Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek 18, including Gabriel Magalhaes, Guglielmo Vicario and Mohammed Kudus.
As presents are unwrapped and turkeys are stuffed on Christmas Day, Arsenal will be looking down on their 19 Premier League adversaries for the second year running, having maintained their one-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the table with a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Prior to the frenetic Merseyside stalemate, Aston Villa missed the chance to rise to first place as they were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Sheffield United, while Tottenham Hotspur capitalised on Manchester City’s Club World Cup exploits, beating Everton 2-1 to rise into fourth place.
Manchester United‘s misery continued as they were downed 2-0 by West Ham United, while Chelsea did not fare any better, suffering a 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Christmas Eve.
Luton Town marked an emotional occasion at Kenilworth Road with a gritty 1-0 beating of Newcastle United, and Brighton & Hove Albion are clinging onto a top-half position thanks to a 1-1 draw with historic rivals Crystal Palace.
Finally, Nuno Espirito Santo‘s Nottingham Forest baptism ended in agony as the Tricky Trees were bested 3-2 by Bournemouth, while Burnley rose off the bottom with a 2-0 success away to Fulham.
For the penultimate time in 2023, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest batch of fixtures.
DEFENCE
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A £17.2m deal for Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is looking more like a bargain with every passing week, as the Tottenham number one was instrumental in his side’s nervy win over Everton. As the Toffees huffed and puffed, Vicario stood tall with seven saves, including two crucial last-gasp stops – one of which was certainly more fortuitous than the other – to prevent Arnaut Danjuma from stealing a point against his old side.
As Tom Lockyer begins his lengthy recovery from a distressing cardiac arrest, Gabriel Osho filled the void for Luton’s visit of Newcastle and put in a display his captain would have been immensely proud of. With seven clearances, three interceptions, two tackles and two blocks, Osho was an immovable force in the Hatters backline as Rob Edwards‘s side kept their first Premier League clean sheet of the season.
One of Osho’s namesakes also forces his way into our brick wall this week, as Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes earned a slice of club history against Liverpool. Heading in with three minutes and 27 seconds gone, Gabriel now holds the honour of scoring Arsenal’s quickest-ever Premier League goal at Anfield, and his seven clearances were also priceless in ensuring the Gunners would remain top at Christmas.
As wonderful as William Saliba‘s Anfield display was too, selecting the Frenchman would have been Arsenal overkill, and there was no ignoring Jan Paul van Hecke‘s display for Brighton amid a febrile Selhurst Park atmosphere. The 23-year-old could not help the Seagulls keep the elusive clean sheet they so crave, but he won four of his five aerial duels, completed 95% of his passes and made three interceptions in a dogged rearguard performance.
MIDFIELD
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While Emerson Royal prefers the right-hand side of the backline, the Brazilian deputised brilliantly for the suspended Destiny Udogie on the left during Spurs’ success over Everton, making a whopping eight interceptions, five tackles and drawing six fouls in one of his finest showings in the white strip yet.
Revelling in their own 2-1 festive triumph over Chelsea on December 24, Wolves were shown the way to victory by Mario Lemina, who comfortably outmuscled Lesley Ugochukwu to head in the hosts’ opening goal and also contributed six tackles and four interceptions to the cause to sprinkle some Christmas cheer over the Molineux crowd.
Holiday happiness was in much more limited supply just down the road at Villa Park, where the Lions’ 15-game winning home run in the Premier League came to an unexpected end against Sheffield United, but it was not for the want of trying from Douglas Luiz. With mere seconds remaining in the contest, Luiz picked out the run of Nicolo Zaniolo for Villa’s leveller, while he also won five of his six aerial battles and completed 93% of his passes to potentially add a few more pounds to his value.
As one claret-clad team failed to triumph in their final pre-Christmas fixture, West Ham subjected Man United to their worst start to a season since 1930 at the London Stadium, where Mohammed Kudus was on song once again. Following Kobbie Mainoo‘s blunder and a slick pass from Lucas Paqueta, Kudus’s excellent low drive nestled into the bottom corner, and he proved too hot for the Red Devils to handle all afternoon, completing six successful dribbles and also putting in five successful challenges in the capital.
Losing Luca Koleosho to a devastating knee injury was a cruel blow for Burnley, but another teenage winger in Wilson Odobert stepped up to the plate against Fulham. Just two minutes into the second half, the Frenchman found the top corner with a delightful curler – his second goal in three games – before also registering an assist for Sander Berge‘s low drive at Craven Cottage.
ATTACK
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Nottingham Forest’s loss to Bournemouth will be remembered for all the wrong reasons by the Garibaldi faithful, who witnessed Willy Boly sent off in highly questionable circumstances, but take nothing away from Chris Wood‘s exceptional display at the tip of the attack. Reinstated to the first XI after three substitute outings, Wood robbed Alex Scott of possession and slipped through Anthony Elanga to break the deadlock, before also sending a composed header above several Bournemouth shirts and into the side of the net to give the hosts renewed hope.
However, the New Zealand marksman’s efforts were rendered futile by the aerial powerhouse that is Dominic Solanke, who left the City Ground with the match ball under his arm after breaking Forest hearts. As well as showcasing exemplary anticipation to prod home into the bottom corner, the Cherries’ hat-trick hero came up with a pair of outrageous headers – including the clincher in the fifth minute of second-half injury time – leaving the 11-goal man only behind Mohamed Salah (12) and Erling Haaland (14) in the fascinating Golden Boot race.
Sports Mole’s Premier League Team of the Week: Vicario; Osho, Van Hecke, Gabriel; Emerson, Lemina, Luiz, Kudus, Odobert; Solanke, Wood
