Author: Frank G. Barnes

Purveyor of footy since the 90s. Favor the Premier League and old school Serie A with a touch of Bundesliga. More than a touch. Professional writer for 20 years, covering every sport but now focused on the Premier League and world football. You won't be able to guess my favorite team.
Morgan Rogers just confirmed he is what Chelsea were missing
25Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Morgan Rogers just confirmed he is what Chelsea were missing

Chelsea defeated Fulham 3-2 in Xabi Alonso's managerial debut, and, as many Blues fans were hoping and even expecting, new Aston Villa signing Morgan Rogers played a crucial role in the victory. He was arguably the standout player on the pitch across from Cole Palmer, and these two are fitting each other like gloves, with Rogers the perfect creative counterweight to Palmer on the left side. Rogers can finish off the chances that Palmer and Joao Pedro produce, and he was scintillating with a goal and five key passes to lead the team, while also progressing the ball well and even taking the Fulham defense on with successful one on one dribbles. Since breaking out in the 2024/25 season, Rogers has been one of the best forward and hybrid attacking midfield wingers in the Premier Leagu...
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2026/27 Premier League Power Rankings after Tottenham, Man United, and Aston Villa implode
25Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Rankings

2026/27 Premier League Power Rankings after Tottenham, Man United, and Aston Villa implode

Here are the first Premier League power rankings of the 2026/27 Premier League season after Tottenham Hotspur's shock defeat to Brentford, Chelsea's huge win over Fulham, and Manchester United getting embarrassed by newly promoted Hull. 20. Coventry 19. Nottingham Forest 18. Crystal Palace Coventry looked completely overmatched on Friday night, and while that was nothing less than expected against reigning champions Arsenal, it was still pretty jarring to see. Nottingham Forest have quite a bit of talent, but they did not look up for it, while Crystal Palace, on the other hand, may have lost too much talent to be able to truly compete in the Premier League this season. 17. Sunderland 16. Ipswich 15. Hull 14. Leeds 13. Aston Villa 12. Tottenham Hotspur 11. Manchester United I...
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4 stars, 3 flops from Chelsea’s 3-2 opening win over Fulham
24Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

4 stars, 3 flops from Chelsea’s 3-2 opening win over Fulham

Chelsea defeated rivals Fulham 3-2 in Xabi Alonso's managerial debut against his former Real Madrid teammate and coaching successor Alvaro Arbeloa. Here are the biggest stars and flops from the match. Star: Cole Palmer If Chelsea are to return to the Champions League, then they are going to need Cole Palmer to be back at his best level. Well, he was on Matchday 1, absolutely cooking the Fulham midfield and defense with three key passes, eight combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn, and a goal and an assist to win it. Oh, and Alonso got some solid defensive work rate out of him. Flop: Malo Gusto Malo Gusto at right back and Reece James in the midfield does not work, because James is ten times the right back Gusto is and any midfielder is going to be better than James. The former Ly...
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Kai Havertz on a mission to prove Arsenal fans right about what the rest of the Premier League doubts
24Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Kai Havertz on a mission to prove Arsenal fans right about what the rest of the Premier League doubts

Kai Havertz isn't the most popular player around the Premier League, and even though Arsenal themselves spent a ton of money to replace him with a more traditional No. 9 in Viktor Gyokeres last summer transfer window and have designs on making an even bigger splash before the window closes this year in La Liga superstar Julian Alvarez, the German international is still valued highly. And Havertz did have a strong Friday night 2026/27 Premier League season debut against Coventry, toasting up the newly promoted side with a goal. Arsenal fans have viewed Havertz as a loyal servant and a key player, and a lot of them astutely point out that when you look at the raw production, he is playing the best ball of his career in North London. While Havertz was something of a phenom in the Bundes...
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Viktor Gyokeres has made Arsenal realize what they need from Julian Alvarez
24Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Viktor Gyokeres has made Arsenal realize what they need from Julian Alvarez

