Arsenal's Title Charge and Shearer's Team of the Week
Arsenal’s title charge has its swagger back, and Alan Shearer has taken notice.
The Premier League’s record goalscorer named his Team of the Week for Matchweek 35, and two of Arsenal’s front men forced their way in after a ruthless dismantling of Fulham at Emirates Stadium.
Gyokeres and Saka spearhead Arsenal surge
This was Viktor Gyokeres at full tilt. The Swedish centre-forward had a hand in all three first-half goals in a 3-0 win that felt as controlled as it was clinical. He struck twice, supplied the other, and bullied Fulham’s back line into submission.
Bukayo Saka matched him stride for stride on the right. Arsenal’s No. 7 lit up his flank, first threading the pass for Gyokeres to open the scoring, then arriving to finish coolly when the favour came back his way. It was the kind of seamless understanding that turns a good attack into a title-winning one.
As Arsenal reasserted themselves at the top of the race, Shearer’s selection underlined what the performance already suggested: this forward line is setting the tempo for the run-in.
Survival fight shapes Shearer’s XI
At the other end of the table, the stakes are very different, but the performances no less decisive.
Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 victory at Chelsea carried the stamp of players who understand the gravity of their situation. Matz Sels earns his place in goal after anchoring a vital away win, while Taiwo Awoniyi is rewarded for leading the line in a result that could yet define Forest’s season. Their contributions did not just secure three points; they shifted the mood of a relegation fight.
Tottenham Hotspur’s escape from the bottom three also loomed large in Shearer’s thinking. A 2-1 triumph at Aston Villa dragged them out of the drop zone and pushed three of their key figures into the spotlight.
Micky van de Ven is recognised at centre-back, his presence and recovery pace central to Spurs’ resilience in a high-pressure fixture. In midfield, Conor Gallagher’s inclusion reflects his influence in both directions, snapping into challenges and driving his team forward when the game threatened to tilt away from them. On the touchline, Roberto De Zerbi takes the head coach slot, his game plan and in-game management steering Spurs to a result they simply could not afford to miss.
Matchweek 35 did more than fill out a Team of the Week graphic. It sharpened the title picture, jolted the relegation battle, and left a clear message: with the season on the line, the players Shearer picked are the ones grabbing it by the throat.
