Things From The Premier League - Brenden Aaronson Is Now Luis Figo

The Yank is giving Mauricio Pochettino something else to think about.

Yes, I'm going to do this before Arsenal-Liverpool kicks off, because after that match is done, I might not want to watch soccer for like two weeks.

I'm not saying if I motherfuck Brenden Aaronson into the starting 11 when the World Cup kicks off for the US that it will be my greatest accomplishment. That is still motherfucking the US curling team to gold in 2014. But Aaronson starting when it was a question if he would make the squad just a few months ago would be in the team photo.

Aaronson reveled, once again, in a match that Leeds and Newcastle were happy to turn into chaos together. Lots of giveaways, lots of direct passes, lots of space. Both of his goals sprang from dumbass Newcastle turnovers that provided him the space to ruckus, though nothing should be taken away from the quality of both finishes:

The second goal is the more impressive, as Aaronson is able to carve out enough space on the dribble to get his shot off, and the finish is literally perfect. Maybe it helps a little that Sven Botman thinks Aaronson is left-footed? Whatever, Aaronson backs him off, gets the space on his right, and takes it.

Aaronson thrives in this Leeds system that sees them pressing pretty furiously, because he gets to run around a lot, and when they do turn the ball over, he gets the space he requires to do stuff, which is also run around a lot. His goal against United at the weekend, he got to streak into space to finish, as well.

Aaronson's run of late has certainly made him more of a presence in the USMNT's hybrid #8/#10 field. Whatever formation Pochettino picks, three at the back or four, he has showcased having two behind the striker. Aaronson certainly fits better in the 3-4-2-1 that the US has featured, because he's not really a wide player and he's not really a pure #10, and that formation uses two players who are tweeners in that way. In a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, Aaronson works a little worse as a wide attacker, and doesn't have the chops to be in the middle.

Sadly for Aaronson, Weston McKennie might also be playing the best soccer of his career right now at Juventus, and he's doing it from the exact same position. McKennie's skill-set is different, as he's more of a finisher than the dervish that Aaronson is, and it may just come down to opponent for the US on which of them plays. In a game where the US expects to have less of the ball but is confident enough to press even moderately high? That might be Aaronson's day. An opponent that lets the US have the ball and they're going to have to navigate tighter spaces and might require a player to just find space in the box? That's McKennie's assignment.

But having such options is hardly a bad thing.

-Let's check in at Spurs:

Captain sniping at the higher-ups on Instagram.

Other star defender confronting the fans in the away end.

Actually scoring two goals for once, and still losing.

So, very Tottenham, then. What would we do without them?

-It might be worth asking if this is the time when the bills from playing in the Club World Cup have come due for both Chelsea and Man City. After limping through a second half to toss a two points away against Chelsea on Sunday, City did kind of the same against Brighton on Wednesday. Took the lead, gave it away, and with all the time they had to haul it back, couldn't find a winner (though Haaland had a glorious chance that you'd normally expect him to finish that he pinged right into Verbruggen).

Chelsea were hampered by an early sending off of Cucurella, who tried to tackle Harry Wilson in the open field like he was trying to save a touchdown. It was understandable, given that Wilson has torn a hole in the space-time continuum of late. But that's the fifth straight game without a win for Chelsea. It was City's third-straight draw, with both teams stumbling at the busiest portion of the schedule.

It's hard to judge, given the special circumstances English teams are in. Real Madrid went to the semis of the CWC, but have such a superiority over the rest of La Liga bar one other team, even if they're tired it would be hard to know. PSG are second in Ligue 1, which is not where you'd expect to find them. But they also added winning the Champions League onto their plate last season. Munich are having no such problems.

It's hard to prove, but it can't be thrown out, either. Chelsea are such a basketcase of a club that even if their CWC sojourn is playing a role in their current check-engine light, it would only be one of many reasons. City aren't quite as multi-dimensional as they've been, and with routes to Haaland getting cut off more regularly and Foden not banging in goals from 25 yards, maybe it's just lack of options harming them. Though maybe they don't have the zest that they normally would to find other options.

-Jack Grealish spends most of any match he plays preening and acting like a smarmy jackwagon. It's his natural state. Everyone accepts that. So how much of a smarmy jackwagon must he have been to exceed his normal level so much that the ref felt he had to send him off?

-Palace and Villa played out the most drab match of the round, so of course it was the one I mainly focused on. Palace have one goal in their last four matches, haven't won in eight. They're certainly creating enough, as they're sixth in the league in xG. They just can't finish. They miss Ismaila Sarr terribly, and Mateta seems like he's exhausted. He played 3,200 minutes last year between league and cups, and he's already up to 2,200 so far this season. Mateta has always been something of a wonky finisher, but he got so many chances that it's worked out the past couple seasons. He's had four shots in his last four matches.

-Is there anything better than a Panenka that goes wrong?

I wonder what Kelleher keyed in on to know that was coming. A slowing run up? The open foot? Or just that Le Fee is French is always liable to try something annoyingly cheeky? Le Fee must fee like the biggest dunce in the world as he watches Kelleher catch it as if someone just tossed him a beer.