Gameweek eight of the Premier League 2023/24 season was a banner one for north London clubs.
Thanks to wins over Manchester City and Luton Town respectively, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur sit atop the league table heading into the October international break and are now the only unbeaten teams left in the division.
Lower down the table there were also plenty of huge wins, match-winning performances and controversy (thankfully not as much as last week though).
After another weekend of Premier League action, here’s 90min’s team of the week.
GK: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace)
The ex-West Brom number one has quietly been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season, and he continued his fine form at the weekend.
Johnstone was made to work for his clean sheet against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, making five impressive stops in the draw.
CB: Murillo (Nottingham Forest)
Ok so it seems that Murillo is a certified, bonafide, baller.
The 21-year-old once again impressed in just his second Premier League start at the weekend, particularly due to his obscene ability with the ball at his feet.
His lofted through-ball to Morgan Gibbs-White, which resulted in his teammate hitting the post, and his mazy Diego Maradona-esque run during the game were sights to behold.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
Is William Saliba actually Craig Dawson in disguise?
Judging by the man-marking job he did on Erling Haaland on Sunday, he might just be.
The France international followed in Dawson’s footsteps at the weekend to restrict Haaland to zero shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. Impressive stuff.
CB: Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur)
The recovery run king has been exceptional in the defensive third since joining Tottenham, and on Saturday he was able to contribute at the other end of the park too.
Van de Ven fired Tottenham to the top of the Premier League heading into the international break with his match-winning goal against Luton Town.
RM: Jack Harrison (Everton)
In his first start for his new club, Jack Harrison gave Everton the spark they’d been crying out for in attack all season.
The ex-Leeds United man bagged himself a goal and an assist in an impressive, and badly-needed, win for the Toffees at Goodison Park.
CM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Declan Rice completed 90% of his passes, made three interceptions, won four duels and generally completely dominated the middle of the park in Arsenal’s win over Manchester City.
It was the sort of game he was signed for, and bah gawd did he deliver in it.
CM: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
An 87th minute substitute making the team of the week?
Yep, it’s almost unheard of, but what Scott McTominay did in his cameo on Saturday was almost unheard of too.
The Scotland international single-handedly brought Man Utd back from the dead against Brentford, scoring in the 93rd and 97th minute to earn his side a dramatic 2-1 win.
LM: Simon Adingra (Brighton)
It seems that every single week a new player pops up at Brighton and puts in an eye-catching performance.
This week that performance came from Simon Adingra, who scored in the club’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool and caused havoc on the flank for the majority of the game.
RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Eight Premier League appearances: nine goal contributions.
Mohamed Salah has been utterly outstanding so far this season, adding to his goal tally with a brace at the weekend.
ST: Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)
There aren’t many more talented forwards than Alexander Isak currently plying their trade in the Premier League.
He proved that at the weekend with a clinical brace in the 2-2 draw with West Ham, taking his tally for the season to six goals in seven appearances.
LW: Raheem Sterling (Chelsea)
It wasn’t that long ago that Raheem Sterling was seemingly deemed surplus to requirements at Chelsea.
Fast forward a few months, and he’s probably the best player at the club.
Sterling was at the heart of everything good Chelsea did in the win over Burnley, scoring a goal, setting up another and playing a major part in an emphatic season-best win for the Blues.
CURRENT PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE, TOP SCORERS & FIXTURES
