EPL Match Day 12: 5 Talking Points

After the international break, the English Premier League returned for match day 12 actions. Both Manchester clubs enjoyed convincing victories, likewise Liverpool and Chelsea. The story of the weekend however is Arsenal’s master class performance in the North London derby. Here are 5 talking points from the games.

Wenger silences critics: Arsene Wenger and his side have been the source of trolling on social media this season. Leading up to the first North London derby of the season, fans and pundits alike were all of the opinion that Spurs are now the bosses of the polar end of the capital city. However, Arsenal put in a determined team effort to earn a 2-0 victory of Pochettino’s side.

United rebounds in style: prior to the international break, the Red Devils were a victim of a defeat courtesy the Blues. The encounter at Old Trafford against Newcastle afforded the right opportunity for Mourinho and his charges to provide a response, only for the 20-time English champions to fall behind within 15minutes. But United bounced back to claim a 4-1 victory through an impressive performance of star midfielder, Paul Pogba, on his return from injury. The victory extended the club’s unbeaten home run to 38 matches.

Pulis shown the red card: the aftermath of West Brom’s 4-0 defeat to Chelsea is a bitter one for Tony Pulis as he was fired by the club. West Brom are languishing at 17^th position on the table, and with early signs of relegation showing, the powers that be took the pragmatic decision and fired the manager, who was without victory in his last 10 league games.

Liverpool’s purple patch: Jurgen Klopp was under pressure after his side’s abysmal 4-1 loss to Spurs in October. But the German has masterminded a run of 3 wins in 3 games since that trouncing. Not only is Liverpool winning games, but they have kept 2 consecutive clean sheets in the home league games, something that is admirable, taking into consideration that fact the Merseyside side have had defensive issues all season.

The lion is back: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made a spectacular recovery from a career threatening injury he suffered in April whilst playing for Manchester United in last season’s UEFA EUROPA league competition. For a footballing grandpa at the age of 36 who has suffered an injury described as “significant knee ligament damage”, one would have thought that it would be the end of an illustrious career, but Ibra had other ideas. The Swede’s quicker-than-normal recovery is a testament of his high mental strength. 

Thanks to everybody that stod by my side for the last months.Thanks to my family,coach,teammates,Mino,DarioFort,Dahan,DrFu,DrVolker,Manutd and the most important my fanz.This was not a one man work without all of you I would not be playing fotball today Thank you and I ❤️ you pic.twitter.com/XpTCWMaEIn

— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 18, 2017