Wayne Rooney divides opinion. He always has done, and he probably always will do. Forget the fact he’s England’s all-time record goalscorer, has been playing in the Premier League at the top level for over a decade and that he’ll probably become Man United’s greatest ever goal-getter, he gets a hard time week in, week out nowadays.

And there is some logic to it… he’s becoming an issue. Indeed, Jose Mourinho was immediately questioned about Rooney and his role upon being named as the Red Devils’ new boss, and it seems that, even though there’s a lack of pace up top in this current Man United side, he’s un-droppable.

And fans are really noticing the problems ‘Wazza’ is causing. Twitter is often an unforgiving place, and Rooney won’t want to search his name this evening when he gets on the team bus. The criticism has been plentiful, and here are a few tweets…

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Arsenal finally picked up their first home victory of the season with a 2-1 victory over Claude Puel’s Southampton side.

Wenger’s men had to dig deep and grind out a result against the Saints as a 94th minute penalty from Santi Cazorla proved decisive.

It’s now two wins from two from Arsenal after previously picking up just one point from their opening two matches. After going from a goal behind Arsenal showed character and resilience to come back and secure the victory – even if it was in the 94th minute and with the help of a controversial penalty.

A Petr Cech own goal was cancelled out by a superb Laurent Koscielny bicycle-kick. Constant Arsenal pressure was then rewarded when referee Bobby Madley blew for a penalty with Santi Cazorla converting to give Arsenal the three points.

But these were the three players that were instrumental in Arsenal’s victory…

Laurent Koscielny

Where would Arsenal be without this man in recent seasons? Another warrior-esque performance from the France international who scored arguably the goal of his career on Saturday.

It wasn’t just his superb finish that ensures his place in the top three, because without him on Saturday, Southampton may have had a comfortable win at the Emirates.

A nasty eye injury at the end of the game added to their already increasing injury worries.

Shkodran Mustafi

A solid debut from the German international who already looks comfortable at the heart of the Arsenal back four.

Very competitive and quick to engage in the physicality of the league, Mustafi looks exactly like the centre-back Arsenal have been missing for a number of years.

It looks as though he won’t need any settling in phase much to Wenger’s delight undoubtedly.

Santi Cazorla

Like a fine wine, Santi Cazorla seems to be getting better with age. A tidy performance that seen him control the tempo of the game from a central midfield position.

His last minute goal added to the already impressive 90 minutes Cazorla undertook – not bad for a player who was so badly injured last season.

Sunderland have suffered a pretty poor start to the current Premier League campaign and their first few games suggest not much has changed on Wearside, despite David Moyes’ summer appointment.

The former Everton man was supposed to come in, change things around for the better and guide the Black Cats to a potential top-ten finish.

But in reality, it’s been quite different.

Coming out of the international break, Sunderland sit rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with just two points from seven games. No wins, five defeats and thirteen goals conceded. Unfortunately, it’s just not good enough and they’ll need far more going forward.

But we’re an optimistic bunch here at Football Fancast and we want to try and find some good from their poor start.

So here are three positives Sunderland should take from their first seven games…

They withstood a dominant Manchester City side in their opener

Despite losing 2-1 at the Etihad in their season opener, you’ve really got to give Sunderland credit for the way they withstood Manchester City on the day.

Until their 2-0 defeat at White Hart Lane, City had been absolutely dominant in their league games, winning every single one before becoming unstuck against Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

The fact Sunderland kept the scoreline respectable and actually scored in the game should be a huge positive going forward.

There is some real young promise in their ranks

In Joel Asoro, Sunderland have a young forward who has so much potential.

At just 17 years old, he’s only going to get better and after he made his first-team debut against Middlesbrough, Black Cats supporters are getting seriously excited.

He’s played three times for Sweden’s U21 side and many are tipping him for a promotion to the first-team in the very near future.

The seniors might not be flying but Osoro could be a beacon of real hope going forward.

