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Arsenal got their Europa League campaign off to a flying start with an emphatic 4-2 win over Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night. Whilst two late consolation goals meant that Unai Emery’s wait for a first clean sheet as Arsenal manager goes on, there were plenty of positives for the Gunners boss to take from the victory.

Amongst the standout performances for the home side was Alex Iwobi’s display. The Nigeria international was a constant menace to the Vorskla defence. 

The 22-year-old was a very powerful, aggressive and direct presence on the flank and was fearless in taking on his opponents. Over the course of the 69 minutes he was on the field, Iwobi completed three dribbles and made four key passes – more than any other player on the pitch.

He also registered a fine assist when he set up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to break the deadlock.

Iwobi’s impressive performance on Thursday ought to earn him a return to the Premier League starting XI for this Sunday’s visit of Everton.

What do you think, Arsenal fans – has Iwobi done enough to warrant inclusion from the off this weekend?

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Yerry Mina is reportedly set to return to training in the near future, but should the towering Colombian immediately be first choice for Everton when he returns?

Everton have struggled in defence so far this season, as Mina’s lack of fitness has coincided with injuries and suspensions for Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka.

Mason Holgate got absolutely bullied by Marko Arnautovic during West Ham’s win at Goodison, and Kurt Zouma has not exactly been perfect.

That said, Keane’s return from injury looks really promising for Marco Silva’s side, as he and Zouma have the makings of a really good partnership.

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The pair looked fairly solid at the Emirates, and if not for a screamer from Alexandre Lacazette and an offside goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang they would have grabbed a clean sheet at a stadium that has been a burial ground for Everton in recent seasons.

Mina showed glimpses of being a truly great centre back at the World Cup this summer, but he is also prone to lapses of concentration and poor positioning.

Keane has been slowly improving since his torrid start under Ronald Koeman and he and Zouma need time to form a proper understanding, so introducing Mina for Keane now could be a huge mistake.

So, Everton fans, should Mina immediately start when fit? Or do Keane and Zouma deserve the chance to form a proper partnership? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

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Southampton manager Mark Hughes reportedly wanted to sign Filip Kostic as a replacement for Dusan Tadic during the summer transfer window, but after the former’s quiet start to the season he should be happy that he didn’t.

What’s the word, then?

Well, according to the printed version of The Mirror (page 49) on July 24, via HITC, the Welshman was keen to offset the loss of Tadic to Ajax earlier in the summer by bringing his Serbia international teammate Kostic to St Mary’s.

The 25-year-old seemed set to leave cash-strapped Hamburg on a permanent basis following their first-ever relegation from the Bundesliga, and it was fellow German club Eintracht Frankfurt that eventually won the race for his signature – albeit they only brought him in on a season-long loan deal.

It’s fair to say that the move hasn’t been an overly positive one for either the Europa League competitors or the attacker so far.

Why should Southampton be glad they didn’t sign him?

While Saints’ transfer dealings have been deservedly lauded in the last few years, in more recent times they have got their business wrong more often than not – as seen by the fact they only narrow avoided the drop last season having finished in sixth two years previously.

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The south coast outfit certainly can’t afford to sign any more duds, but the early signs from Kostic’s early-season form for Frankfurt suggests he would have been exactly that, and that he wouldn’t have improved a struggling Premier League side that have scored just six goals in their seven top-flight fixtures so far this term.

Up until his goal in the 4-1 win against Lazio in Europe on Thursday night, the 25-year-old had failed to find the net or register a single assist in his opening seven appearances for the Bundesliga club, and Southampton and their fans, 66% of whom voted on our poll said they would like a 43-year-old ex-Saint to replace Hughes, need better than that if they are to make progress again.

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Having surprised many with his 23-man England squad selection, Gareth Southgate made changes once again ahead of Friday night’s Nations League clash with Croatia by setting his team up with a four-man defence.

On the chalkboard

Clearly, the England boss wasn’t reading when we argued that he ought to persist with a back five. That set up, after all, is the one he has used for the majority of his tenure and he did not deviate from it as the Three Lions made their unexpected run to the World Cup semi-finals in the summer. 

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The positive aspect of playing with three centre-backs with wing-backs either side – a back five – was that it allowed Southgate to utilise the top quality ball-playing centre-backs and highly effective attacking full/wing-backs that he had at his disposal.

As was demonstrated to England’s cost in the World Cup semi-final – again, versus Croatia – though, is that the extra defender meant that England could be overrun in the midfield by high level opponents.

Moving to a back four, however, allows Southgate to add an extra body to the middle of the park in an attempt to offset this frailty.

Will it work?

Having an extra midfielder is all well and good, but the individual personnel still have to be capable of performing their required task to a high enough standard.

