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Arsenal have opened their Premier League campaign with two successive wins as Mikel Arteta aims to take them back into the promised land of the Champions League next season.

Wins over Crystal Palace and Leicester City have brought the feel-good factor back to the Emirates Stadium, and with the Spaniard adding quality to his team with the summer signings of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Viera, there is a real sense of optimism around N5.

The performance against Leicester showcased Arsenal’s new-found attacking talents, with Jesus netting twice and grabbing two assists as SofaScore gave him a rating of 8.9, the best of anyone on the pitch.

However, they weren’t as rock solid defensively as they had been against Crystal Palace the previous week, with a few poor performers against the Foxes. Playing out of position at right-back, Ben White received a 6.4 rating and was the joint second-worst Arsenal player on the day.

With that in mind, Arteta should unleash Japanese right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu against Bournemouth this evening in place of White. With the Englishman not a natural full-back, the balance of the team wasn’t the most ideal in their win over Leicester.

Tomiyasu came on for White for the final 15 minutes last Saturday and received a 6.5 rating from SofaScore, better than what the ex-Brighton defender managed in his 75 minutes of action.

The Japan international completed 88% of his passes in his cameo appearance and had ten touches. He only lost possession once, whereas White gave up the ball 11 times against Leicester, which suggests that the right-hand side was a weakness for Arsenal.

The 23-year-old impressed in his first season at the Emirates, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.83 (ranking him fifth in the Gunners’ squad) while also winning 2.2 aerial duels per match, more than any of his current team-mates.

Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams had nothing but praise for Tomiyasu following one of his first matches for the team, describing him as “excellent” in last September’s win over Tottenham, and the £56k-p/w gem certainly looks like a more logical option at right-back than White.

With that in mind, Arteta must unleash Tomiyasu against Bournemouth this evening as Arsenal aim for three wins on the bounce, which would take them top of the Premier League overnight if they can leave the Vitality Stadium with all three points.

Celtic have seen numerous players leaving Parkhead since the end of their latest Premiership-winning season.

Liam Scales, Ismaila Soro and Osaze Urhoghide have left the Hoops on loan, while others such as Tom Rogic, Nir Bitton and Christopher Jullien have left on permanent deals or free transfers.

One other player currently languishing in Ange Postecoglou’s squad that the club should be looking to offload before the transfer window closes is James McCarthy.

Signed as a free agent upon leaving Crystal Palace last summer on a four-year deal, the midfielder had a rather disappointing debut season at Parkhead.

Having made just 22 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, the Irishman only started six times, which shows that he wasn’t particularly high up the pecking order for the Australian.

Even when he did get a chance to play, the former Palace midfielder didn’t do enough to show the Hoops manager why he deserves to be a regular starter, especially in the Premireship.

For example, in his 10 league appearances, McCarthy racked up a pass success percentage of 83.1%, leaving 25 other Hoops players with a higher return.

His overall performances earned him an underwhelming seasonal rating of 6.39/10, making him the lowest-rated Hoops player to start more than one league match according to WhoScored.

This season hasn’t looked too good so far for him either, as the 31-year-old hasn’t made an appearance in any of Celtic’s four league games and didn’t even make the squad for their opening match against Aberdeen, or the game against Hearts last Sunday, which suggests that Postecoglou doesn’t really rate him.

Having been previously described as a “terrible flop” in terms of his international performances by Irish pundit Eamon Dunphy, it looks like the same could be said for his time with Celtic.

Even though the Scottish champions are looking to reportedly get rid of Albian Ajeti, the priority should perhaps be getting the Irishman out of the club first.

With all the above in mind amid reports that McCarthy is weighing up his future at Parkhead, we feel that it would be in everyone’s best interest to offload the midfielder before the transfer window closes, especially if he isn’t likely to be playing regularly this season.

If the club can move the midfielder out of Parkhead, duly getting his £14k-per-week wages off their books, and potentially bring in a new player who would have a better chance of breaking into the first team, this would be an ideal way for Celtic to end their summer transfer window.

Liverpool have a number of injury issues at this moment in time, particularly with a significant amount of their midfield options sidelined.

One man who is currently out of action, and has been for a significant chunk of his time at Anfield, is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Signed from Arsenal five years ago this week in a deal worth £35m, the midfielder has made 133 appearances for the Reds across all competitions, scoring 17 times and providing 15 assists in the process.

As mentioned earlier, the 29-year-old has had his fair share of injury problems since becoming a Liverpool player, duly impacting his playing time at the club.

Indeed, once dubbed the “next Milner” by reporter Raj Chohan, he has missed 79 fixtures since arriving on Merseyside and is clearly not a reliable option for the manager anymore.