Some seriously tough fixtures are out of the way

Games against Manchester City, Everton, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Spurs are now behind them, which compared to some teams in the division, is a seriously tough run.

Take West Brom, for example, who haven’t played a single top-four side this campaign and have all the giants to come.

Stoke, West Ham and Bournemouth are all to come in the next couple of weeks for the Black Cats, which is a much easier run of games than those we’ve seen already.

West Ham can finally begin to look upwards after ending a run of five games without a win came to an end last weekend.

The performance had a number of things Slaven Bilic’s side had previously lacked – namely a midfield shielding the backline effectively, a defence that wasn’t prone to a series of calamitous mistakes and a little bit of luck.

Yes, West Ham can count themselves more than a little lucky that Christian Benteke wasn’t on form and ballooned his penalty into the Selhurst Park stands. If the Hammers get the first two parts of that list sorted – a balanced midfield and defence that doesn’t resemble an under-12’s side – then the luck should come and we might see some more positive results.

Slaven Bilic had managed to keep his squad together – with James Tomkins the only departure – and seemingly added quality and depth in Andre Ayew, Sofaine Feghouli and Havard Nordtveit. It’s no wonder there was optimism after last season’s good showing.

This season, however, did not start well, with a late loss to Chelsea and uninspired win at ten-man Bournemouth sandwiching a disappointing Europa League exit to Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.

Added to that, they had lost key players Andy Carroll and Aaron Cresswell – as well as record signing Ayew – to long-term injuries.

While exiting Europe arguably should have aided the Hammers domestically, it served to only add to the negativity surrounding the club as they struggled to adapt to the new London Stadium and failed to win in any of their next five.

The game against Middlesbrough provided a turning point in the sense that Bilic’s side were now looking solid and formidable once more while peppering the Middlesbrough goal with 19 attempts.

That performance – coupled with the Palace win – has given the fans hope their season has finally been kickstarted. So how far can they truly go?

At the start of the year the aim was to improve on last season and break into the top-six. With the new players added, including their record signing, it seemed only fair that the Hammers should be aiming higher.

Unfortunately, their nightmare start and the improvement of teams around them last year such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Everton has made a top-six finish seem a tall ask indeed.

It’s fair to say that the Hammers may struggle to compete with the aforementioned three while City, United, Arsenal and Spurs still seem beyond them as well.

With that in mind, West Ham should perhaps be looking at an eighth-placed finish – not an improvement on last year’s position, but a sign that they can hold a solid mid-table finish even when clubs with greater resources improve around them.

Looking at the clubs around them, that might not be too much of a big ask. Directly above the Hammers are Burnley who – despite being resolute at home – will inevitably get dragged into a relegation battle due to their woeful form of the road.

Bournemouth have improved in recent weeks but don’t seem to be able to grind out results against tougher opposition, while Tony Pulis’ West Brom are the opposite – able to grind out the results but rarely blowing teams away (we’ll forget about West Ham’s collapse at the Hawthorns for now).

Watford and Crystal Palace seem too inconsistent to break free from mid-table obscurity, meaning there are only really two other sides who should challenge the Hammers to an eight-placed finish.

Southampton currently hold the position having improved defensively under Claude Puel and begun to find goalscoring form with Charlie Austin profiting. They are arguably the favourites to finish higher up but have a tough set of fixtures to navigate.

The other side is Leicester City. Like West Ham, the Foxes haven’t lived up to their exploits last season in the league and have looked woeful at times outside of the Champions League. They appear to fare much better when they don’t have a midweek European game and are still resilient at home, conceding only one goal at the King Power.

The Hammers have been the opposite at their new stadium, having won only the Bournemouth game there and conceding eight goals in four games. If they are to have any hope of climbing, they need to make the old Olympic Stadium a fortress and start racking up the points.

If you look at the squads when fully-fit Hammers arguably have more quality than the Saints and more depth than the Foxes. With Cresswell recovered – though suspended – and others getting back to fitness they will boast one of the better starting elevens in the league and will hopeclimbing the table.

