Goalkeeper – Artur Boruc (Bournemouth)
What an incredible performance from the Bournemouth keeper and he joins a growing list of keepers who have saved their best performances of the season for Old Trafford. He made a catalogue of saves throughout the game and stepped up to the plate when the Cherries went down to ten men.
His performance was encapsulated by a wonderful save from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s penalty, earning Bournemouth a hard-earned point.
Defender – Ryan Shawcross (Stoke)
Reliable Ryan Shawcross is a hugely important part of this Stoke team when he is fit. Stoke were one of just three Premier League sides to keep a clean sheet this weekend keeping out the luckless Middlesbrough but Shawcross limited their chances and lead his side to a relatively comfortable win.
He is a true leader, something England have been lacking for many years.
Defender – Mamadou Sakho (Palace)
Eyebrows were raised when Liverpool allowed seemingly one of their better defenders to join Palace on loan in January and Sam Allardyce will be counting his lucky stars as the defender put in an excellent performance this weekend. The Eagles kept out an in-form Tony Pulis side in one of the performances of the weekend.
Sakho defended stoutly throughout and a clean sheet to go with an impressive win is just reward for his performance.
Defender – Martin Olsson (Swansea)
Martin Olsson keeps finding his way into this team of the week after yet another great performance for the resurgent Swans. Swansea were incredibly unlucky to find themselves pegged back to 1-1 after one of the most ridiculous penalty decisions you will ever see and it seemed to cause a huge amount of frustration amongst both the Swansea players and fans as they went 2-1 down.
Martin Olsson scored the all-important equaliser with a brilliant finish. It was his second goal in a Swansea shirt, giving them the platform needed to win the game. Olsson is turning into one of the best left backs in the league and at just £5 million he looks a steal.
Midfielder – Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)
Cancel the search party, Riyad Mahrez is back! The 2016 PFA player of the year has been the most disappointing of all of Leicester’s players this season but the sacking of Claudio Ranieri seems to have reinvigorated the Algerian.
He scored a wonderful individual goal to give Leicester the lead and led them towards another important win.
Midfielder – Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
The performance of the weekend came from Nathan Redmond. He was instrumental in everything positive that Southampton did in an attacking sense. His pace and dribbling caused Watford all sorts of problems in an incredible game with little focus on defending.
Redmond scored two of Saints’ four goals as he and fellow midfielder Dusan Tadic ran the show. Gareth Southgate must seriously consider promoting him from the England under 21 setup.
Midfielder - Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool)
Wijnaldum controlled and patrolled the midfield as Liverpool tore Arsenal apart. He provided the bite that Arsenal’s midfield was lacking and proved vital in securing the three points. He even capped off an excellent performance with a goal in added time.
Midfielder -Marko Arnautovic (Stoke)
Stoke seared an important home win and Marko Arnautovic provided the spark to seal the three points. He scored an excellent solo goal for the opener before getting on the End of a Peter Crouch knock down and finishing powerfully. The Austrian was Stoke’s leading scorer last season and will have his eyes on that prize again if he can keep up this form.
Midfielder –Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Mane proved exactly what Liverpool had been missing in his absence, pace, directness and a cutting edge. He provided the assist for Roberto Firmino’s opener before firing in a second goal himself to give Liverpool breathing space.
His pace stretched the Arsenal defence who couldn’t cope with Liverpool attacking fluidity. He has become Liverpool’s key man.
Forward- Fernando Llorente (Swansea)
Another match winning performance from Fernando Llorente and you can begin to see why Antonio Conte was interested in bringing him to Stamford Bridge in January. He is dominant in the air and two towering headers secured Swansea all three points as the move clear of the relegation zone. He is Swansea’s key man and is becoming increasingly difficult to defend against.
Forward – Harry Kane (Tottenham)
He seems to be in this team every single week recently but with performances like this you simply cannot leave him out. Two more goals and once again he proved to be Spurs’ match winner. His form in 2017 has been staggering, he’s bagged 13 goals in 12 games in all competitions and now leagues the race for the golden boot with 19 Premier League goals this season.
