Everton reporter for The Liverpool Echo Joe Thomas was shocked by Idrissa Gueye’s mistake in the build-up to Arsenal’s second goal on Wednesday night.

The Lowdown: Heavy defeat

Everton were made to suffer against the Premier League leaders in the end as two goals from Gabriel Martinelli and one each from Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were enough to give the home side all three points at the Emirates Stadium.

The visitors seemed to be going well for the first 40 minutes, but two goals shortly before the half-time whistle effectively killed the game off.

The Latest: Gueye mistake

Taking to Twitter, Thomas was critical of Gueye in the build-up to Martinelli’s first goal in first-half stoppage time, as he dwelled on the ball for far too long in a dangerous area before Saka pounced on him and fed Martinelli to score:

“Gueye is jogging towards his own goal, I think he thinks the ref has blown for a foul further up the pitch. Saka plays on and nips the ball from Gueye’s toes and it falls to Martinelli, who pokes beyond Pickford. From the sublime to the stunningly ridiculous.”

The Verdict: Really poor…

The mistake itself from Gueye was really poor, but what made matters worse was that it came just before the half-time whistle. The Toffees then went into the break 2-0 down instead of 1-0, and gave themselves a mountain to climb in the second half.

This is not the first time that Gueye has been criticised for his performances under Sean Dyche, and there have even been calls for him to be replaced for next season.

Nonetheless, the midfielder must step up his performances if he wants to keep his starting place for the next crucial run of matches.

An update has emerged on Aston Villa and their plans to bolster the squad in the upcoming summer transfer window…

What’s the latest on Aston Villa’s interest in Alberto Moleiro?

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Villans are prepared to pay €25m (£22m) to sign Las Palmas attacking midfielder Alberto Moleiro at the end of the season.

The report claims that Premier League teams Liverpool and Villa are both willing to match the Spanish side’s price tag, which is €25m (£22m) as a fixed fee.

It is stated that LaLiga giants Barcelona were only prepared to offer that much as part of a package with €15m worth of add-ons that were not guaranteed, which could open the door for the English teams to swoop in.

However, Mundo Deportivo also claims that the gem would be open to remaining at Las Palmas for another season if they are promoted to LaLiga, with the club currently sitting three points clear of third in LaLiga 2.

How would Alberto Moleiro fit in at Aston Villa?

The Spanish wizard has played between 19 and 21 matches as a left winger, right winger, and an attacking midfielder respectively in his career and this means that the youngster could line up in any of the three roles behind Ollie Watkins.

Moleiro could strike an instant connection with the Villa centre-forward as the 19-year-old is a creative talent who likes to constantly provide his fellow attackers with opportunities to score.

In LaLiga 2 this season, the teenager – whose “silky touch” was once lauded by scout Jacek Kulig – has produced 1.7 key passes per game and created 11 ‘big chances’ in total, which shows that the maestro is consistently opening up opposition defences for his side.

Meanwhile, Douglas Luiz (1.3) is the only Villa player with more than one key pass per match in the Premier League this term – providing just four ‘big chances’ – and this suggests that Unai Emery does not currently have one outstanding creator who he can rely upon to carve teams open.

Moleiro, if he can make the step up to the Premier League, has the potential to come in and be the creative presence in midfield that they have been lacking this season.

Watkins could greatly benefit from this as his form under Emery has shown that he has the scope to be an excellent goalscorer for the club if provided with the right services.

Since the World Cup, the Englishman has plundered six goals and one assist in ten Premier League appearances. Now, imagine the figures the marksman could rack up over the course of a season with a playmaker regularly creating big chances for him to score from at the top end of the pitch.

Emery could form an exciting pairing in the final third by signing Moleiro with that precisely the reason Johan Lange and the Spanish head coach must work to get this deal over the line in the coming months.

West Ham will be looking to build on their morale-boosting win over Nottingham Forest when they face Manchester United in the FA Cup this evening.

David Moyes is said to have needed a positive result against the Reds to save his job and his side responded in emphatic fashion, with four second-half goals lifting the Hammers outside of the relegation zone.

It means the Irons can travel to Old Trafford in a confident mood, although there will be far less expectation of a result against Erik ten Hag’s in-form side.

How should West Ham line up against Manchester United?

While the focus for West Ham should be on their ongoing fight against relegation, a victory at Old Trafford would put the Hammers in a great position to reach Wembley, so Moyes should select a strong team, while also giving opportunities to returning players.

Here is how Football FanCast expects West Ham to line up against United, with four changes from the side that started against Forest.

(4-2-3-1) Areola, Johnson, Aguerd, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Benrahma, Cornet, Scamacca.