Eighth-placed seems a sensible – if adjusted – target for this season. However if the Hammers can put together a run like they did at times last season, perhaps they can continue looking upwards even of that.

Southampton face a massive clash in the Europa League tomorrow night when they host Italian giants Inter Milan, in a match that will test just how far the Saints have come in recent years.

Claude Puel’s side were rather unfortunate to narrowly lose at the San Siro in the reverse fixture two weeks ago but will fancy their chances on Thursday evening, as Inter are without a manager after they axed Frank De Boer yesterday.

The Saints will still need to be at their best though against a side that boasts a lot of class but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has stated his side have nothing to fear from the Italians.

“If you get a game against Inter Milan, you have to enjoy it. It is a huge club and only six years ago they won the Treble and were the kings of Europe. To get an opportunity to play a club like this, not only for me, but for the team and the club is a rare moment.

“We should not feel afraid. We should not feel under pressure, we should not feel dragged down by playing such a big club. We have shown what we are capable of and we can beat a club that big because Southampton is also a big club.

“The best team will win — and I know we are the best team.”

The Danish international knows that Southampton can’t afford to lose if they are to advance to the knock-out stages but his words are well chosen and correct, as Inter are no longer the force they used to be on the continent or even domestically.

Inter have fallen a long way since Jose Mourinho lead them to the treble six years ago and, in the meantime, Southampton have risen to be one of the strongest sides outside of England’s usual top-five.

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Leeds United face fellow promotion challengers Brighton and Hove Albion in a huge Champonship clash at the Amex Stadium on Friday night.

The Whites moved up to fourth in the table as they beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Elland Road last weekend, with goals from Kemar Roofe and Chris Wood ending Steve Bruce’s eight-match unbeaten start in the Villa hotseat.

The form of Garry Monk’s men has been brilliant since the start of September, after they had made a disappointing start to the campaign, and they will be looking to record their third successive league win when they make the trip down to the south coast.

However, they face a tough task against the Seagulls who have been terrific all season and currently lie in second in the standings – one point behind the leaders Newcastle United and five ahead of third-placed Reading.

Here is the Leeds XI to beat Brighton under the floodlights…

GK: Rob Green

The experienced goalkeeper would have been devastated when his error allowed Dwight Gayle to score a simple goal in Leeds’ 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle last month, but he has bounced back well since then.

Green has conceded just one goal in his last two league games and he kept an impressive clean sheet in the 2-0 success against Aston Villa at Elland Road last week.

Garry Monk will need his number one to be on top form if the Whites are to take all three points against Brighton.

RB: Luke Ayling

While he might not have been a signing that overexcited Leeds United supporters during the summer, it was certainly a shrewd move by Garry Monk.

You know what you are going to get when Ayling steps over that white line; consistent performances, a will to win and quality at both ends of the pitch.

The former Bristol City man will need to be concentrating at all times when he comes up against Jamie Murphy.

CB: Kyle Bartley

The on-loan Swansea centre-back has quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Championship this season, while his partnership with Pontus Jansson at the heart of the Leeds defence has also become one of the most formidable in the league.

Dominant in the air but comfortable on the ball as well – as his manager Monk demands – Bartley has been brilliant this season and he will need to be again when he comes up against Glenn Murray.

CB: Pontus Jansson

With no experience of English football prior to his loan move to Leeds from Torino, Jansson’s performances this season have perhaps been even more impressive than his central defensive partner Bartley.

Following a string of strong displays in the backline, the huge Swede has made a real impact on the team’s supporters. On current form both the player and the club will want to make the temporary move permanent – either in January or next summer.

LB: Charlie Taylor

One of the most highly-rated defenders in the Championship, Leeds supporters know what they are going to get week in, week out from their left-back.

While he is solid defensively – as shown by his helping hand in the clean sheet against Aston Villa last weekend – he also has the ability to get forward and create problems for the opposition defence, although he will have to keep a very close eye on one of the league’s best performers in Anthony Knockaert on Friday.