With Jurgen Klopp recently saying that Liverpool are looking to bring in a new midfielder before the summer transfer window closes to help them through this tricky period with so many injuries, one man who has been linked with a move to Anfield and who could come in to potentially allow the club to dispense with Oxlade-Chamberlain further down the line is Leandro Paredes.

Paris Saint-Germain signed the midfielder from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2019 in a deal worth around £35m, the same price that Liverpool paid for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had been linked with a possible exit from Anfield over the summer.

Since then, the 28-year-old has made 117 appearances for the French giants across all competitions, chipping in with three goals and ten assists along the way.

Last season saw the Argentine make 15 league appearances for PSG, managing to end the campaign with the second-highest percentage for passes completed (95.5%) out of all players at the club to make more than ten passes.

Also, only Sergio Ramos (40.8%) racked up a higher percentage for successful pressures than Paredes out of the PSG players to make more than two pressures throughout the campaign.

This shows just how capable the €173k-per-week (£146k-per-week) man is when on the ball and moving it around the pitch, and also how hard-working he is off the ball when trying to win back possession for his team.

Hailed as a “beautiful” player by former PSG midfielder Fabrice Pancrate, the Argentine certainly has the credentials to be a useful short-term option for Liverpool and make it harder for Oxlade-Chamberlain to keep his place in the team.

With the Reds in need for a midfielder, securing a deal for the Argentina international could be the best option for them.

Crystal Palace warded off summer interest in Wilfried Zaha with a price tag well above £25m, transfer insider Dean Jones has told GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The Eagles only actually sold one player in the summer transfer window, allowing Christian Benteke to join MLS outfit DC United for almost £5m – every other departure was a free transfer or a loan exit (Transfermarkt).

However, there were suitors for Zaha too, with Tottenham Hotspur looking into a move in the final days of the transfer window (via The Athletic).

Significantly, the Ivorian is into the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park, so as it stands, he’ll be walking away on a free transfer next summer.

The latest

Jones had previously told GiveMeSport that Palace valued Zaha in the £25m-£30m bracket, but has now claimed that they demanded ‘a lot more’ for the winger.

He revealed to the outlet: “I was told that actually, teams were put off by the prices quoted to them, and even with the contract situation at the moment, they wanted a lot more than that. So, we’ll have to wait and see if anything happens at Crystal Palace.”

The verdict

Have Palace made the right call here?

The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam expects the club to make further attempts to persuade Zaha to sign a new deal, but isn’t sure if they’ll be successful. That’s because, at the age of 29, the forward may believe that this is his ‘greatest opportunity’ to play European football.

If he does leave for nothing, there may be those who criticise Palace for foregoing a potential £25m windfall, but equally, key decision-makers at Selhurst Park may believe that one more season of having the 29-year-old in south London is even more valuable.

Indeed, Zaha has begun the new campaign in electric form with four goals in his first five matches, including one at Anfield against Liverpool and a double in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa.

Glasgow Rangers ended their run of three straight defeats in all competitions by winning 2-1 in the Premiership at Ibrox last Saturday to head into the international break on a high.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men had lost their previous three games by an aggregate score of 11-0, against Celtic, Ajax, and Napoli, and were in desperate need of a lift.

They got their boost as the Light Blues beat Dundee United at home in the Scottish top-flight, thanks to a birthday double from summer signing Antonio Colak.

Despite the poor form in the build-up to the game and the senior players available for selection, van Bronckhorst opted to place his faith in the Rangers academy for the clash with United.

Charlie McCann and Leon King were both handed starts ahead of the likes of James Sands, Ben Davies, Fashion Sakala, Malik Tillman, and Steven Davies.

McCann started in the number 10 role and had a solid outing as he completed 84% of his attempted passes and created two chances in 90 minutes. It was his full debut in the Premiership after making two appearances as a substitute last season, in which he won 75% of his individual duels and completed three tackles.

The 20-year-old Northern Irishman earned his chance in the first team after catching van Bronckhorst’s eye for the B team at the start of this season. He has scored four goals and provided one assist in six B team fixtures so far, whilst he also registered an assist for the senior side in the League Cup.

This shows that he is a midfielder who is capable of being a difference-maker in the final third, which he showed glimpses of by creating two chances against United.

Journalist Josh Bunting once described him as “very sharp” and reporter Mark McDougall previously hailed the gem as a “terrific footballer”, which illustrates how much he has impressed of late.

His emergence at the first-team level could now allow van Bronckhorst to bin £16k-per-week Rangers veteran Scott Arfield. The former Burnley man is out of contract at the end of the campaign and he will be 34 by next summer.

