Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has picked four Arsenal players in his Premier League Team of the Week following their stunning 6-0 win over West Ham United.
The Gunners made it four victories on the bounce last weekend with a sensational performance at the London Stadium. They were winless in three meetings versus the Hammers and ended the streak in the best possible way with a resounding 6-0 rout of their London rivals.
There were plenty of stand-out performers for the Gunners in the derby. Shearer has now included four Arsenal stars in his Premier League Team of the Week. William Saliba and Ben White get a mention from the legendary striker alongside Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.
Shearer seemed particularly pleased with Rice, who made two assists and scored a stellar long-range goal on his return to the London Stadium, he said: “Unstoppable against his former club, setting up two goals before scoring himself.”
Arsenal had a poor end to 2023 with back-to-back league defeats and it was followed by an early FA Cup third round exit to Liverpool at home. They should have won the game with the chances created.
There were concerns over the lack of cutting edge in the final third. However, the club have managed to change their fortunes following a much-needed, but short warm-weather break in Dubai.
The Gunners have netted 16 goals across their last four wins in the top-flight and will be aiming to continue the good run of form when they face Vincent Kompany’s Burnley on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Rice has gone from strength-to-strength since his big switch from the Hammers. He has now registered four goals and five assists, operating from the holding midfield position.
The midfielder managed three goal contributions last weekend with a pass accuracy of 93 per cent.
He has been placed on corner and set-piece duty over the past few weeks and it is another clever decision by manager Mikel Arteta, who was Shearer’s Manager of the Week again.