CM: Kalvin Phillips

With the likes of Eunan O’Kane currently injured and Alex Mowatt struggling to get into the starting XI, Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira have at times formed something of an inexperienced central midfield partnership.

Despite the lack of games in their respective careers, however, they have brought quality to the middle of the park and their defensive abilities helped Leeds keep a clean sheet in the impressive victory against Villa last Sunday, which has moved them ever closer to the automatic promotion spots.

CM: Ronaldo Vieira

Following some of his impressive showings this season, it is hard to believe that the wonderfully named Ronaldo Vieira is just 18 years of age.

A stunning winning goal against Norwich was one of his highlights of the campaign and the youngster certainly deserves to keep his spot in the central midfield alongside Phillips following a brilliant showing. against Villa last weekend.

Vieira has made a strong case for holding on to the position in the coming weeks.

RAM: Hadi Sacko

In many ways Sacko is a typical winger – sometimes he can be a menace and cause mayhem, while other times he can go missing and be inconsistent.

But when he is on his game, he is a huge threat to opposition defences and after picking up an assist for Chris Wood against Villa last weekend, when his shot at goal was only half-saved, he will almost certainly be given the opportunity to attack stand-in Brighton left-back Sebastien Pocognoli on Friday.

CAM: Kemar Roofe

It finally happened. After going 22 matches without scoring a goal for his new club, Roofe opened his account for Leeds with a fine header against Aston Villa.

The £3m summer signing from Oxford United – who scored 26 goals for the U’s last season – should be full of confidence in front of goal and he will be ready double his tally against Brighton, helping move the Whites further up the Championship standings.

LAM: Souleymane Doukara

Like Sacko, Doukara has often been criticised for his inconsistency on the wing, but the forward is starting to put in impressive performances every time he steps over that white line.

A goal in the 2-1 win against Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United was followed up by another assist in the success against Aston Villa as his centre ball was headed in by Kemar Roofe.

The 25-year-old will be looking for more of the same on the south coast.

ST: Chris Wood

Wood is Leeds’ top goalscorer this season with 10 league goals – 13 in all competitions – and he added another to his impressive tally last weekend as he reacted quickest to force the ball home after Sacko’s shot had been saved.

After also scoring the previous weekend against Rotherham, the New Zealand international will be aiming to notch for the third successive Championship match, and he certainly has some in-form players behind him to create the chances.

The match between Liverpool and Manchester City is one between two sides currently experiencing varying narratives in the media and in their respective fan bases.

It is also a renewal of a coaching rivalry that stretches back to the time spent by Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich respectively.

Whilst Liverpool are still riding on a wave of positivity as a result of the ‘heavy metal’ football style installed at the club by Klopp, we see a Manchester City side that started the season on fire before stuttering in recent weeks with a series of performances that have been below the standards expected by the extremely detail orientated Guardiola.

A confident 4-1 win over Stoke in their last league game displayed Liverpool at their breathtaking best. Movement and rotations throughout the final third left the Stoke defensive unit in disarray, and there was even time for England international striker Daniel Sturridge to remind everyone that he is still an extremely effective forward option. On the other hand, Manchester City stuttered to a 3-0 win against a poor Hull City side.

So this match will be an important one for both sides, with three points becoming increasingly important as Chelsea continue to stretch their lead at the top of the league table.

As ever though there are key tactical battles to keep an eye on throughout the match…

Liverpool must control space in front of City’s defensive line

In recent weeks we have seen City move away from using their expensive English central defender John Stones in a move perhaps to protect the player’s confidence amid a backlash from the media and public. Instead we may see a continuation of the partnership between Otamendi and Kolarov in the centre, with Fernandinho shielding the defensive unit.

If this is the case then it will be essential for Liverpool to ensure they have players moving in to the pockets of space around Fernandinho to create advanced platforms from which they can play and threaten the back line.

