Premier League Team of the Week: Ozil, Campbell, Kone and Lukaku Shine
A clinical 3-0 victory for Arsenal and a remarkable 6-2 win for Everton were the major headlines from this weekend's Premier League action, and they dictate our Team of the Week selection.
Six players from those two games alone have been chosen in our finest selection, with contenders from Stoke City, Manchester City, Liverpool and more making up the rest. As always, there were plenty of tough decisions to make along the way.
We've selected the best players from a thrilling weekend and slotted them into a workable formation—on this occasion, a 4-4-2 wide diamond.
Disagree with our selections? Hit us up in the comments section below to start the conversation.
All statistics via WhoScored.com.
GK: Jack Butland, Stoke City
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Jack Butland's stellar season continued as he held Newcastle United scoreless almost single-handedly. He made six saves in total, per WhoScored.com, standing firm as the last line of defence.
According to the official Premier League Twitter feed, the Englishman has made the most saves this season so far with 46, and, after watching Joe Hart's bizarre howler against Norwich City, will have his eyes firmly on the England No. 1 jersey.
The fact that we're even talking about it shows just how much progress the 22-year-old has made over the last three months.
RB: Hector Bellerin, Arsenal
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Hector Bellerin put in a committed, gutsy performance on Saturday afternoon. Swansea City's best player this season has been left-winger Jefferson Montero, but the 20-year-old stymied him about as well as anyone can hope to.
There were flashes and moments of real danger still—the Spaniard was beaten on the outside a few times and also hacked his marker down twice, leading to dangerous Gylfi Sigurdsson free-kick scenarios—but overall he kept a lid on him.
The clean sheet is a just reward, and he also made two heroic interventions: one to block Bafetimbi Gomis one-on-one, and another to stop Andre Ayew tapping home—nearly impaling himself on the post in the process.
CB: Nicolas Otamendi, Manchester City
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Nicolas Otamendi is now bringing a little thunder to Manchester City's defensive play, and he's meshed superbly with captain Vincent Kompany.
His bullet header gave the Citizens the lead against Norwich this weekend, and but for a Joe Hart blunder, the 27-year-old would have contributed to a well-earned clean sheet, too.
His aggression and power, in addition to his willingness to engage high up and pressure strikers when they first receive the ball, destroyed the Canaries' plan of moving the ball forward via Cameron Jerome.
CB: Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal
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Laurent Koscielny is a man in form—a statement punctuated not just by his stout defensive performances over the last few weeks, but also his impact on the scoresheet.
For the second week running he nodded home from a corner, increasing Arsenal's advantage from 1-0 to 2-0, and put in a strong display at the back on the way to securing a clean sheet.
The 30-year-old cut out several dangerous-looking through balls from Jonjo Shelvey, attempting to release Bafetimbi Gomis, and he got back well to attempt to block the one that did slip through.
LB: Ryan Bertrand, Southampton
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Ryan Bertrand's excellent recovery from a knee injury continued this weekend as Southampton dominated against south-coast rivals Bournemouth at St. Mary's Stadium.
His incisive attacking runs stretched the Cherries on the flank, and it was his pinpoint, back-post cross for Steven Davis that opened the scoring for the home side.
A clean sheet is always a confidence-booster too, with the 26-year-old Englishman getting through his share of work to ensure that happened.
Wing: Joel Campbell, Arsenal
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Joel Campbell finally earned his first Premier League start this weekend and thoroughly impressed in the process. He worked hard throughout, helped Hector Bellerin with Jefferson Montero and iced the performance with a goal.
uMAXit's James McNicholas has admitted that while Campbell will never be an Arsenal starter, his impact as a squad player could prove key in the title race further down the line. There's value in this argument; you need to call upon the troops and feel safe in doing so from time to time.
Campbell, 23, racked up the mileage tracking Montero's runs and did what Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did not for Calum Chambers in the same fixture last year: double cover an electric wing talent and stifle the opposition as a result.
AM: Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
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"If you love to watch football, you love to watch [Mesut] Ozil," Arsene Wenger declared last week, per Yahoo.com.
This week, the German responded to that praise, telling Arsenal TV (h/t Arseblog), "It’s a privilege for me, especially when such an experienced manager says something like that."
Basically, it's a two-way love-in and everybody is just delighted with how things are going.
Ozil put in another strong performance this weekend, garnering two assists against Swansea City, with his second—the cross for Joel Campbell—a rather eye-popping delivery. He leads the Premier League assist charts with nine.
CM: Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
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For 47 minutes, it looked as though Philippe Coutinho was ambling his way through another so-so performance, There have, admittedly, been too many of those under Jurgen Klopp so far.
But then the 23-year-old exploded into life, selling John Terry with a feint and guiding a stunning strike into the top corner. He then did the same move in the second half, only in reverse, and planted another into the opposite corner.
The Brazilian's tight twists and dummies returned, and he linked well with Roberto Firmino in the second half.
Wing: Arouna Kone, Everton
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Ah, yes, that Arouna Kone hat-trick we all predicted. It helped Everton slaughter Sunderland 6-2 at Goodison Park on Sunday.
The Ivorian triggered a contract extension, per Sky Sports, by virtue of his starting place in Roberto Martinez's team and celebrated by putting his opponents to the sword. His clever runs and cool finishing on the counter-attack—in addition to his link play with Romelu Lukaku—heavily impressed.
Kone, 31, has been a force at times this season and his play in space has been superb to watch, but he's yet to nail any consistent element into his game. If he can add that, he'll become a legitimate weekly starter alongside Ross Barkley in attacking midfield.
He earned B/R's Man of the Weekend award.
ST: Romelu Lukaku, Everton
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Arouna Kone took plenty of the plaudits for Everton's big 6-2 win over Sunderland due to his hat-trick, but it's worth taking a closer look at Romelu Lukaku's performance, too.
In a week where he has been linked with a £40 million move to Paris Saint-Germain, per the MailOnline, the 22-year-old proved his overall game—link-up, strength, playmaking and even crossing—can be considered up there with the finest in the league.
One goal, two assists—one of which was an unbelievable outside-of-the-boot cross to Kone's head—land him a spot in our Best XI for the week.
ST: Odion Ighalo, Watford
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Jamie Vardy's goal rush may be the biggest story in Premier League news right now, but Odion Ighalo is doing his best to keep up.
In recent weeks, the Nigeria international has been fantastic, and two more goals this weekend land him a place in consecutive Team of the Weeks.
Troy Deeney was supposed to be the big story as Watford returned to the big time, but Ighalo's been stunning and has now taken his tally to seven goals—good for joint second, level with Alexis Sanchez and behind only Vardy (11) himself.
Bench
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GK: David de Gea, Manchester United
FB: Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur
CM: Mousa Dembele, Tottenham Hotspur
CM: Steven Davis, Southampton
Wing: Gerard Deulofeu, Everton
Wing: Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City
ST: Ayoze Perez, Newcastle United
