Breaking: The Premier League’s biggest stories of the week

Liverpool were the big winners of the midweek Premier League action, while the impending transfer deadline day means that the top flight’s big spenders will surely be preparing for one final splurge before the window slams shut.

Here are the biggest breaking news stores from the Premier League’s biggest sides as we head into another weekend of pulsating action.

Mikel Arteta is understood to be optimistic about Thomas Partey’s likely availability ahead of the biggest match of the weekend, as Arsenal host Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

The midfield powerhouse limped off during the second half of Tuesday’s convincing 3-1 victory against Southampton, raising concerns in light of recent fitness concerns.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the match, Arteta expressed doubt that Partey would be available for the blockbuster showdown, however, according to Goal’s sources close to the club, there’s general optimism that the Ghana international can return.

It remains to be seen whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has reportedly been tending to his ill mother, will return in time for the United bout.

Sticking with Arsenal, one player who may not be at the club for too much longer is academy product Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who appears primed for a loan move away from the club.

According to The Athletic, there are various suitors for the England international, including West Bromwich Albion, who are looking to bolster their options ahead of the relegation run-in.

It would be a gamble for Arteta to offload the utility man, who can offer cover in various positions for the Londoners, as they look to put pressure on those ahead of them in the table.

Manchester City new boy Ruben Dias has received high praise from one of his predecessors at the club, with Richard Dunne singling the £61 million man out for some major compliments.

Arriving at the club from Benfica, things haven’t gone entirely Dias’s way at Eastlands, but as City have found their form, he’s growing into a key man at the Etihad Stadium.

“The 5-2 defeat to Leicester in September was a shambles for City, but it’s what they did next that counts – they went out and bought Dias and he has been brilliant for them,” the ex-City skipper told the local media.

“I think he has changed that City team, helped get the best form out of John Stones,” he added. “With the way they play, City will always create chances, they are now looking so confident going forward because they are so solid at the back.

“Dias isn’t what you’d consider a typical Guardiola player. He’s solid, he is good on the ball, but his first job is to defend. I was impressed with his first interview at the club when he said, ‘I’m a winner, I am a leader’.”

Dunne even went as far as to suggest that Dias can emulate the impact of Virgil van Dijk—so influential in Liverpool’s title success—at City.

“City didn’t want another ball-playing centre-back, they needed a central defender who could defend, who had that mentality of keeping a clean sheet, keeping his focus on doing that and leaving it to the attacking players to score,” he concluded.

“It’s not far off what Liverpool did with Virgil van Dijk. Once they got Van Dijk in, everything else seemed to just work well.”

Ex-Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has moved to defend Anthony Martial, who he believes has been treated ‘very harshly’ at Old Trafford.

Martial has had to constantly answer the doubters during his time at United, and even though he netted 23 goals last term, a return of just five so far this season has again prompted the critics to aim their blame at the Frenchman.

Yorke, however, believes the 25-year-old doesn’t deserve to have been identified as a weak link at United.

“He’s had a pretty difficult time, at times, hasn’t he and I think he’s been singled out, in my opinion, very harshly,” the Champions League-winning striker told United’s official website.

“I think he’s a fantastic player for what he brings to the team but has probably, in my opinion, been singled out far too often. He’s done a fantastic job and is still only a young guy.

“Coming into our league in England is very difficult for any guy and he’s still at that, I call it, the football education stage. He’s still 25 and has a couple of years before he really blossoms into the footballer he should become.

“He’s still at that learning curve but, yeah, I feel winning takes care of everything. It’s an old cliche but, when you’re scoring goals as a striker, that will always take care of everything.”

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet isn’t expecting any immediate fireworks from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz despite the arrival of their compatriot Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

The ex-Paris Saint-Germain boss was appointed as Frank Lampard’s successor earlier this week following the latter’s dismissal, and while his opening game was a drab 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tuchel is being backed as the man to get the most out of the misfiring duo.

However, Poyet has warned Chelsea fans that it may take some time for the German pair to really hit their top form.

“I think when you have new players, the adrenaline of these players is incredible,” Poyet told Perform Stats News. “They bring something special to the club, but then to maintain that, especially for the young players, is very, very difficult.

“So, there is a period of adrenaline in which you’re going to give a lot,” he added. “There is a period of adaptation and then there is English football, which even if you think that you know, I promise you, you don’t until you are on the pitch every weekend.

“Every game is a different story, every game is a different challenge. Today, you play against a team that are going to keep the ball, and tomorrow you’re going to get a team that is going to play long ball and you’re going to have to defend 100 balls in the box.

“Then the next day, somebody’s playing on the break, and the next day somebody plays the same system as you, and then you change and they change. So every game is a different challenge.”

Chelsea parted with £47.6 million to recruit Werner, while Havertz set them back £70 million when the young attackers arrived from German football.

So far, their impact has been limited.

“I think it’s been tough, especially for the young ones, especially for Havertz and Werner,” Poyet continued, “because you know they’re playing now in a low moment and, normally it happens unfortunately for us, the decision to bring something different is by changing the manager.”