Adam Lallana has quickly become one of the key players for Klopp this season with his non-stop playing style, coupled with the technical and tactical quality needed to perform at the highest levels in the game. He typically attacks down the right hand side of the pitch swapping positions continuously with Sadio Mane on the right wing.

On the left hand side we should expect to see Roberto Firmino, whether deployed from the left or in the centre moving in and out of the spaces around Fernandinho and looking to create problems for Otamendi from a slightly deeper space.

This battle will see whether Guardiola is forced to amend his tactical structure to account for these spaces or whether he will refuse to play reactively and trust in his own game plan to win the match.

De Bruyne and Silva need to control the match

For City the answer is relatively simple. Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva need to rediscover the form that saw them playing so brilliantly at the start of the season.

The early days of the Guardiola regime saw the pair playing as partners in the centre of the midfield but instead of playing as we would expect from traditional number 8’s, they were effectively playing as 10’s from a deeper starting point.

This gave City a platform in the centre that they could build around and in an attacking sense, everything good that we saw from them over those first few weeks came from that central platform. Since then we have seen a number of tactical switches from Guardiola, but City have rarely looked as effective without that central combination.

De Bruyne has been used as a traditional 10, a winger and a false nine from the lone striking role and whilst his performances have been good, they have rarely proved match winning. Wherever the two players play in this match, it is important that they are closely connected in terms of their positioning in order to make sure that they can play off of one another in tight areas.

It would be sensible to look to isolate one of the two Liverpool central defenders, with Joel Matip likely to miss the match again, then Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan can be slow to deal with quick passing moves around them. This could be an ideal platform from which City can launch their attacks towards the Liverpool goal.

Having the fullbacks advance is one of the keys to Klopp’s attacking system and as such there should be space for City to exploit in the wide areas, should they be able to transition in to an attacking movement before Liverpool can reset their defensive block.

City have the pace and creativity in the final third to pose problems for any defence in Europe, it just remains to be seen whether that can shine in Guardiola’s precise tactical framework.

Conclusion

There is a real danger that Chelsea are going to run away with the title whilst their closest rivals continue to struggle and take important points from one another. This makes this match incredibly important for both sides.

There is still absolutely no doubt in my mind that Guardiola will be a huge success both at Manchester City and in English football but there is a real sense that he is struggling to implement his tactical blueprints on this somewhat limited squad. It seems increasingly likely that it will be at least next season before we see the true tactical vision of the Spaniard as City become a team in his own image.

That makes it increasingly important for his better players to show their qualities when they are needed the most.

Liverpool, on the other hand, are looking increasingly like the second coming of the Dormtund side that won so many admirers across the footballing world under Klopp. Their intensity and seemingly never ending waves of attack make them a joy to watch at times.

They will have to be on their guard against attacks in transition throughout their match and will look to control the tempo and flow of the match to keep City off their guard.

Whatever happens, it promises to be an enthralling match.

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Spurs will undoubtedly have been the happier team after their draw with Manchester City on Saturday. The 2-2 result may have brought an end to Spurs’ winning streak and been a marked improvement on some of City’s recent performances, but the pattern of the match meant that Mauricio Pochettino’s side will have been chuffed at the end of the game.

Pep Guardiola’s side impressed for periods of the game. Having been in such a strong position to notch a vital victory, Manchester City failed to take advantage of the situation. Spurs deserve credit for fighting back, of course, yet it was the shortcomings of Pep Guardiola’s side that loomed largest over the post-match analysis. A season that seemed destined for a genuine title push has diminished into something altogether less impressive, with top four football now looking the very best they can hope for.

If City had forced victory, the situation may be different, naturally. Unfortunately for them, though, they continue to be unable to prove their doubters wrong. Each time criticism comes their way, they find a way to prove it right, or so it seems. While the improvement in their team display suggests the odd shoot of recovery may be surfacing, it is too late to really turn their season around, at least domestically.