After fracturing an eye socket and a cheekbone against Forest, Lukasz Fabianski certainly won’t be starting at Old Trafford, so Alphonse Areola comes in as his replacement in between the sticks.

Vladimir Coufal would also pick up a heel injury against Steve Cooper’s side which will probably rule him out this evening, so Ben Johnson switches over to right-back, with Aaron Cresswell taking his place at left-back.

Nayef Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna continue their centre-back partnership after steering the Hammers to a clean sheet last time out, although Kurt Zouma could soon be back in contention.

There is one change in midfield as the “exceptional” Lucas Paqueta – in the words of FourFourTwo’s Mark White – drops out, with Said Benrahma replacing him as an attacking midfielder after notching two assists at the weekend, while Maxwel Cornet makes his eagerly anticipated return from injury on the left wing.

Jarrod Bowen continues on the right, while two-goal hero Danny Ings is sadly cup-tied for the trip to Old Trafford, so Hammers fans will be hoping that Gianluca Scamacca can put his poor run behind him, as he starts in his place.

When Unai Emery arrived at Aston Villa back in October 2022, it quickly became clear that certain players brought in by the previous regime wouldn’t have a future with the Midlands club.

One such example is Leander Dendoncker and after some woeful performances following his summer arrival from Wolves, Emery should look to get rid of the Belgium international for good at the end of the season.

Should Aston Villa get rid of Leander Dendoncker?

Steven Gerrard signed Dendoncker from Wolves on deadline day last summer in a deal worth £13m, with the defensive-midfielder perhaps expected to be the replacement for Douglas Luiz.

However, the Brazilian would later sign a contract extension at Villa Park, and considering fellow summer addition Boubacar Kamara has also established himself as a regular, Dendoncker quickly became surplus to requirements.

Since signing, the 27-year-old has managed just 14 appearances in all competitions for Villa, including just three starts in the Premier League.

It is easy to see why Emery has preferred other options in the middle of the park in his tenure at Villa Park as Dendoncker has averaged a shocking 6.26 rating from WhoScored for his performances in the Premier League.

This ranks him as the 20th-best performer so far this campaign, so it would certainly not be a surprise to see him moved on by Emery in the summer, which shows that the dud has struggled badly.

He has been a disastrous signing by Gerrard and the new Villa boss is unlikely to have been impressed with the Belgian international since taking over due to his antics in the FA Cup in January.

The former Anderlecht man has been limited to just one start since the World Cup break, which came in the embarrassing 2-1 home defeat by League Two side Stevenage, when his red card late on turned the game in the away side’s favour, with his tackle later criticised by Nedum Onouha.

He said: “Dendoncker tried to turn when somebody was on him and got the punishment that he deserved for the indecision. It’s rash and I think the red card is the right decision. You shouldn’t lose a match from being in a position of control 10 minutes ago.”

The defensive midfielder was once a reliable option for Wolves in the Premier League, averaging a strong 6.97 rating in the 2018/19 campaign, but he has managed above a 7/10 rating in just one of his appearances for Villa this season, which came in the 4-0 win over Brentford following Gerrard’s sacking.

Therefore, he hasn’t impressed once under Emery and the Spaniard should look to get rid permanently in the summer, as his time at Villa Park has been something of a disaster due to his woeful performances – as proven by his aforementioned WhoScored ratings – this season.

Some Arsenal fans think that Reims rising star Folarin Balogun should replace Eddie Nketiah in the squad for next season.

The Lowdown: Balogun on fire

Balogun is enjoying a top season at Reims, on loan from the Gunners, with his goal against AS Monaco over the weekend his 16th in Ligue 1 so far.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano gave an update on his situation at Arsenal, saying that his future will be decided at the end of the season.

The Latest: Balogun over Nketiah?

Taking to Twitter, these Arsenal fans expressed their desire to keep Balogun for the next campaign, and move on Nketiah instead, with the pair unlikely to want to be a third-choice striker with Gabriel Jesus already at the North London club:

“Sell Nketiah ASAP and keep him.” – @LUIZ26407850

“Nketiah should be a little worried.” – @Wavyhair_Lemie

“How about keep him and send Nketiah packing?” – @beano24789

“He’s coming back! Definitely better than Nketiah.” – @fundraiser360

“About 10 levels better than Nketiah” – @GoonerTiliDie19

“Sell Nketiah, use Folarin simple maths” – @_shahidi_

The Verdict: Tough decision

It will no doubt be a tough decision for Mikel Arteta over which player to keep, given Balogun’s form but also his loyalty to Nketiah.