His form in the Premiership has been far from impressive since the start of the 2021/22 campaign, with six goals and one assist in 36 matches – playing out wide or in a number 10 role.

In the same time, he has failed to produce a single goal or assist in 19 Champions League and Europa League appearances, in qualifiers and in the actual competitions.

The dud has not been a consistent performer at the top end of the pitch and that is why van Bronckhorst could benefit from handing more game time to McCann this season with a view to him taking over Arfield’s minutes, allowing the Canadian to leave next summer.

Aston Villa have been host to some outstanding talent in recent years, many of whom Steven Gerrard would love to have in his side.

Jack Grealish is the obvious candidate for a return, having only left last summer, however, the money earned for his departure – a whopping £100m – was too good to ever deny.

One man who would certainly benefit from Gerrard’s system, however, is a prime Christian Benteke, who was exceptional during his stint at Villa Park.

With the 42-year-old currently employing a 4-4-2 formation with a narrow diamond of central midfielders at its core, the Belgian feeding off the deliveries of Lucas Digne and Matty Cash sounds like a scary prospect.

The Frenchman has attempted 31 crosses this season, whilst the Poland international has attempted 21.

If they were aimed at Benteke, they would surely reap higher rewards than they currently are.

Throughout his career in the league, the 31-year-old has scored 33 of his 86 goals with his head. Whilst at his “outstanding” best, he would have thrived in this system.

Especially when he would be paired alongside Danny Ings, with the prolific little marksman the perfect player to feed off a true target man. He averages 5.98 touches in the opposition’s penalty area per 90, which would surely improve if he was employed beside a true battering ram striker.

During his debut season in the Midlands, Benteke scored 19 Premier League goals as his Villa side flirted with relegation.

To be thrust into a side inundated with far more quality would certainly have aided his performances.

Paul Lambert played a blinder when he tempted the powerful striker to sign for his side in 2012, especially given the £7m price tag.

It just remains a shame that he came at a period when Villa were so poor, as they did not finish above 15th during his time there.

However, it is no surprise that the season after he left, the Villains were relegated in a miserable campaign that saw them garner just 17 points as they finished rock-bottom.

Whilst Ollie Watkins deputises well as the larger of the two strikers, it cannot be denied that to have a prime version of what was the quintessential target man enter Gerrard’s team would have set the Premier League on fire this season.

They certainly would not be struggling like they currently are.

The Athletic journalist Patrick Boyland has been left buzzing over some early Everton Team News that has now emerged involving Jordan Pickford.

The Lowdown: Back fit

Speaking to the media in his pre-game press conference ahead of their match away at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, Frank Lampard has confirmed that Pickford is back fit after picking up a thigh injury in their 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park earlier this month.

Lampard initially thought that the goalkeeper may have to wait until their game against Manchester United next week to return to the pitch, but now he looks set to take his place back in between the sticks at St. Mary’s Stadium.

The Latest: Boyland buzzing

Taking to Twitter, Boyland was left buzzing after hearing the news of Pickford’s return, claiming that it is a ‘massive boost’ for the Toffees:

“Jordan Pickford fit for Everton this weekend. Massive boost.”

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The Verdict: Huge

Having Pickford back in between the posts is huge for Lampard and his team.

The England international has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, receiving a lot of praise for some of his performances, as he has conceded just six goals in his opening six games in the top flight, and kept a vital clean sheet in the club’s first win in the division with a 1-0 win at home to West Ham United last time out (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, the Blues will need their goalkeeper to be at their best if they are to grab their first away win of the Premier League campaign, as they face the Saints over the weekend.

Leeds United are likely to dip back into the transfer market when the January window opens, according to a fresh claim by Sky Sports journalist Tim Thornton.

The Lowdown: Productive summer at Leeds

Jesse Marsch will likely have been happy with his business in the summer transfer window, despite losing key duo Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha.

Leeds used that money wisely, bringing in a host of new players in key positions, whether it be Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra or Tyler Adams, among others.

It looks as though further reinforcements could be made soon, however, following a new update.

The Latest: January business likely, says Thornton

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Thornton claimed that Orta would give the green light for January signings to come in:

“There’s a philosophy at Leeds and Victor’s very much a central figure in that, so he’ll already be planning for the next transfer window. That’s the way that he works.”

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The Verdict: Key to continue building

While Leeds certainly don’t need major additions in January, it is vital that Marsch has a squad that is comfortably capable of avoiding relegation from the Premier League.