Spurs were far from their best at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, but a draw away at their top six rivals will seldom be a bad result. Dramatic victory for Arsenal saw the Lilywhites drop to third in the table, yet they still look the side most likely to challenge Chelsea deep into the second half of the campaign. They, unlike City, seem to have found the sort of resilience that teams need if they are to push for a Premier League title.

Although only separated by three points after the draw, the whole atmosphere around the two teams is markedly different. Spurs’ winter run of form, led by the goal scoring brilliance of Dele Alli, has seen them topple Chelsea and thrash West Brom. Manchester City, meanwhile, cannot begin to show the sort of consistency that would allow them to drive towards the top of the table. Claudio Bravo’s struggles have attracted the most headlines, but the indifferent displays of too many City stars have blighted their season.

Spurs, as it currently stands, look set to exceed the expectations many would have had of them at the start of the season. They remain Chelsea’s greatest threat. Guardiola’s team, on the other hand, were the favourites to lift the title at the start of the season. Partly down to years of poor transfer dealings, partly down to the time taken for Guardiola’s tactics to embed, though, they are at severe risk of missing out on the top four. For their brilliance against Manchester United and Barcelona earlier this season, the 2014 Premier League champions have looked the weakest of the top four sides over the last couple of months.

Saturday’s match may have seen Spurs fortunate to nick a point, but it should not paper over the differences between the two at this point of the season.

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Manchester United have been handed a huge boost in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann, as an investigation from The Independent suggests the Spanish giants will have to sell.

What’s the word?

Atletico Madrid’s financial issues aren’t too much of a secret and it seems the impending move from the Vicente Calderon could have a drastic impact on Diego Simeone’s squad, as loan debts may have to see key-players sold.

The Spanish side are desperate to move into their new stadium for the start of the 2017/18 season and took out loans of around €160m to push through development- but Atletico will have to pay back their debts quickly, or risk losing club shares to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

With Atletico’s financial situation far from comfortable as it is, the Spanish side may have to offload their most valuable assets- which include Antoine Griezmann, Saul Niguez and Koke.

Where do United fit in?

Manchester United’s long-term pursuit of Antoine Griezmann has been very public and the most recent reports state the Red Devils are prepared to set a world-record fee to land the Frenchman, surpassing the £89m they spent on Paul Pogba last summer.

A potential three-figure sum is tempting enough for a side like Atletico and the financial situation could lead them backed into a corner- and Griezmann may not be the only man to leave the Spanish capital for Manchester at the end of the season.

The Red Devils are also reported to be interested in Atletico’s Saul Niguez, who at 22 is one of the finest up-and-coming young midfielders in European football and is valued extremely highly by the Spanish giants- not that it will make any difference, if the financial situation is as fragile as it seems.

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Deadline Day has come and gone and needless to say, it wasn’t the most captivating 24 hours in Premier League history.

In fact, the whole of the January 2017 transfer window was a little underwhelming. Whilst the bottom six spent as much as the rest of the 14 teams combined, the top six made just two signings – Gabriel Jesus, who Manchester City really signed last summer, and non-league youngster Cohen Bramall, who joined Arsenal for a nominal fee.

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Likely due to the fact they’re currently nine points clear at the Premier League’s summit, Chelsea were amongst the quietest clubs. Although there were suggestions of a £40million bid for Celtic’s Moussa Dembele on Deadline Day, the Blues’ only business was on the outward front, selling Oscar to Shanghai SIPG for a staggering £60million, whilst also granting departures for John Obi Mikel, Branislav Ivanovic and Marco van Ginkel.

Of course, no one would turn their nose up at £60million for a benchwarmer, but there have been some criticisms of Antonio Conte failing to boost a squad that’s challenging for the Premier League title and will almost certainly be battling in the Champions League again next season.

With that in mind, we’re keen to discover the opinions of our readers; so, Chelsea fans, are you pleased with your club’s efforts during the January transfer window?

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