Premier League: Five things we learnt from gameweek 10 | OneFootball

The Premier League returned for a tenth week of fixtures, at which point eyes start turning towards the table, and it’s looking increasingly in favour of Arsenal.

From The Spot discusses five key findings from gameweek 10:

Gyokores’ absence won’t hinder Arsenal

The Gunners’ new number nine, Viktor Gyökeres, picked up a minor muscle injury in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Burnley, but the Premier League leaders shouldn’t be concerned.

Arsenal inevitably scored from a corner once again, and the likes of Gabriel, William Saliba, and Declan Rice are all proven threats from dead-ball situations.

It was Rice who bagged the second, operating in the box-to-box role. That goes to show Mikel Arteta’s side are not only well-drilled but flexible in terms of who scores.

His side were only made better with the addition of Gyökeres from Sporting Lisbon in the summer, and with Kai Havertz on the way back from injury and Mikel Merino bagging in the makeshift role in the Champions League, the squad is oozing quality.

Arsenal next take on high-flying Sunderland before the North London Derby against Tottenham, when Gyökeres is expected to return.

Isak’s strike was to his detriment

It was a pretty rocky start to Alexander Isak’s season, yet that was to his design.

He refused to train with or play for Newcastle in any of their matches before sealing his move to Liverpool in September.

However, he has only scored once so far, against Southampton in the Carabao Cup, and was absent from their matches against Aston Villa and Real Madrid due to a groin injury.

Although this is speculative, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if the Swede’s struggle with fitness is linked to his time away from the pitch while forcing his transfer away from Newcastle.

Would his transfer have gone through if he had played? Maybe. Would he be free of injury? Quite possibly.

What might concern Isak, besides his injury and lack of goals, is the bona fide competition Hugo Ekitiké brings.

Though Isak got the nod ahead of Ekitiké against Man United, it remains to be seen who exactly will earn their place as Liverpool’s number one striker.

Wolves are struggling to attract talent

Vitor Pereira’s sacking as Wolves boss seemed fairly inevitable.

Ten games into a season is often considered the unofficial benchmark where teams are generally expected to finish the season somewhere near where they are.

Wolves’ two points so far rank them joint last in the form table for teams in Europe’s top 10 leagues, level with Portuguese side Avs FC and FCV Dender in Belgium.

Their squad has been poor, and may highlight a struggle to unearth top talent.

Yet they are also struggling to attract known talent on the managerial front, as Gary O’Neil reportedly ruled himself out of a second spell at Molineux.

Despite a steep decline in form in his second season with the club, losing 11 of his last 16 games in charge, he finished 14th in his first.

In that year, O’Neil also managed to beat Man City, Chelsea, and Spurs, as well as an FA Cup quarter-final appearance.

O’Neil is a proven manager at the top level, known for his more pragmatic approach that could well have suited Wolves’ fight against relegation.

The English manager pulling out of negotiations potentially highlights just how unattractive the prospect of managing Wolves really is at the moment.

England call up looks likely for Welbeck

There seems to be a determination to defy your age coursing through Brighton’s ranks.

James Milner assisting a teammate that wasn’t born when he made his Premier League debut at Old Trafford, now Danny Welbeck can’t stop scoring.

The 34-year-old has been in remarkable form, netting six goals in five league games.

It could warrant Welbeck a spectacular return to the England squad, with Thomas Tuchel rumoured to be considering him as an attacking option for the upcoming international break.

The striker last played for England in 2018, during their 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland. He would face fierce competition for even a cameo, with the likes of Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins being established internationals for their country.

However, Tuchel has appeared to pick his lineups based primarily on current form, whilst his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, had a preference to pick the same players to suit his system regardless of minutes played.

Elliot Anderson has collected several starts after a good spell with Nottingham Forest, even with Jude Bellingham at his manager’s disposal. Welbeck might be in with a good chance.

West Ham aren’t doomed just yet

Nuno Espirito Santo got his awaited first victory as Hammers boss after five games in charge, beating Newcastle 3-1.

Most significantly, it came at the London Stadium – where they hadn’t won a match since February.

Their season so far was pretty much summed up with Jarrod Bowen rattling the post before Newcastle broke away and Jacob Murphy slotted home the opener moments later.

However, hope was very much restored in the second half as they turned the game on its head, yet West Ham fans would do well not to get ahead of themselves.

The home side were far less lethargic on the ball, moved it sharply, and used the wide areas to good effect, but individual brilliance from Lucas Paequetá and a Sven Botman own goal were at the heart of the result.

To add to that, their opponents from Tyneside are still winless away from home in the Premier League and were up against it, judging by form alone.

West Ham will need to prove their mettle in tougher games than this if they are worthy of survival this season, which has already proven to be very, very competitive.