Premier League hits and misses: Declan Rice and Trent Alexander-Arnold star for Arsenal and Liverpool as Man Utd lose on the road again | Football News

Rice delivers but more to come from £105m star

“Big matches for big players.”

Declan Rice delivered what Arsenal will be hoping is the first of many big moments in a red and white shirt. The midfielder’s late heroics helped Arsenal seal a dramatic 3-1 victory against Manchester United.

“A tremendous performance from Rice,” Gunners boss Mikel Arteta added. “As a holding midfielder, how he needs to dominate his area, to break up play. He was really dominant. And then he produced a magic moment to win us the game. You need to have that quality, that composure and he had it.”

Despite his dominance in the middle of the park it will be his goal that will catch all the headlines.

There have been calls for the England international to get more goals and Arteta believes there will be more to come from his new signing. “When you see the technical ability he has and how he delivers in these moments… when he shoots from range, with both feet, and he has the timing with his runs. The position will determine how many goals he scores but he’s got the ability to do that.”

Arsenal had been waiting for this moment. Rice Rice Baby sounded at full-time and here were huge numbers of fans who waited for Rice to come out for his post-match interview with Sky Sports. He was given a hero’s welcome when he appeared.

These were the games and the moments Rice left West Ham for and the £105m midfielder will be hoping this is just the start.
Oliver Yew

I have started life at Arsenal well but I have so much more I can do.

Away day blues holding Ten Hag’s Reds back

“I don’t like looking at that,” said former Man Utd captain Roy Keane on Sky Sports before the match on Sunday. There was a grimace on his face as he assessed a graphic showing how Man Utd have taken one point from nine games against last season’s top nine under Erik ten Hag.

For Keane, it was a damning reflection of the team’s character and personality when they go away from the home comforts of Old Trafford. After Arsenal made that 10 such defeats, Ten Hag was quick to defend his side against those kind of criticisms.

He argued in support of his side’s performance, pointed to decisions going against them and insisted they were on the path to turning that record around. The fine margins.

But until Man Utd do start delivering results against the best sides on the road there is a limit on what they can achieve. The wider trend cannot be ignored – and the defeats at Tottenham and Arsenal this season, when United have had their moments, continue to prove the point.

This is a team unable to overcome the best sides on their own patch. It’s an ability champions need to have – and it’s a major problem Ten Hag must address if he’s going to achieve success.
Peter Smith

Playmaking masterclass from Trent

Opposition players are usually reluctant to press centre-backs in possession and prefer to block off potential passes. Aston Villa had that plan at Anfield. The problem was, in possession, Liverpool’s clever tactical tweak of pushing Trent Alexander-Arnold into the central defensive role meant he had the freedom of Anfield to get his head up and pick passes for fun over Villa’s high line.

He was the quarterback with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz the wide receivers. He peppered balls into that space and Liverpool ran riot, especially in the first half. Twenty of his 69 successful passes were hit over Villa’s backline with eight of those finding a team-mate who went onto creating a goalscoring situation in the Villa box.

Alexander-Arnold created five chances before the break, grabbing an assist for Dominik Szoboszlai’s goal. It was also his long ball that sent Salah clear who in turn found Nunez and his shot off the post led to Matty Cash’s own goal.

Jurgen Klopp – and Gareth Southgate for that matter – will be hoping the hamstring injury suffered that triggered his substitution isn’t too serious.
Lewis Jones

Palace thriving under Hodgson

Roy Hodgson got the hairdryer out at half-time.

“I made certain people had to buck up their ideas,” he said.

Crystal Palace didn’t reach the standards they have set under Hodgson during the first-half against Wolves.

Since Hodgson returned in March, only Manchester City have averaged more shots per Premier League match, and faced fewer, than Palace.

They’ve taken 25 points from 14 games, losing only three, under their 76-year-old manager – just Liverpool and City have lost fewer since then.

Eberechi Eze is continuing to flourish while Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta are beginning to live up to their potential.

It may have seemed like a backward step for Palace to reappoint him, but he appears to be the best man for the job and a perfect short-term solution.
David Richardson