Premier League: Team of the Week XIV

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Right-Forward: Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

The superb Chilean was simply unplayable as he hit a hat-trick at West Ham, meaning Sanchez has now had a hand in 24 goals in his past 24 Premier League appearances for Arsenal. It asn’t just a clinical performance, but an unselfish one, as he sought to lay the ball off and provide opportunities for teammates just as much as he would go direct and look for the net himself.

The pundits’ debate continues to roar on as to whether Sanchez can be considered in the breadth ofother ‘world class’ strikers but with performances like this, where he lit up the former Olympic Park more than the flame that once burnt there, it’s clear he is just allowing his football to do the talking.

Centre-Forward: Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace)

A difficult one to call, but birthday boy Benteke takes the cake for his brace against high-flying Southampton, right when his manager, his club, and my fantasy football team needed it the most. His first was an opportunists’ finish, capitalising on Fraser Forster’s hashed clearance, and he proved his worth as a finisher once again, gleefully tapping in from Jason Puncheon’s cut-back to give Palace a comprehensive win.

Bar his ruthless finishing, he was a nuisance for the Saints defence throughout the contest with his height and physical presence, and his first two goals at Selhurst Park were just reward for his efforts. He now has four in four for the Eagles, and will be vital in steering Pardew’s Palace out of the ‘mini-crisis’ they are thought to be in.

Left-Forward: Diego Costa (Chelsea)

Billed as a battle between two of the league’s best centre-forwards, it was Diego Costa and Chelsea who reigned supreme at the Etihad, and the seemingly unstoppable Costa seems to be improving by the game.

He took his goal clinically to haul Chelsea back into the match shortly after the interval, but was what more telling about his performance is that amongst the melee at the end of the match following Aguero’s rash challenge on David Luiz, the Spanish international was nowhere to be seen. Potentially a corner turned under Antonio Conte with regards to his aggressive manner on the pitch. If so, it is a sensational example of man-to-man management.

Away from that and his finish, his influence on the field was there for all to see. He gave Nicolas Otamendi a torrid time all afternoon, and once again got the better of him for Chelsea’s winner when he turned the Argentine and left him trailing in his wake, before laying the ball off to Willian to slot the ball home across Claudio Bravo for the winner. The very kind of class that wins you these big matches.

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Coach: Eddie Howe

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