Arsenal spent about 55 million pounds on Viktor Gyokeres last summer transfer window, and while it is hard to say that he met that price tag from Sporting CP in terms of pure performance on the pitch and certainly came nowhere near the 39 goals he scored in Liga Nos, he definitely was a success in the one most important way that the Gunners were looking at. Because look, maybe it had more to do with the other players, but Arsenal did win the league with Gyokeres at striker. And they did not win the league without him before that, even though they had talented center forwards like Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. From an Arsenal perspective, the big change that Gyokeres brought was a profile in the box who could bring that level of threat and open up the field for the rest of the player...
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Christos Tzolis success for Arsenal will come from a key element they never had
23Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Christos Tzolis success for Arsenal will come from a key element they never had

Arsenal actually had a decent attack with Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka, and while it was the weak point of a side that won the Premier League, the attack was still good enough that it didn't hold the Gunners back from finally taking home the title. But Arsenal are now ten times better as an offense with Christos Tzolis, whose goal scoring and assist providing exploits at Club Brugge were clear enough to the Gunners at the time of his signing. Though he did not score or assist in the 3-0 opening win over Coventry, Tzolis had three key passes and two fouls drawn in a highly successful debut in which he was quite arguably the best player on the entire pitch. What Arsenal were missing and what Tzolis is providing is a directness f...
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Arsenal have one last doubt before Riccardo Calafiori becomes the best in the world
23Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Arsenal have one last doubt before Riccardo Calafiori becomes the best in the world

Arsenal are so loaded with talent defensively that it's easy to forget the players besides David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes, and William Saliba who were the heroes of the Premier League title run last season. But Arsenal have some more serious ballers in their ranks, and the one with the most upside is Italian international Riccardo Calafiori, who captured the attention of the world in 2023/24 under Thiago Motta when Bologna made a fairytale run to the Champions League - and then the following summer for Italy when he was the one positive of another national team disgrace. Calafiori was among the many Arsenal players who looked incredible in the 2026/27 Premier League season opener against newly promoted side Coventry, showing a different level of class with his touches, turns, and work...
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Xabi Alonso is the last hope for Jamie Gittens
22Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Xabi Alonso is the last hope for Jamie Gittens

Jamie Gittens joined Chelsea in 2025 for a whopping 56 million euros after what was really only a great half season, and unlike Nicolas Jackson at Villarreal, he was really only great in the first half of the 2024/25 season for Borussia Dortmund up until Niko Kovac's arrival made BVB more defensive (to their benefit). But the England international showed enough explosiveness and dribbling quality to make the Blues invest heavily in him as a solution on the left wing, which has been a gaping hole for them. Gittens flopped miserably in his first season at Chelsea, and while an adjustment period was always going to be necessary for an especially raw player who did take a lot of time to come good at Dortmund in the first place, it was jarring to see how much he struggled. Despite many...
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Martin Zubimendi already proved what was really behind his Arsenal struggles
22Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Martin Zubimendi already proved what was really behind his Arsenal struggles

Arsenal dominated Coventry 3-0 on Friday night to open the 2026/27 Premier League season, and it was no surprise to see how easily the reigning champions destroyed one of the newly promoted sides. Though, of course, Ipswich and Hull scored upset wins, and that actually makes what Arsenal did all the more impressive. Christos Tzolis stole the show with an insane game in his Arsenal debut, and he might be the next big thing in the Premier League. And the former next big thing, Martin Odegaard, was like a new signing again with how much better he looked on Matchday 1 than almost any point last season. But if you ask me - and by reading this article, you are essentially asking me - the biggest storyline wasn't those guys, but rather defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi. Zubi is going...
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The 10 Best Defensive Midfielders in the Premier League Right Now, Ranked
21Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Rankings

The 10 Best Defensive Midfielders in the Premier League Right Now, Ranked

The Premier League is loaded with elite midfield talent, but the best defensive midfielders do far more than simply tackle, intercept and protect the back four. A modern No. 6 must be able to win the ball, resist pressure, progress possession and control matches. Some are pure destroyers, others are deep-lying playmakers, while the very best can dominate both sides of the game. With that in mind, these are the 10 best defensive midfielders in the Premier League right now, ranked based on their current level, consistency, defensive ability, technical quality and overall importance to their teams. 10. Mateus Fernandes — Tottenham The Dynamic Midfield All-Rounder One of the new breakout stars in the Premier League, Mateus Fernandes is a ball of energy with highly underrated techn...
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