Previous combinations of Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere have all too often left England lacking mobility and creativity in the middle third. Southgate appears to be aware of this, hence the call ups for Ross Barkley, James Maddison, Mason Mount, Nathaniel Chalobah and Harry Winks.

Chelsea’s Barkley and Mount (currently on loan at Derby County) and Leicester City’s Maddison have been included to add a degree of invention and drive to the Three Lions’ midfield. Whilst Mount is in the nascent stages of his career, Barkley and Maddison ought to see Southgate’s tactical shift as a golden opportunity for them to stake their claim as England regulars.

Meanwhile, Watford’s Chalobah and Spurs’ Winks add mobility to the midfield. Winks could prove to be the key man here as, at his best, he provides both energy and creativity in great measure. If he can discover his best form then he may soon emerge as the man England have been missing for so long.

Southgate’s new style can work, if those he has chosen to exhibit it with can rise to the challenge.

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According to The Mirror, West Ham are considering a move for Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill in the January transfer window.

As per the aforementioned report, the veteran defender would be open to a winter switch in order to gain more regular first team football. Considering that Cahill’s current contract at Stamford Bridge is set to expire at the end of this season anyway, the former England international could even be available at a bargain price in January.

Cahill would certainly add a great deal of leadership, experience and quality strength in depth to the defensive contingent at the London Stadium. However, the Hammers spent big on bringing Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop to East London in the summer and the pair have since forged a fine partnership in the heart of the Irons’ defence. 

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With the likes of Declan Rice, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and Reece Oxford at Manuel Pellegrini’s disposal as back up options, Cahill would likely be an unnecessary acquisition. The Hammers would be better off sticking with and developing what they have.

What do you think, West Ham fans – would Cahill be a wise winter buy?

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Tottenham supporters have been pretty upbeat during the international break having seen their side win their final three Premier League games prior to the two-week interruption.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men went into their encounter with Cardiff City on October 6 having beaten Brighton and Huddersfield Town in their preceding two league games, albeit they were swept aside by Barcelona in the Champions League just prior to the visit of Neil Warnock’s Bluebirds. Nonetheless, the North Londoners made it three wins in a row in the league as an Eric Dier effort was enough to seal a 1-0 win over the South Wales outfit at Wembley, thus moving Spurs to within two points of top spot.

Thus, there have been many thrilled Tottenham fans up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been taking to Twitter in recent times to respond to the rumours that Eddie Howe is the club’s number one choice to succeed Pochettino, with many supporters happy with that choice.

And those Spurs fans are so right to be happy with that choice, as Bournemouth boss Howe appears to be the ideal man to succeed Pochettino if and when the latter does indeed leave Tottenham.

Ultimately, the Argentine has done a terrific job at the North London club since his appointment as manager back in 2014, with the ex-Southampton chief rebuilding and making Spurs one of the best teams in the country.

And with three successive top four finishes in the Premier League, the 46-year-old is consistently producing the goods in charge of the North Londoners, even if he has yet to get his hands on a trophy in his four-year stint at the club.

Nonetheless, Pochettino has been touted by many to eventually take over at Real Madrid or indeed Manchester United, and while Spurs fans will obviously be hoping that that does not take place anytime soon, they must be prepared for such eventuality.

And reportedly identifying Bournemouth boss Howe as the man to replace Pochettino is a great choice, as the Englishman has worked wonders at the Vitality Stadium to thus earn a shot at a top job.

The 40-year-old returned to the South Coast for his second stint as manager back in 2012 after a relatively tough time at Burnley the year previous, but he has since reminded us all what an excellent young manager he is by leading the Cherries from the depths of League One to becoming an established Premier League club.

But it’s not just the fact that Howe has led Bournemouth to a fourth consecutive season in the top-flight this time round, and even took them to the top ten back in 2017, it’s the way in which he has gone about it in sticking to his guns and overseeing a team that play some excellent football – it’s is very akin to the way Pochettino has his Spurs team playing.

Many newly-promoted sides often seek to take a slightly more defensive approach against some of the better teams given the huge gulf in quality, but Howe has always wanted his Cherries team to play on the front foot and give the opposition problems going forward – they have never been the greatest team defensively, but they play some great stuff in the final third.

And that is why he would be absolutely perfect for Tottenham after Pochettino – he has a similar philosophy to the Argentine, and would no doubt seek to continue the fine work Pochettino has overseen in his time at Spurs.

Thus, given how highly-rated Howe has become in the last few years, alongside the way in which his Bournemouth team goes about their football, those Tottenham fans calling for the 40-year-old to succeed Pochettino are absolutely spot on.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Swansea midfielder Bresant Celina woke up on Wednesday morning to a lot of praise after scoring against Blackburn Rovers.

