Gavin Cooney

WE’VE ALMOST REACHED the halfway point of the Premier League season, so let’s pick our team of the campaign so far. 

GK: David Raya (Arsenal)

Raya started the season in spectacular fashion, securing a win away to Aston Villa with a ludicrous reaction save he then repeated in a Champions League draw away to Atalanta. Arsenal are a little off the pace in the title race, but that’s primarily because of shortcomings at the opposite end of the pitch to Raya’s. 

Honourable mentions: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest),

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) 

If this is to be Alexander-Arnold’s final season at Liverpool, he will leave his hometown club on a high note. His defensive performances have been vastly improved, showing his deficiencies in that area of the game are largely those of concentration and intensity.

He only occasionally inverts into midfield now, with Arne Slot utilising him more often as a conventional right-back, albeit one with an absurd range of passing. It’s bonkers to think Gareth Southgate picked Kyle Walker ahead of Alexander-Arnold as recently as this summer’s Euros. 

Honourable mentions: Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest), Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) 

CBs: Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool)

Van Dijk has played every minute of the season and has been his characteristically regal self – an injury to him is one of the few things that could derail Liverpool from here. His passing this season has been under-appreciated: Slot asks his players to utilise shorter passing in build-up to draw the press of opponents, and Van Dijk has excelled here. Note how often he draws an opponent and then pops the ball around the corner to Ryan Gravenberch. 

His team-mate Konate didn’t start the first game of the season but was introduced at half-time, and he was exceptional until injury took him out of the team in November. Liverpool conceded seven goals in the 12 league games Konate has played, but have leaked nine in the five matches he has missed. 

Honourable mentions: Gabriel (Arsenal), Murillo and Nikola Milenković (Nottingham Forest) 

LB: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)

The oft-mocked Cucurella has maintained his Euros form to become a vital piece of Enzo Maresca’s impressively coherent Chelsea team. He has been defensively strong: few players have managed Bukayo Saka as well as Cucurella this season. But he has been most impressive in possession, where his technical quality has allowed Maresca invert him into midfield, although not in the typical means.

Where the likes of John Stones and Alexander-Arnold step into the base of midfield, Cucurella often pushes even higher, allowing Chelsea outnumber opponents in midfield. It’s no coincidence Chelsea struggled to break down Everton in his suspension-enforced absence before Christmas. 

Honourable mentions: Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), Lewis Hall (Newcastle) 

CMs: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool) and Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)

Liverpool once deemed Caicedo as the pricey solution to their midfield woes, but missed out and picked up Gravenberch instead. He had a fitful, injury-hampered debut season, but Slot retooled him as a deeper-lying midfield player and he has been a revelation. He is skilful and calm under pressure, defensively diligent and offers a genuine ball-carrying threat to round it all out. He’s an all-rounder. 

There was a reason Caicedo was so expensive, however, as he has shown in the first half of his second season with Chelsea. His energy and tenacity in breaking up play is his obvious skill, but his passing and quality with the ball is underrated. Taken together, he has provided a base from which Chelsea have impressed this season. He is versatile too, occasionally starting at right-back while drifting into midfield in possession. 

Honourable mentions: Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Romeo Lavia (Chelsea), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Carlos Baleba (Brighton), Sander Berge (Fulham) 

RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

The Player of the Season thus far: Liverpool may have blundered in allowing his contract run down to its final year but it is at least providing some very helpful motivation. Salah is Liverpool’s best goalscorer and their chief creator, and this season became the first player in Premier League history to hit double figures for both goals and assists before Christmas. He now has more Premier League goals and assists than Thierry Henry, surpassing him in slightly fewer games. A true modern great. 

Honourable mentions: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford) 

No. 10: Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham)

We had to find space for Kulusevski in this team, who has always been excellent in spite of Tottenham’s wild inconsistencies. He has looked at his best when playing a more inside-left position – he lacks pace to be an elite wide forward – but he does have great stamina, which he marries with terrific feet, great ball-striking, and superb game-intelligence. If Spurs keep on eddying about in mid-table, they shouldn’t be surprised if Kulusevski believes he’s too good to stay put. 

Honourable mentions: Matheus Cunha (Wolves), Tyler Dibbling (Southampton), 

LW: Cole Palmer (Chelsea) 

Okay, Palmer generally plays centrally or off the right for Chelsea, but Maresca has occasionally picked him off the left and so that gives us the technicality we needed to get him in this team. Few players are as good to watch these days than Palmer, though nobody at Man City might be minded to agree at the moment. There’s a deep irony at play: Kevin de Bruyne left Chelsea and ultimately made his name at City, who then sold De Bruyne’s natural heir to Chelsea. Not even a machine as dominant as City can absorb a mistake that big. 

Honourable mentions: Luis Diaz (Liverpool), Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton)

ST: Alexander Isak (Newcastle) 

Haaland’s drop-off means this is one of the trickiest positions to pick. So with apologies to Chris Wood, we are going to go for Isak, whose superb all-round skillset has recently been buttressed with more regular goalscoring. He is occasionally guilty of missing simple chances, but that merely gives him an even higher ceiling. Newcastle will find it hard to keep hold of him if they miss out on the Champions League again next season. 

Honourable mentions: Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest), Liam Delap (Ipswich), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Jhon Duran (Aston Villa)