While Jesus has been injured, the latter has led the line well, scoring six goals and making one assist in total over all competitions since Christmas Day.

However, Balogun’s form in a major league is hard to ignore, and at just 21 years of age, he potentially has a higher ceiling than Nketiah, who turns 24 in May.

Arsenal fans have slammed the news that the FA are investigating their celebrations after Reiss Nelson’s late winner against Bournemouth.

The Lowdown: Investigation

Nelson’s last-minute winner in the 3-2 victory over Bournemouth sparked wild celebrations from the home side as they came back from 2-0 down to get all three points.

They kept themselves five points clear at the top of the table, with Manchester City beating Newcastle United 2-0 in the earlier kick-off.

However, it has been reported that the FA are investigating those celebrations as Arsenal players and staff ran onto the pitch, with referee Chris Kavanagh noting it to the governing body.

The Latest: Arsenal fans fuming

Taking to Twitter after the update was shared, Arsenal fans voiced their fume over the decision to investigate their celebrations:

“This is getting embarrassing now, the FA and it’s officials clearly can’t cope with us doing well and us overcoming everything they throw our way.” – @SimplyScalvini

“This has got to be a wind up.” – @Hugojha23

“The agenda is real TBH.” – @taophyc_AFC

“This is madness.” – @kendrickmclare1

“They are corrupt. They’re issuing out fines because we hurt their feelings. It’s disgusting.” – @marco4549

“Incredible this. After 3 penalties not given. A goal awarded that should have been ruled out and loads of time wasting, the ref reports this.” – @TheCockneyTurk

The Verdict: Enjoy the moment!

The Gunners needed to enjoy the moment of Nelson’s shot hitting the back of the net, which was the difference between three points and just one.

The goal could be a vital moment in the title race, and one that they look back on if they win the Premier League.

We have to be careful not to take the emotional side of out of the game, and so the FA and Kavanagh need to apply a little bit of common sense here.

Aston Villa have a rich history of producing players from their academy side who have then gone on to be a success in the first-team set-up.

Jack Grealish is, arguably, the best example of this as the winger was a terrific player for the Villans for many years before being sold to Manchester City for a then-British record transfer fee of £100m.

Jacob Ramsey has broken through into the first team in recent seasons and established himself as a regular in central midfield. The 21-year-old has scored eight goals in 89 senior outings for the club but is not an out-and-out attacker as his main position is in the heart of the midfield.

Whereas, Grealish is a natural attacker and was consistently influential at the top end of the pitch for Villa – scoring 14 goals and providing 18 assists in his final two Premier League campaigns for the side combined.

Unai Emery could now unearth the club's next version of the England international by unleashing Jacob Ramsey's brother Aaron in the 2023/24 campaign.

How has Aaron Ramsey performed this season?

The 20-year-old has spent this season on loan with Norwich and, now, Middlesbrough in the Championship and has developed throughout the year.

In the second tier, the dynamo has averaged an impressive Sofascore rating of 6.98 across 23 appearances and racked up six goals and three assists to date, with three of those goals coming in his last two outings for Boro since making the switch to Teeside in January.

WhoScored's Martin Laurence, interestingly, pointed out this week that Ramsey has now equalled Grealish's best goalscoring season at that level with his six strikes, with ten regular season matches still to play.

The magician was also recently lauded by his current head coach, Michael Carrick, who said:

"AJ was brilliant. He's a selfless player. He makes selfless runs for those around him, he's intelligent, he sacrifices himself and understands what others around him are good at."

Ramsey, who scored 15 goals and provided eight assists in 30 U21 outings for Villa, is an attacking midfielder by trade and can also play out wide – like Grealish.

The maestro could make the step-up to the first team, based on his terrific displays in the Championship at such a young age, and become a consistent threat in the final third for the Villans as an attacker and follow in the footsteps of the now-Manchester City gem.

However, it is down to Emery to offer him the chance to impress and then it would be up to the player to adapt to top-flight football and consistently deliver impressive displays on the pitch.

Aston Villa have certainly enjoyed a huge uplift in form under Unai Emery, who took them from relegation candidates to comfortably mid-table.

From 12th and below in the Premier League it seems like anyone could go down at this stage, yet the Midlands outfit act as the buffer just above with a comfy 35 points already attained. It is a far cry from where they might have been had they held on to Steven Gerrard in the dugout.

Whilst the 42-year-old did struggle during his reign at Villa Park, he did offer fans some moments of enjoyment alongside his initial period of good form. Having been backed in the summer, where he added a few of his own players, although few performed for him they remained quality assets who could now benefit the impressive Spanish coach.