The Swans fell behind in the first half when Charlie Mulgrew converted from the penalty spot, but the visitors left Wales empty handed at the full-time whistle.

Two goals in four minutes from Blackburn’s David Raya, who put the ball into his own net, and Swansea’s Connor Roberts flipped the game on its head, overturning a losing position for the home side before the Kosovo international cemented the result late on.

During the early stages when Blackburn dominated, the summer signing had played out on the left wing of Graham Potter’s side before a switch back to 4-2-3-1 brought a return to the number 10 slot he shone in.

The win moved Swansea up the table to eighth place, with their first win since the end of September putting them a point outside the Play-Off positions.

Next up at the weekend is another home match, with Reading this time the visitors who will be looking to secure their fourth win of the season but could find themselves in the bottom three before a ball is kicked.

Celina joined Swansea in the summer from Manchester City, having graduated from their academy back in 2014, and these Swans fans certainly want to see more of the Yugoslavia-born international against Reading, but more importantly from the centre of the field.

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Birmingham City started the season quite slowly as Garry Monk’s side struggled to pick up a win in the first few weeks of the season but after beating Leeds United, Monk’s side have put together a superb run of form and have since won their last four games in the league.

Thanks to that solid run of form, Birmingham have soared up the table and currently sit ninth in the table two points of the play-off positions. Monk’s side go up against a Derby team this weekend that has performed well but was held to a draw against Middlesbrough.

Following their comeback win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, Marc Roberts praised Monk’s style of play and believes that if the players continue to play to his gameplan, then the club will reap the rewards.

The Breakdown

Roberts made a rare appearance at the weekend as Birmingham capped off a terrific week which also saw them beat Stoke City and Reading.

Central to Birmingham’s recent success has been the superb form of Lukas Jutkiewicz who scored yet again at the weekend to take his tally to eight goals this season. Fellow striker partner, Che Adams also chipped in with a goal at the weekend and it seems with those two up front, City are thriving.

Realistically, City don’t have enough in the squad to get into the automatic promotion spots but there’s no doubt that they’re good enough to take one of the last playoff places.

As we’ve seen before, once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.

Thoughts Birmingham fans? 

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Aston Villa will be without the services of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, after the 20-year-old striker picked up yet another injury, per reports in the Birmingham Mail.

What’s happened now?

Hepburn-Murphy has had a torrid season injury-wise, after first picking up an ankle knock while away at the club’s pre-season training camp in Portugal. Once shaken off, a brief return to action under Steve Bruce followed but he was soon back on the medical bench with a hamstring injury.

The former Aston Manor pupil eventually made his return from injury against Reading last Sunday, when he netted for Villa’s U23s.

But the Birmingham Mail report that he was hauled off injured against Derby on Thursday night when he went down under a heavy challenge in the Premier League Cup encounter.

Uncertain first team future

Not only will Hepburn-Murphy now have an unclear future with the physio as the club continues to assess the injury, if it proves to be a lengthy absence his first team future could come into doubt.

Under Bruce, the 20-year-old was called on from the bench in five Championship games and started twice in the Carabao Cup, but mostly thanks to his hamstring injury he’s had little opportunity to show his worth to Dean Smith.

Instead, Smith has utilised Tammy Abraham and Jonathan Kodjia, but the duo are not producing many goals either as Villa overall have only scored 24 times in 16 Championship games, leading to the manager questioning what areas of the pitch he will improve in January.

Instead of focusing on strengthening the back line or giving the young forward a chance, Smith may now elect to bring in another proven strike option. In the long run, that will only affect Hepburn-Murphy’s chances of becoming a first-team regular.

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German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan made his long-awaited return for Manchester City on Wednesday night as a 73rd-minute substitute for David Silva, but here at Football FanCast we want to know whether you would throw him in from the start in the Manchester derby on Sunday.

City have steamrolled their last two games in all competitions, winning 6-1 in the Premier League against Southampton before again firing six past Shakhtar Donetsk without reply in the Champions League on Wednesday.

United though will be a far tougher test for Pep Guardiola’s side, and the Red Devils will surely look to use their physical superiority to bully the more technical City side.

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For this reason, we believe that Pep would be best starting Gundogan in his midfield three, as the 28-year-old would provide more defensive work-rate than Bernardo Silva in that position. Silva though has been in scintillating form this season so far and has to be considered undroppable at the moment.

This would mean then that Leroy Sane could drop to the bench from the team that started vs Southampton, with the versatile Portuguese ace moving into the left-wing role.

So, City fans, would you make this change and bring Gundogan in or does Sane simply have to start? Have your say by voting in the poll below.