ALEX CROOK: United’s Reminder, Silva Doubts & Anderson Haunts Geordies (TOTU)

Our football ambassador ALEX CROOK is back with his latest Tales Of The Unexpected, highlighting five takeaways from the Premier League weekend!

Anything that caught you by surprise over the weekend? Email content@starsportsbet.co.uk and we’ll include the best submissions in next week’s TOTU!

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KING DAVID IS ARSENAL’S MAIN MAN

Goalkeepers rarely scoop individual awards and when they do it is usually an admission the outfield players in front of them are not very good.

There is a reason David de Gea was Manchester United’s Player of the Year on more than one occasion.

But, his fellow Spaniard David Raya could be an exception to the rule when it comes to the PFA award.

He has kept 18 clean sheets in 36 Premier League games, hardly conceded at all in the Champions League and comes up with big saves at key moments.

His breathtaking stop to deny Mateus Fernandes in Arsenal’s 1-0 win at West Ham made me gasp out loud and should be the springboard to the Gunners ending their long wait for the title.

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UNITED’S SUNDERLAND NO-SHOW A TIMELY REMINDER FOR OWNERS

It was very much after the Lord Mayor’s show for Champions League-bound Manchester United as they stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

That it took until second half stoppage time for the toothless visitors to register a shot on target sums up their insipid display.

Michael Carrick gave runouts to Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount and both did little to convince anyone that they have a long-term future at Old Trafford.

United also missed the sidelined and soon-to-be departed Casemiro in midfield and replacing him is not going to be easy or cheap.

The Red Devils hierarchy should have come away realising they need to seriously strengthen to maintain the upward momentum Carrick has provided next season.

A failure to properly invest will waste all the good work Carrick has done in the second half of the season.

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DOUBTS OVER MARCO FUTURE MEAN NO SILVA LINING FOR FULHAM

Fulham’s fading European dream was all but extinguished by their 1-0 defeat at home to high-flying Bournemouth.

The goal-shy Cottagers have won only two of their last nine games in all competitions, and one of those was at home to relegated Burnley.

Manager Marco Silva is still holding off signing a lucrative three-year contract and is a free agent this summer as it stands.

It is impossible not to think the doubts over Silva’s future are not having a negative impact on his team.

The Portuguese owes it to his players and Fulham’s fans to make a call one way or another.

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BRIGHTON AND HISTORY-MAKING BOURNEMOUTH SHOW PATIENCE PAYS

Brighton and Bournemouth, a club record 16 top-flight games unbeaten, are both potentially two victories away from qualifying for the Champions League.

With Aston Villa red-hot favourites to win the Europa League, a sixth place Premier League finish would be enough to claim a spot among Europe’s elite if Villa end up fifth.

Brentford’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, means it is probably a battle of the beaches for the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

It would be a remarkable story for either club given both needed last-day escape acts to avoid dropping out of the Football League within the last 30 years.

It also proof that patience pays off as many Bournemouth fans were calling for manager Andoni Iraola to be sacked after failing to win any of his first nine games.

It was the same story for Brighton’s Fabien Hurzeler after a run of just one victory in 13 games earlier this season, but like Bournemouth.

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THERE IS A REASON EDDIE HOWE DID NOT WANT TO SELL ANDERSON

The irony of true Geordie Elliot Anderson scoring against Newcastle to seal Nottingham Forest’s Premier League survival was not lost on Eddie Howe.

Howe was rightly fuming when PSR rules forced Newcastle to sell the academy Anderson to Forest for just £35m in the summer of 2024.

Andrson has now established himself as one of the best central midfielders in the country and is nailed on for a place in England’s World Cup squad, and probably their starting 11.

If he is sold this summer, with Manchester City leading the chase, the man dubbed the ‘Geordie Maradona’ by Forest fans will fetch at least £80m.

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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