Premier League winners and losers from Matchday 21: Arsenal shine, Man City falter

Even while the FA Cup’s third-round action was winding up, the Premier League was back underway with a round of games to liven up the middle of the week. Let’s take a look at the latest about who’s up and who’s down.

Winners

Arsenal

The Gunners headed up our losers’ list in the FA Cup, but they bounced back in a big way with a 2-1 win in the North London derby. Let’s be honest, their fans might have felt a familiar tightness in their chest after Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Tottenham Hotspur, but the players didn’t lose their calm against the most unpredictable of opponents. They’re now four points behind Liverpool.

Nottingham Forest

It’s important to realize that they shouldn’t be here. Forest followed up their cup win with a 1-1 draw to league leaders Liverpool, and while some may note that they gave up the lead to a Diogo Jota header, the deserved result leaves them in third place ahead of Newcastle and their Saudi money. A title charge may be unrealistic to hope for, but the Trees may just be in the Champions League come next September.

Graham Potter

His stint as Chelsea’s manager was the soccer equivalent of falling into a cement mixer, but his first Premier League match since resulted in a 3-2 win for West Ham over Fulham. The score may have been down to Cottagers’ defensive lapses more than anything the Hammers did (see the losers’ section), but the once-bright star of British coaching will happily take the three points.

Reece James

The oft-injured Chelsea right-back returned from his latest knock to rescue a draw for his team with a gorgeous free kick off the bench in stoppage time. Let’s hope one of the Premier League’s best fullbacks is fit and firing again.

Alexander Isak

Whether he’s a left winger, lone center forward, or part of a strike partnership, the Swedish striker is a lethal combination of size, pace, and composure in front of goal. He scored two goals in Newcastle’s easy win over Wolves, making it an eight-game scoring streak that has only been equaled by Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jamie Vardy, and Daniel Sturridge. 

Amad Diallo

In the space of 12 minutes, Manchester United went from what would have been a humiliating home loss to bottom-feeding Southampton to a wholly undeserved 3-1 win, and it’s all because of Amad’s hat trick that dragged his team to three points. The bad vibes at United seem to have dragged down everybody except the Ivorian.

Losers

Manchester City

Two points thrown away against Brentford. The draw itself isn’t a bad result, but giving up two goals in the last 10 minutes of play feels like yet another setback in a season that has been full of them.

The British soccer press

Granted, they needed a new angle for the continuing struggles of Manchester City. But really, lads, blaming Josep Guardiola’s wife? City’s coach and Cristina Serra recently announced their separation after 10 years of marriage, so of course that’s why City’s squad is suddenly old and the defensive consistency of seasons past has deserted them. Have we really stooped to this? If more women were writing about soccer over there, this wouldn’t be happening.

Everton

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. David Moyes came back to his old stomping grounds at Goodison Park, but the Toffees’ play remained insipid in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. Also, Armando Broja tore an ankle ligament that will keep him out for three months, and while the Albanian hadn’t tallied for goal-shy Everton, the club now joins the queue for striker-needy teams in this transfer window.

Andreas Pereira and Bernd Leno

Fulham should have dominated that game against West Ham comfortably, but the Brazilian winger assisted Carlos Soler for the Hammers’ first goal, and then the German goalkeeper made everyone say, “Oh, dude” as Danny Ings picked his pocket for what turned out to be the match-winner. 

Chelsea

Despite the last-minute draw, the Blues still haven’t won in their last five PL matches. They were thinking about challenging Liverpool for the title just a few weeks ago, but now they may not even be in the Champions League places when the season is through. Their rebuild is still ahead of schedule, but it may just be harder than their supporters want to think.

Liverpool

You can argue their place on this side of the list. After all, a draw at Forest (who are now in third place) is a creditable result in a vacuum, and it looks even better when you look at it in the light of Chelsea and Manchester City’s draws. Still, it’s always dangerous to give your rivals hope, which is what Arsenal now have after their win. The Reds do have a game in hand, and if they win that one, go ahead and ignore this item. Until then, though…