There were only seven games played in the Premier League on matchday 8, but there was no shortage of action. Manchester City and Arsenal continued their flawless starts to the campaign with a pair of 3-0 wins away from home, while Tottenham beat Leicester City 6-2 in a frenzied encounter between the two sides in North London.
There were plenty of jaw-dropping individual performances from the likes of Heung-Min Son and Grant Xhaka at the weekend.
GK: Neto (Bournemouth)
Norberto Neto was the difference between a point and a defeat for Bournemouth on Tyneside as the shot-stopper made six saves to help the Cherries earn a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle United.
RB: John Stones (Manchester City)
John Stones displayed his incredible versatility in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Wolves. The defender started the game at right-back but also had shifts at centre-back and as the lone defensive midfielder, performing all three roles to a tee in a comfortable afternoon stroll for Manchester City against 10-man Wolves.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
William Saliba’s honeymoon start to life in North London continued on matchday 8. The French centre-half scored the opening goal of the game with a well-placed header from a corner and emphatically neutralized the threat of Ivan Toney with his physicality and positioning.
CB: Eric Dier (Tottenham)
Eric Dier celebrated his return to the England squad for the September international break with a goal. The centre-half exploited Leicester City’s lack of defensive structure from set pieces to head home from an Ivan Perisic corner in the first half-hour.
LB: Jordan Zemura (Bournemouth)
Jordan Zemura created the most chances (5) in the match and supplied the assist for Philip Billing’s second-half goal to help Bournemouth come away from Newcastle United with a precious point.
CM: Alex Iwobi (Everton)
Alex Iwobi’s revival as a midfielder under Frank Lampard has been one of the stories of the 2022/23 Premier League season. The Nigerian international produced another sensational display in the middle of the park against West Ham, capped off by his assist for the winning goal in the second half by Neal Maupay.
CM: Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham)
Rodrigo Bentancur produced a sensational second-half display in Tottenham’s 6-2 win over Leicester City. The Uruguayan profited from Wilfred Ndidi’s error to score the first goal of his Premier League career before forcing another turnover to assist Son’s first goal.
CM: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Granit Xhaka has undergone a complete transformation as an Arsenal player in the last couple of years, and the Swiss captain is now one of the most vital cogs in Mikel Arteta’s line-up. The midfielder enjoyed another faultless day at Brentford, which included a stunning assist for the second goal for Gabriel Jesus.
LW: Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)
After failing to find the back of the net in the first six games of the season, Heung-Min Son finally earned his rewards against Leicester City, with the South Korean international scoring a 13-minute hat-trick in the second half after coming off the bench.
RW: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
By his usual standards, it wasn’t the best of games from Kevin de Bruyne for Manchester City. But the Belgian midfielder still produced two moments of magic, providing a couple of assists from overlapping runs down the right wing.
ST: Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
Gabriel Jesus scored his fourth goal of the season for Arsenal in their comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford, and the Brazilian international was once again central to the Gunners’ attacking impetus throughout the 90 minutes. The 25-year-old combined effectively with Xhaka, Saka, and Martinelli, helping Arsenal bounce back from their defeat against Manchester United and return to the top of the table.
Manager: Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa)
Steven Gerrard’s side earned a long-awaited victory at home against Southampton to jump out of the relegation zone and into 15th place with seven points from seven games.
Shivaan Shah