tuchel explained after the contest. “(Ben Chilwell) was decisive in the last matches. (Cesar Azpilicueta), (Marcos Alonso) were in earlier matches.”

James, 21, is the most explosive attacking force of that group, and in the continued absence of a recognized No. 9, he’ll be tasked with providing a scoring threat from his nominally defensive position. So far, so good. The Englishman leads Chelsea with four league goals on the season. He and Chilwell have seven tallies between them – not bad for a pair of “defenders.”

Solskjaer’s tactical switch pays off

With his position on the bench in serious jeopardy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed a positive result in the worst way against Tottenham Hotspur. He made what appeared to be a big tactical gamble, switching to a three-man defense, starting two fairly immobile strikers with a combined age of 70, and playing a formation that used seven defensive players. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes assumed all of the playmaking responsibility.

It worked.

Manchester United steadied the ship with a comfortable 3-0 win. It was their first clean sheet since late August.

Whether this system is actually suited to get the best out of Solskjaer’s squad remains up for debate. Any formation that leaves Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, and Jadon Sancho all on the bench may not be sustainable in the long run. There’s no denying it stifled Tottenham, and in light of the humiliating loss to Liverpool, it was imperative Solskjaer engineered a bounce-back performance to keep his job.

Mission accomplished, for now.

Spurs may be beyond repair

In this same space last week, we asked a simple question: what are Spurs good at? We got an unfortunate answer in Saturday’s defeat to Manchester United – Tottenham aren’t good at anything, really.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s job is reportedly in the balance after the putrid 3-0 loss, in which Tottenham failed to record a shot on target against a team that was coming off a 5-0 hammering. Worse yet, fans appeared to turn on the Portuguese tactician, booing his in-game decisions.

It’s hard to blame them. There’s just nothing positive happening for Tottenham right now. Expansive attacking football has never been Nuno’s calling card – his tenure at Wolves was defined by conservative tactics and defensive solidity – and at the moment there are no redeeming qualities about his team.

Tottenham don’t create chances consistently; they aren’t good enough defensively to sit deep, absorb pressure, and hit the opposition on the counter. Their expected goal difference (-2.7) is 12th in the league.

Roy Keane summed up Tottenham best after Saturday’s defeat when he described Spurs as “really boring” to watch. That’s fine when you’re winning, but such tedious play simply doesn’t fly when results go south.

West Ham are for real

West Ham United are the second-best team in London right now, and they might just be one of the four best sides in the entire country.

David Moyes’ men solidified their position in the top four on Sunday with an entertaining 4-1 win over 10-man Aston Villa, showing flair and panache to complement the sturdy organization the Scottish bench boss has instilled since taking over.

Chelsea, the league leaders, are a step above in the English capital, but it’s the Hammers, and not the likes of Arsenal or Spurs, who are hot on their tails. West Ham take on all of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea over the next month, which should provide a true indication of just how well Moyes’ team matches up with the league’s perennial contenders.

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