Giroud goals steering Arsenal to the top

In fact it is not often you can look at a bet with a price of [1.19] and suggest it is unmissable value. As soon as I won the penalty, I just knew that he would score.

They needed quality and experience to replace Christian Benteke, Ron Vlaar and Fabian Delph but only Joleon Lescott and Micah Richards had serious top-flight know-how and even the former England duo have slumped this season.

Villa turned to Arsene Wenger for advice on how to replace him and ended up with Remi Garde.

“He’s changed us completely in that back four”. The players are isolated; they’re running away, all you can see is backsides.

The only difference this season, is that these are games that really mattered. But it was too late then, and all it did was expose the other short comings in the squad. But over the last few games, they’ve gone on another good run. Who puts in a tackle?

He netted the winners in their one and only Premier League victory at Bournemouth on the opening day and in their Capital One Cup success over bitter rivals Birmingham City.

Arsenal have shown themselves to be less Arsenal than they were before, but they’re not fully transformed yet.

Aside from being able to hold up the ball, harass opposition defenders and bring team-mates into play, he is far more clinical this year, and has slowly but surely developed the crucial knack of being in the right place at the right time. They had two half chances yesterday – Sinclair’s header that looped over the bar and then Gestede’s had a great chance but completely missed his header.

The north London club are understood to be scouting Carvalho and considering his potential availability in January, although Sporting will be hugely reluctant to sell a key player midway through the season as they chase the Portuguese title. A gentleman’s agreement between Veretout and Nantes chairman Waldemar Kita meant the player was allowed to choose.

Chief executive Tom Fox is only in his second year in the role while sporting director Hendrik Almstadt and director of scouting and recruitment Paddy Riley have justifiably come under the spotlight for their roles in Villa’s summer transfers.

Rather than playing for the team which started the weekend top, Veretout is now with the Premier League’s bottom club.