Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend | OneFootball

Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend, featuring Nottingham Forest’s huge win, Mohamed Salah’s golden season, and a midfielder England must give a chance to.

Forest take giant step towards Europe’s elite

Forest fans of a younger generation have grown up on tales of the club’s back-to-back European Cup successes. The club’s fairytale run from the second tier to champions of Europe is one of English football’s great stories, but one that for a generation of football fans in Nottingham seems almost unimaginable.

It’s been 45 years since the second of Forest’s European Cup successes, while since the turn of the millennium 23 of the club’s 26 league seasons have been outside the top flight. Three of those were in the third tier. Now, however, Forest are flying high again. A season that has exceeded all expectations came closer to delivering Champions League football this weekend after Forest beat Manchester City 1-0 at the City Ground.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have all visited Trentside this season without losing and Forest sit third in the table. With five Champions League places expected to be handed out to English clubs, The Tricky Trees have a five-point buffer on the chasing pack.

The dream is on.

Thomas Tuchel needs to give Wharton an England chance

England have been calling out for a player in the mould of Adam Wharton. The Crystal Palace midfielder gatecrashed the squad for Euro 2024 last summer but failed to make an appearance at the tournament. He’s since endured an injury-hit campaign but a recent return to form has offered Thomas Tuchel food for thought ahead of his first squad announcement on Friday.

Wharton’s ability to scan, receive, and play the ball forward quickly with minimal touches appears straightforward, but it is an art England midfielders have often lacked since the retirement of the once-underused Michael Carrick.

After a best-on-ground performance against Aston Villa, he was outstanding again in the 1-0 win over Ipswich. A delightful outside-of-the-boot pass forward in particular caught the eye. With Declan Rice better when given licence to win duels and carry forward, Wharton’s attributes could offer a balance that England have been missing. This month’s internationals look like an ideal time to find out.

Salah continues golden season

This is a season for the history books from Mohamed Salah.

Sure, two penalties (no matter how emphatically converted) are hardly a defining performance, but his brace against Southampton set more records in his insatiable pursuit.

Salah is now the joint-highest-scoring overseas player in Premier League history, sits fifth overall, and has equalled the record for goals and assists in a 38-game campaign. There are still nine games to go.

Now seven clear of Erling Haaland as the league’s leading scorer, a fourth Golden Boot will equal Thierry Henry’s record. An inevitable third PFA Player of the Year triumph will also set new ground, taking Salah past Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and others and into a league of his own.

If this is to be Salah’s last season at Liverpool, it might just be the pièce de résistance.

Will this season haunt Arsenal?

We’ve become bored of talking about Arsenal’s failure to sign a goalscorer but it’s a narrative that will not go away. Admittedly, injuries have decimated the club’s forward line this season but the Gunners looked short in the summer regardless.

Victor Osimhen, Omar Marmoush, Samu Aghehowa, Julian Alvarez, Ivan Toney, Mateo Retegui, Serhou Guirassy. Seven strikers who moved clubs this season, each of whom were arguably attainable and have flourished in new surroundings.

The fear for Arsenal fans is that this season might be the one that got away. Even with Liverpool on course for 90+ points, Arsenal will feel with better luck and a reliable goalscorer that they could have come close.

There are several instances of Premier League nearly men, teams who came agonisingly close before falling away. Newcastle’s ‘Entertainers’ spring to mind, as do the Liverpool sides of Gerard Houllier and Rafael Benitez. Arsenal must ensure that last season’s transfer window is not the one that haunts them. This summer is huge for the North Londoners.

Is Ange’s time up at Tottenham?

Ange Postecoglou praised the mentality of his team after Spurs recovered from two goals down to draw with Bournemouth. But a barely deserved draw does not paper over the cracks of another timid Tottenham performance.

Bournemouth cut apart the North Londoners with ease and will be frustrated not to take the points, with Spurs second-best throughout. It followed a meek performance in midweek, as Spurs lost the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie with AZ Alkmaar.

Cristian Romero was visibly rusty, though the return of key personnel offers encouragement ahead of a win-or-bust second leg with AZ on Thursday.

Success in the Europa League would transform the complexion of this campaign, while the carrot of Champions League qualification would be a platform to truly kickstart the Ange era. Defeat, however, could spell the end for Postecoglou. Europe has become a last-chance saloon.

Read – Premier League Awards: Forest fairytale, Fabulous Fernandes

See more – Premier League Team of the Week – Disasi, Van Hecke, Salah

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