It was a weekend of local rivalries in the Premier League on matchday nine, and we had three different hugely entertaining derbies across the country. Arsenal comfortably dispatched Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the North London Derby before Manchester City humiliated Manchester United 6-3 at the Etihad, thanks to a pair of hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Leandro Trossard.
Leicester City also grabbed their first win of the season in the Premier League with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the midland’s derby, and there were plenty of iconic performances throughout the weekend from the likes of James Maddison, Grant Xhaka, and Erling Haaland.
GK: Danny Ward (Leicester City)
After conceding 22 goals and keeping no clean sheets in his first seven games of the season, Danny Ward finally helped Leicester City shore up their backline with an impressive 4-0 performance against Nottingham Forest at home.
RB: Reece James (Chelsea)
Reece James locked up one of the trickiest wingers in the Premier League, Wilfried Zaha, in Chelsea’s visit to Crystal Palace. Such was the influence of the English right back on the game, Zaha switched over to the right wing to attack Ben Chilwell to avoid facing the physicality and defensive prowess of James.
CB: William Saliba (Arsenal)
William Saliba’s stocks continue to grow as the French centre-half put in another world-class display for Arsenal in the North London Derby. Saliba didn’t put a single foot wrong and completely dominated Harry Kane as Arsenal beat their neighbours 3-1 to stay atop the Premier League.
CB: Conor Coady (Everton)
After having his goal against Liverpool unfairly ruled out in the Merseyside derby, Conor Coady finally got on the scoresheet for Everton on the south coast, helping the Toffees extend their winning momentum with a 2-1 win against Southampton.
LB: Leandro Trossard (Brighton)
It is criminal that I have had to shoehorn him in left-back, but Leandro Trossard had to find his way into my Premier League team of the week following his magnificent showing for Brighton against Liverpool. The Belgian became the first player since Andrey Arshavin in 2009 to score a hat-trick at Anfield, with the 27-year-old scoring all three goals in a frenzied 3-3 draw against Liverpool.
CM: James Maddison (Leicester City)
James Maddison continued his stellar form in a Leicester City shirt as the Foxes beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 to win their maiden Premier League game this season. The Englishman curled in a beautiful free kick from the edge of the area in the first half and added two more goal contributions in a stunning rout for the Foxes, putting more pressure on Gareth Southgate to pick him in the England squad for the World Cup.
CM: Thomas Partey (Arsenal)
One of Thomas Partey’s long-range efforts finally found the back of the net as the Ghanaian midfielder launched a rocket past Hugo Lloris to open the scoring in the North London derby. Partey was also instrumental in helping Arsenal reduce transitions and nullify Tottenham’s counter-attacks, helping them win 3-1 to stay on top of the table.
CM: Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Granit Xhaka’s redemption arc at Arsenal remains one of the stories of the Premier League season, and the Swiss midfielder had another superb performance for the Gunners against Tottenham. Xhaka played an integral role in the middle of the park as Arsenal overran Tottenham in midfield before scoring the decisive third goal to kill the game off in the second half.
LW: Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United)
Miguel Almiron has been one of the shining lights for Newcastle United this campaign and the Paraguayan forward bagged a brace for the Magpies in their 4-1 rout over 10-man Fulham at Craven Cottage.
RW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)
Phil Foden put in one of his best displays in a Manchester City shirt as the boy from Stockport scored the first hat-trick of his career to help Pep Guardiola’s side destroy their nearest rivals 6-3 at the Etihad.
ST: Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Life continues to be easy for Erling Haaland in the Premier League as the Norwegian phenom scored his third consecutive hat-trick at home in the Premier League, taking his tally to 14 goals in just his first eight games for Manchester City.
Manager: Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
Mikel Arteta outclassed Antonio Conte in the North London derby on Saturday as Arsenal dominated possession and the game at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta’s proactive idealistic approach trumped Conte’s reactive side as the Gunners controlled the tempo of the game with the ball and ran out comfortable 3-1 leaders to win their seventh game this season.
Shivaan Shah