Premier League: Team of the Week XXII feat. Arsenal and Swansea stars

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Right Wing-Back: Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)

Alexis Sánchez has developed a knack for scoring big penalties, particularly in this fashion. His ‘Panenka’ penalty in the 2015 Copa America final earned Chile a first ever title against Argentina, but up until this point, he’d never netted from the spot for the Gunners in the Premier League. That all changed against Burnley though, as the Chilean assumed the responsibility of converting Arsenal’s late penalty deep into added time, employing the same ‘Panenka’ chip down the middle past Tom Heaton to score in audacious fashion. Big occasions require big players, and in Sánchez, Arsenal have one.

Centre-Midfield: James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Leicester may have been poor and a mere shadow of themselves this time 12 months ago, but you can only beat what’s in front of you, and James Ward-Prowse gleefully set about dismantling Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes, netting a wonderful goal to get the demolition job underway.

After a few games without a win, Southampton seem to have found the light at the end of the tunnel and Ward-Prowse is emerging as one of the key components in Claude Puel’s side, his strike putting an end to a 21 game goal-less run.

Centre-Midfield: Tom Carroll (Swansea City)

What a way to make your debut. For all his promise as a youngster at Tottenham, the fierce competition for places at White Hart Lane meant that now, at 24, Tom Carroll had to depart to fulfill his potential by featuring regularly and if this performance is anything to go by, he looks more than ready to seize his chance at Swansea.

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He rattled the woodwork early on to fire off a warning shot to the hosts, they didn’t heed, and Carroll made them pay, and was the mastermind behind Liverpool’s demise, crossing for Fernando Llorente to net his second of the game, before laying the ball on a plate for Gylfi Sigurdsson to net the winner. For a player with minimal game time in the Premier League, this was a performance worthy of a player beyond his years.

Centre-Midfield: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

A heinous crime it may seem to leave out 250-goal record-breaker Wayne Rooney, but given his introduction as a late substitute, on balance it felt appropriate to leave a place for a player who managed longer on the pitch and still got onto the score-sheet. Kevin de Bruyne fits that bill perfectly.

Pep Guardiola had a right to feel aggrieved that his Manchester City side let a two-goal lead slip at home to Spurs. They were the better team on the balance of play and should have also arguably had a penalty, but it was Belgium international De Bruyne who ran the show. His movement and incisive passing was a constant menace to Spurs, and he showed his opportunists’ streak, pouncing on a second error from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to put City two goals to the good. A shame that they couldn’t hold on, De Bruyne’s performance was deserving of being on the winning side.

Left Wing-Back: Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion)

Chris Brunt put in a wonderful shift against Sunderland at the Hawthorns. Needless to say over the months that the Northern Irishman has been sidelined with an injury, the Baggies have missed his verve and influence. He was everywhere against Sunderland, putting in the most tackles and completing more passes than anyone on his team, and capping off his sparkling individual performance with a wonderful goal.