In what is a relentless season, with the World Cup awkwardly getting in the way, legs could tire as the campaign goes on, highlighting the need for new faces.

The key for Leeds is to keep steadily improving and not go backwards and top-quality new signings can only be hugely beneficial, in that respect.

After a shocking start to the new Premier League season which has left Wolves in 18th place with just one win to their name, the Old Gold need to ensure that their next manager can keep them well clear of trouble.

One man who is reportedly interested in taking over from Bruno Lage at Molineux is current Lille manager Paulo Fonseca.

According to 90min, the Portuguese manager has shown an interest in the vacant role, despite having only taken charge of Lille in June.

The 49-year-old has been linked with both Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in the past so is clearly keen to work in the Premier League, and considering the plethora of Portuguese talent on offer at Molineux where better for the former Roma boss to find his feet in England’s top flight?

During his time with Lille, the French side have had a very ordinary start to the season, winning four, drawing one and losing four of their opening nine games in Ligue 1.

However, Fonseca boasts impressive records with Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Porto, having averaged more than 1.7 points per game at all of those clubs, so he could bring a winning mentality with him to Wolves.

Fabrizio Romano was full of praise for Fonseca when he was linked with Spurs, saying:

“He is perfect in the dressing room and perfect in his relationship with the players.

“He likes to play a 3-4-2-1 formation and likes to play with quality and fast players behind the striker.”

Both of these statements seem like they would be an excellent fit for Wolves given their current situation, as Lage was said to have lost the dressing room before his eventual sacking, while three goals in just eight games this season suggests that the players are not clicking on the pitch.

If Fonseca can boost the players’ relationship off the pitch then surely it will be only a matter of time until they begin to blossom on it, so his ability to win over a dressing room could be key in turning Wolves’ fortunes around.

The promise of playing a 3-4-2-1 could also see Wolves get back to their best, as they boasted a fine defensive record in the league early last season when playing three centre-backs, while the likes of Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Goncalo Guedes would definitely fit the mould of a quick player capable of playing behind the striker.

Therefore, Fosun should definitely consider appointing Fonseca if he is indeed keen on a move to Molineux.

Everton have developed a reputation for transfer disasters over the years since Farhad Moshiri became the majority stakeholder at Goodison Park, but whilst the club have often got it wrong, sometimes they have exercised immaculate judgement.

Indeed, this season in the Premier League it is looking like the nine new signings have improved and enhanced the squad under Frank Lampard, with Everton 12th in the league table after a promising start to the campaign.

The Toffees have the joint-best defensive record in the division, conceding just nine goals alongside Manchester City, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion, something that nobody could have predicted following their relegation scrap over the 2021/22 campaign.

Last season, only Watford, Norwich City, Leeds United and Southampton conceded more goals than the Toffees, which ultimately contributed to their struggle for survival in the top flight as their Premier League status wasn’t secured until the penultimate game of the season.

Lampard’s current first-choice back four of Vitaliy Mykolenko, James Tarkowski, Conor Coady and Nathan Patterson or Seamus Coleman would have exceeded the expectations of even the most optimistic Everton supporters this season, and has proven that the club doesn’t always get it wrong on the transfer front.

One decision which caused huge controversy at Goodison Park last season was the decision to part ways with former Toffees left-back Lucas Digne, who was sold to Aston Villa in January for £25m.

The Frenchman had become a fan favourite during his time at the club, tallying 127 appearances, six goals and 20 assists in three-and-a-half years on Merseyside, but the breakdown of his relationship with Lampard’s unpopular predecessor Rafael Benitez was beyond repair and the player was sold.

At the time, it was considered a bad move for Everton, but hindsight is a wonderful thing now that Digne is struggling with injury problems and inconsistent performances at Villa Park.

The 29-year-old, who was previously dubbed a “nightmare” by Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchliffe, has sustained a suspected stress fracture to his ankle whilst on international duty. His recovery time is currently unknown, and had he remained at Goodison Park, that would have been a headache for Everton, who have struggled with injuries non-stop over the last 12 months.

Furthermore, Digne hasn’t been a standout performer in Aston Villa’s team since joining in January and has contributed to their struggles, with Steven Gerrard’s side currently 16th in the Premier League.

Across seven appearances this season, the full-back has offered no goal contributions or chance creation, has lost possession of the ball once every 4.2 touches per game, has made zero dribble attempts, given away one penalty through foul play and committed 1.3 fouls per game.

With that in mind, it is now clear that Moshiri struck gold by selling Digne in January, as the 29-year-old is now worth up to just €15m (£13.1m) according to CIES Football Observatory, 47.6% less than what Everton sold him for just nine months ago.