Our Premier League Awards honour the best – and worst – of the weekend’s top-flight action. Featuring Manchester City’s hat-trick hero and the finest first touch you’ll see all season.
Moment of the Week
Arsenal are alive in the title race and it required a roll of the dice from Mikel Arteta to keep the club’s challenge on course.
The failure to sign a striker this season has been well documented, while season-ending injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have left the Gunners light. Leandro Trossard led the line without conviction at Leicester, until Arteta shuffled his pack.
On came Mikel Merino as an auxiliary forward and delivered almost instantly. The Spaniard met Ethan Nwaneri’s delightful cross to head Arsenal ahead on 81 minutes, before arriving unmarked to steer in a second at the back post.
Arteta was forced to get creative in search of a breakthrough and stumbled on a solution. Can the Gunners make it work across the run-in?
Instant impact from Mikel Merino 🫡 pic.twitter.com/OAf8rZ6MRb
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 16, 2025
Player of the Week
Omar Marmoush has arrived as a Manchester City player.
Signed in the winter window after an explosive start to the season at Eintracht Frankfurt, Marmoush has injected a freshness to the City side. After a series of bright cameos to date, Marmoush got up and running with the Citizens against Newcastle this weekend.
A first-half hat-trick put Newcastle to the sword at the Etihad in a huge result for City’s Champions League challenge. First, he latched onto Ederson’s long pass to lift a lovely first over Martin Dubravka, before two clinical finishes claimed the match ball before the break.
🇪🇬 Omar Marmoush ⚽⚽⚽ pic.twitter.com/AhEZdTbcH1
— Manchester City (@ManCityPT) February 15, 2025
Mohamed Salah might be the resident Egyptian King in English football, but Marmoush is here to challenge for the throne.
Manager of the Week
What a job David Moyes is doing at Everton. Some suggested the return of the club’s former manager was a sidewards step when dismissing Sean Dyche last month but Moyes has galvanised the Blues. After the high of a last-gap equaliser in the Merseyside Derby, Everton won 2-1 at Crystal Palace this weekend to make it 13 points from their last five games.
Beto was on the scoresheet for the third straight game with the 27-year-old one of the winners from the change of manager, while January recruit Carlos Alcaraz was involved in both goals.
Everton are up to 14th and 13 points clear of the trouble. The Toffees can start planning for the move into their new stadium as a Premier League club.
The Moyseiah is back.
Goal of the Week
You will not see a better first touch all season.
Kaoru Mitoma’s moment of magic set Brighton on course for a 3-0 win over Chelsea on Friday night, with a velvet touch taking a long ball out of the south coast sky. It was pure inspiration from Mitoma, a goal Jamie Carragher called Messi-like on commentary. It’s hard to disagree.
“A touch from the heavens” 💫
Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma puts the hosts in front with an OUTRAGEOUS goal 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Q35NdQcj5R
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 14, 2025
Save of the Week
After struggling for solidity with Arijanet Muric and Christian Walton this season, Ipswich entered the market for a new goalkeeper in January. Alex Palmer arrived from West Bromwich Albion having emerged as one of the second-tier’s best shot-stoppers across the last two seasons.
Palmer made a big impression on his top-flight debut as Ipswich held Aston Villa on the road. He made six saves, including this reaction to claw away Morgan Rogers’ late effort. A valuable point in their battle to beat the drop, with Palmer at the centre of it.
An incredible stop to secure a point. 🚧 #AVLIPS pic.twitter.com/8HP0j4HaPf
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) February 15, 2025
Stat of the Week
For all the desire to play from the back, sometimes going from back to front quickly can be mightily effective.
Bart Verbruggen added his name to the list of goalkeepers to assist a goal this season, with his long pass converted incredibly by Karou Mitoma against Chelsea. He’s the fifth goalkeeper to set up a goal this season.
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, meanwhile, now has three assists in the Premier League this season – the most ever recorded in a single campaign.
5 – Bart Verbruggen is the fifth different goalkeeper to assist a Premier League goal this season (after Ederson, Flekken, Pickford, and Leno); the most in a single campaign since 2010-11 (5). Launch. pic.twitter.com/QKrBfiPvXU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 14, 2025
Read – Premier League Team of the Week – Marmoush, Nwaneri, Mitoma
See more – Un-relegateable Everton, Spurs banned in North Korea and the political football spectrum
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