Compliments of the seasons to you all. I hope you’re having a great time with family.
The Boxing Day fixtures served up its fair share of drama and as a neutral it was fun to watch. It started early with Newcastle hosting Nottingham Forest, as Nuno Espírito Santo continued his fledgling return to the Premier League. Newcastle suffered a shock defeat from the hands of their former player to continue their indifferent form, making it four losses in their last five League games.
The 4.00pm fixtures saw Dominic Solanke continue his imperious form with Bournemouth beating Fulham convincingly to make them the most in-form side in the division. Sheffield United and Luton Town served a real relegation six-pointer with loads of own goals to match.
Late on, Liverpool got a routine win over Burnley, as we couldn’t expect much from them, but the game of the night was the Manchester United vs Aston Villa match. Going into the game, Manchester United had been in horrendous form, while Unai Emery’s side were riding high with impressive wins over Manchester City and Arsenal.
Aston Villa scored two goals from John McGinn and Leandro Dendoncker but Manchester United mounted a comeback with a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund finally getting his maiden Premier League goal.
Moving to Arsenal related news, the Gunners take on West Ham and will be without Kai Havertz who picked up his fifth booking, leaving a gaping hole for the likes of Leandro Trossard, Jorginho or Emile Smith Rowe.
However, it has been reported that Thomas Partey has returned to full training and can be available for the next two games before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana.
Partey has been a huge miss this season, but in his absence, several players have stepped up and it’s interesting to see how Mikel Arteta manages the situation.
Nonetheless, it’s good to have Partey back with the first team squad.
Sayonara