One such name is Boubacar Kamara, who has endured a campaign somewhat marred with injuries. The Frenchman currently finds himself out of action again at the moment alongside Philippe Coutinho; two big absentees for the Villans.

However, there is cause to believe that this new ailment is not as bad as first feared and that his earlier return could mark him out as a secret weapon alongside the Brazilian wizard for Emery to unleash on their next unsuspecting victim.

When will Boubacar Kamara be fit for Aston Villa?

Having limped off against their win over Crystal Palace earlier this month, it was suggested by The Athletic that the £150k-per-week general would be out for at least a month as he recovered from his ankle injury.

However, chatting to the media just days later, Emery revealed that Kamara would not be available against West Ham United but that "next week, we'll have a look" before proclaiming "he's doing OK".

With that subsequent clash with AFC Bournemouth fast approaching, and a much-needed international break to follow, it marks a fine opportunity to get their midfield titan back up to speed so that he can return to his best.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an impressive debut campaign in England when fit, with his defensive actions imperative in their domination of the midfield. He is averaging 2.5 tackles and 1.1 clearances per 90, alongside an 85% pass accuracy, via Sofascore.

This led writer and podcaster Ty Bracey to write on Twitter: "Boubacar Kamara is a monster. Very impressed."

Whilst Gerrard offered few positives whilst at the club, his acquisition of this outstanding individual could prove imperative in the future success of the club's engine room. His return from injury will be welcomed by Villa, and likely feared by the rest of the league.

Manchester United have made contact with the representatives of Tottenham striker Harry Kane, according to The Sun.

The Lowdown: Striker wanted

The Red Devils are already planning for the summer, with a new striker thought to be a priority. Erik ten Hag currently has just two senior options at this moment in time in Anthony Martial and loanee Wout Weghorst.

Martial has suffered a number of injury issues in recent months, while there is no option to make Weghorst’s move permanent, which appears to have led to United laying the groundwork over a possible move for Kane.

The Latest: Kane update

The Sun shared a story in the last 48 hours regarding United and Kane, revealing the Red Devils are confident of signing the forward, assuming Spurs finish outside the top four – they will be fifth if Liverpool win their game in hand as things stand.

The report adds that those at Old Trafford have even already ‘made contact with Kane’s camp through a third party and have been encouraged by the response’.

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The Verdict: Perfect signing

Kane, hailed as ‘world-class’ by Antonio Conte, has a proven track record in the Premier League, scoring 201 times and registering 49 assists in 308 top-flight appearances.

The 29-year-old has netted ten or more Premier League goals in each of the last nine seasons, so could be the missing piece in Ten Hag’s side. He even embarrassed David de Gea at Old Trafford in a 6-1 win for Spurs back in 2020, scoring twice and registering one assist.

Kane has been Tottenham’s best player this season, as per WhoScored, and has outperformed every Manchester United player, so he could take the Red Devils to the next level over the coming years.

Southampton and manager Ruben Selles have one major ‘issue’ to contend with in their battle against relegation, says Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Saints struggle…

The Saints are fighting against a drop to England’s second tier after a lacklustre 2022/2023 Premier League season with Sport Republic investing heavily in youth last summer.

There is an argument to be made that Southampton’s influx of young signings didn’t supply then-manager Ralph Hasenhuttl with much experience or know-how.

The St. Mary’s side may well be paying it for now and in particular further forward, with Jones sharing one major ‘issue’ Southampton have.

The Latest: Jones shares Southampton problem…

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones claims that the real problem at Southampton is their lack of creativity in the final third – explaining:

“Creativity is an issue and carving out chances is basically going to be critical. As we move on from here, it will decide whether they can stay in the division.

“It’s a tough one for the new boss to get his head around because he can’t change this now. He’s got what he’s got for the rest of the season and he’s got to find a fix.

“Paul Onuachu can thrive in this league, but only with the right service. At the moment, there isn’t much of that in sight.”

The Verdict: Cause for concern…

The proof is in the numbers for Southampton with their lack of potency there for all to see.

Only Everton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves have scored fewer goals than Selles’ side throughout 2022/2023, and to make matters more worrying, they’ve only bagged two in their last five league matches.

Signing Paul Onuachu from Genk will hopefully help in this regard considering the Nigeria international is a proven goalscorer in Europe.

The 28-year-old bagged 85 goals and ten assists during his time at Genk and with any luck his African compatriot, Kamaldeen Sulemana, can also provide more threat after arriving in January.

Right now, though, the numbers are nowhere near good enough to stay in this division and Selles’ almighty task is to get Southampton firing.