The latest Premier League team of the week is in, with Arsenal dominating as three of their players make it in, alongside other big names like Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo.
The Gunners are now top of the Premier League table on goal difference, benefiting from an impressive 3-0 win away to Brighton on Saturday, while Liverpool then dropped points with a 2-2 draw away to Man Utd on Sunday.
Arsenal may now be slight favourites for the Premier League title, and so it’s hardly surprising that their most impressive performers like Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are now in the latest BBC Sport team from Garth Crooks.
See below for the line up in full…
It’s a slightly odd formation from Crooks, as we often see, with Rice and De Bruyne deployed as wingers or wing-backs, though it’s certainly a quality team in general, with Bruno Guimaraes and Mainoo looking like a superb pairing in midfield.
That three-man defence of Arsenal duo Saliba and Gabriel alongside Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven is also a very solid-looking back line, while Everton’s Jordan Pickford is always a pretty safe bet in goal.
Rice and Mainoo the ideal midfield pairing for England?
The impressive performances of Mainoo will have given Gareth Southgate an interesting headache as he picks his midfield for England at Euro 2024 this summer.
Fans buying Euro 2024 tickets will surely already be thinking ahead to what kind of England line up they’ll be seeing in the upcoming tournament, and it’s fair to say Southgate is not short of options.
The Three Lions boss could go for a more experienced midfield with the likes of Jordan Henderson or Kalvin Phillips alongside Rice, while Jude Bellingham could also play a slightly deeper role than he has for Real Madrid this season.
Overall, though, with every passing game it seems like there’s a growing case for making Mainoo a starter, with the 18-year-old showing maturity beyond his years, and great quality on the ball that England’s more experienced players arguably lack.
Rice is surely a shoe-in after his strong form for Arsenal this season, while he also recently captained his country in the friendly against Belgium, but Mainoo has now surely made it an interesting race to partner the former West Ham man in the middle of the park this summer.
Also in the team above is England hopeful Ollie Watkins, who is surely showing he’s good enough to be a starter for Southgate’s side.