1) Saka needs a break
Arsenal’s collapsed attack is a multi-layered problem, but might one of the issues be sheer fatigue? Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s best attacker but he never gets a rest, which is now catching up with him.
The amount of football Saka has played for Arsenal is staggering: he has totalled 15,723 minutes of first-team action since making his debut in 2018. For context, that’s far more than the other top players of his age. Among other 2001-born players, Saka is way ahead of team-mate Gabriel Martinelli (9,730 minutes played), along with Enzo Fernandez (10,807), Anthony Gordon (7,880), and Curtis Jones (6,482).
His only contemporary rival in term of minutes played is Rodrygo of Real Madrid, who has clocked 14,379 club minutes, albeit that includes three seasons at a lower standard with Santos.
Arsenal will benefit from their mid-season break, but might get an even greater reward by giving Saka an extended holiday.
2) Trent Alexander-Arnold’s ceiling is higher than anyone thought
English football is obsessed with talking about Trent Alexander-Arnold, but then again, how often have you seen a high-end FA Cup tie being totally dominated by a right-back?
Well, right-back no longer quite covers it: Alexander-Arnold is evolving into a deep-lying creative midfielder to rival anyone. The entire game at the Emirates on Sunday revolved around Alexander-Arnold. In the first half, Arsenal’s suffocating press starved Alexander-Arnold of possession, with Liverpool looking toothless as a consequence.
Jurgen Klopp shook up his team at half-time, moving Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz to the wings: their pace and power forced a slight Arsenal retreat and gave room in midfield to Alexander-Arnold to spray the ball around. Mikel Arteta countered in clever, attack-is-the-best-form-of-defence style, introducing Gabriel Martinelli to give Alexander-Arnold something to worry about.
This briefly swung momentum back Arsenal’s way, until Klopp countered by introducing Conor Bradley at right-back and moving Alexander-Arnold to midfield on a full-time basis. From there Alexander-Arnold delivered the cross from which Liverpool took the lead and then closed out a sweet victory.
Alexander-Arnold’s passing range is out of this world, and he is also showcasing an ability to drive past opponents in midfield. Without Mohamed Salah, it’s becoming clear that if you can stop Alexander-Arnold, you can stop Liverpool. But when he’s playing like this, how on earth can you stop him?
3) Jason Knight leads Bristol City to memorable FA Cup result
An Irish achievement that went under-the-radar this weekend was the fact Jason Knight captained Bristol City to their deserved draw away to a close-to-full-strength West Ham United.
Knight won’t be 23 until next month, and has already played 26 times for Ireland and made 150 senior starts for Derby and Bristol City. Knight has played a remarkable amount of first-team football, and while his output with Ireland has been inconsistent, he has built a superb foundation from which to launch his career.
Ireland are desperately lacking leaders at the moment, a situation that will become serious whenever Seamus Coleman retires. In that context, Knight wearing the armband in high-profile club games such as these can only be a good thing for Ireland.
4) Timo Werner: a worthy gamble
There is surely never been less of a Sure Thing in football than signing Timo Werner in the hope he will score goals. Werner became a punchline at Chelsea, and hasn’t hit double figures in terms of league goals across any of his last three-and-a-half seasons.
That doesn’t mean Spurs are wrong to pick him up on loan for the rest of the season. Thursday’s win against Burnley was proof they need attacking reinforcements while Son is away at the Asia Cup: the game was settled by a stunning Pedro Porro goal partly because the Tottenham forwards were so toothless. (Richarlison made a hames of a great chance moments before Porro’s rocket.)
Werner is cheap – in the sense he’s free – and a loan deal means Spurs are not tethered to him if the move doesn’t work out. He has the attributes to fit snugly into a role as a wide attacker in Ange Postecoglu’s system, and Brennan Johnson isn’t doing much at the moment to keep Werner out of the team.
5) Some names for Irish fans to track
The FA Cup brought a couple of names for Irish fans to keep an eye out for over the next few years. Irish U17 international Rory Finneran made his senior debut for Blackburn Rovers as a late sub for Sammie Szmodics on Saturday, becoming the club’s youngest player in history. (So young, in fact, he wasn’t allowed to have the club’s sponsor on his shirt, as it advertises a vape.)
Also one to watch is Michael Golding, who made his senior Chelsea debut in the closing minutes of their victory over Preston. Golding played for Ireland at U15 level but is in the English system now, and has been capped to U18 level. If he is given an opportunity to play for England he will take it, but he is still eligible for Ireland, should things work out differently. His elder brother James is involved with the Irish U19s.
The third round also threw up a forgotten name: non-league Chesterfield almost caused a major shock away to Watford, taking the lead before falling to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat. the Chesterfield goal was scored by Joe Quigley, who made five appearances for the Irish U21s during Noel King’s tenure. Injuries greatly hampered his progression, sadly, and he has slid down England’s divisions. He has just turned 27, though, so there is still time to start travelling in the opposite direction.