Analysis

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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
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...
Read More
What Makes Pedri So Good? Barcelona Star’s Playing Style, Position and Tactical Analysis
20Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

What Makes Pedri So Good? Barcelona Star’s Playing Style, Position and Tactical Analysis

Pedri has established himself as one of the most intelligent and technically gifted midfielders in world football, but what exactly makes the Barcelona star so effective? He may not always dominate the headlines with spectacular goals or assists, yet Pedri can influence a match in ways that are harder to measure. His positioning, awareness, ability to escape pressure and understanding of space allow him to control games from midfield and make Barcelona function at a higher level. In this tactical analysis, we'll break down Pedri's playing style, best position, biggest strengths, weaknesses and why he is so important to Barcelona. What Is Pedri's Playing Style? Pedri is a cerebral center midfielder who likes to play between the lines in the final third where he can playmake, oft...
Read More
Predicting every Premier League team’s goal scoring leader in 2026/27
15Aug By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Predicting every Premier League team’s goal scoring leader in 2026/27

The 2026/27 Premier League season is starting up again soon, and before the new campaign begins, let's take a look at who every team's best scorer will be Manchester City: Erling Haaland Arsenal: Bukayo Saka In theory, the leading goal scorer for Arsenal should be Viktor Gyokeres at the No. 9, but he is so hard to rely on. And while nobody will confuse Bukayo Saka for being the most killer goal scoring winger in the world, he has better technical ability and feel for the game than Gyokeres. He is bound for a bounce back season in 2026/27. Chelsea: Cole Palmer Like with Arsenal, it's hard to pick against the striker, but Joao Pedro brings a lot more than goals to the table for the Blues. And, in fact, what makes him such an asset to Chelsea is the fact that he is more than a scoring st...
Read More