Squawka’s Team of the Week from Premier League Gameweek 5: Liverpool and Chelsea dominate | OneFootball

Gameweek five of the 2024-25 Premier League really opened up the table.

The highlight of the weekend was Manchester City taking on Arsenal on Sunday, an early battle between last season’s top two. Man City took the lead but then went behind and looked set to lose, with Arsenal also playing the entire second half with 10 men.

But John Stones scored an equaliser in the eighth minute of second half injury time to steal a point for Man City and break Arsenal hearts. The draw ended Man City’s perfect start, and allowed some of the chasing pack to catch up.

Just three points now separate Man City from sixth-placed Newcastle United, with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea all closing their gap slightly. At the other end of the table, Southampton and Everton finally got their first points of the season, meaning all 20 Premier League teams are now on the board.

But which players made the Squawka Premier League Team of the Week for gameweek five? Here are our 11 picks and the reasoning behind each selection. Every pick is based on the statistical leaders for metrics relevant to each position across the gameweek.

GK: Robert Sanchez (Chelsea)

For the second week running Robert Sanchez is our goalkeeper of the week. Sanchez was one of just four goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet this weekend, as Chelsea beat West Ham United 3-0 at the London Stadium. But it wasn’t an easy match. The Spaniard had to make seven saves against West Ham, the third-most of the weekend. And, crucially, he prevented 1.35 goals to keep his second consecutive clean sheet.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Trent Alexander-Arnold recently spoke of wanting tough love from Arne Slot, with criticism of his performances in front of his teammates. And he’s definitely upped his game. The Englishman put in a good all-round performance in Liverpool’s win over Bournemouth, helping the Reds to keep a clean sheet. He made four tackles and won possession three times in the defensive third, as well as creating two chances.

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo (Chelsea)

Our second member of Chelsea’s defensive unit, Tosin Adarabioyo was making his first Premier League start since making the short move across the borough of Fulham. With Chelsea still struggling at right-back, Enzo Maresca broke up the centre-back duo of Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana to play the latter on the right. In came Adarabioyo to make five clearances, two headed clearances and one interception. He also completed 50 of his 56 passes, helping Chelsea keep control.

CB: Jan Bednarek (Southampton)

Jan Bednarek is the one member of our defence to not keep a clean sheet this weekend. But he and Southampton were just minutes away from recording a shutout. And that shouldn’t take away from his performance. The Dane made five interceptions against Ipswich, the most of any centre-back in the Premier League this weekend. He also completed three clearances had a pass accuracy of 95.7%, misplacing just four passes.

LB: Diogo Dalot (Man United)

Diogo Dalot is thriving as a left-back. Played out of position to help Manchester United’s injury issues, the Portuguese right-footer has largely been solid at both ends of the pitch this season. It continued against Crystal Palace on Saturday. Dalot created three chances at Selhurst Park, with no player creating more. He also made two tackles, two clearances and won possession eight times including a match-high five in the middle third.

RW: Brennan Johnson (Tottenham)

Brennan Johnson was part of the Tottenham attacking line that blew away Brentford‘s defence on Saturday, as they came from behind to win 3-1. Johnson scored what was technically the winning goal, making it 2-1 midway through the first half. He had six shots in total, more than any other player, hitting the target twice (excluding blocks) as well as creating one chance.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)

Ryan Gravenberch continues to grow at Liverpool. It was an interesting first season for the Dutchman at Anfield, struggling to really get a consistent run of starts under Jurgen Klopp. But with Arne Slot at the helm, Gravenberch is thriving. Against Bournemouth at the weekend, Gravenberch helped shield the Liverpool defence, winning possession six times in the defensive third — more than any other player. He also won possession three times in the middle third, ranking second in the match. The Dutchman ranked second for passes attempted and completed, and touches, and first for final third passes attempted and completed. This was an all-round great display.

CM: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester)

Having been trialled as an attacking midfielder in recent matches, Wilfred Ndidi dropped down to his more naturally defensive role against Everton. But that didn’t change his level of performance. The Nigerian made six tackles against Everton, the second-most of any player in the Premier League this weekend. He also won six aerial duels, the most in his match, while winning possession three times and making two interceptions.

LW: Luis Diaz (Liverpool)

The final of our Liverpool contingent, Luis Diaz scored two goals in the Reds’ 3-0 win over Bournemouth. It’s been a brilliant season for the Colombian who has made that left-wing spot his own. As well as scoring twice, Diaz hit the target with all four of his efforts, and completed three take-ons. He won possession twice in the attacking third, the joint-most in his match but also won possession twice in the defensive third. What makes his performance even more remarkable was his finishing. Diaz recorded an xG of 0.59, but his xG on Target was 1.42 — essentially improving his chance of scoring 0.83 because of the placement of his shots.

ST: Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)

Nicolas Jackson was brilliant in Chelsea’s win over West Ham on Saturday, directly involved in all three goals. He scored twice and provided one assist, and was the only player in the Premier League this weekend to have three direct goal involvements. Jackson had West Ham’s defence on the ropes with his direct running, as he usually does, but this time he had also fine-tuned his finishing. The Senegalese striker had four shots in total, hitting the target twice and scored with both of his big chances. He created two chances, the joint-most in the game, both of which were big chances. There was also an increase between his xG and xGOT of 0.37.

ST: Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)

Dominic Solanke didn’t have too many touches in Tottenham’s win over Brentford, but he made the most of them. The Englishman scored his first goal for Tottenham to equalise against the Bees and hit the target three times, with no player managing more. Solanke ranked in the 95th percentile for touches in the opposition box among strikers this weekend as well as xG and post-shot xG. Could this be the start of a goals-filled career at Tottenham?