Talking Points of the Weekend

Should Reece James start for England at the World Cup?

One of the key components of Chelsea's win over Leicester was the link up play between Reece James and Raheem Sterling. The pair linked up a number of times during the game including their second goal where James played a low cross into Sterling to tap in. With the partnership the pair are developing with a World Cup coming up; Should Reece James start for England at the World Cup?

Sterling is definitely a shoe in to start in Qatar this winter because of how important he's been for England over the last few years. The connection between him and Reece James will certainly please Gareth Southgate as James is someone he'll be looking to put in his squad for the tournament in November. There is some competition in the right back area but if England play a back three with James playing at right wing back, it's possible we could see the connection between two players at the World Cup. James definitely suits the role of a wing back as he plays in that position for Chelsea and if he keeps up the kind of form he's been in and his link up play with Sterling on the pitch, he could well be England's first choice right sided full back.

Are Liverpool back to their best?

Liverpool really looked like their old selves in their 9-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday as they got off to a flying start and were relentless throughout. It was a response they needed after a slow start to the season and after watching them put in the kind of performance they did; Are they really back to their best?

The result and performance will give them confidence but I feel that this game suited them in that Bournemouth aren't a team who will press high unlike the reds' other opponents have done. They play Newcastle on Wednesday night who are a completely different opponent in that they'll try and get in behind the full backs and cause problems whenever they can. The reds are still without a number of players through injury and those absences have had a big impact on their season so far. If they play like they did against Bournemouth in their next two or three games, we could potentially say that they're definitely back to their best.

Arsenal have a much stronger mentality

Arsenal have been known for having a weak mentality for many years going back to the latter years of Arsene Wenger's reign. But now we're seeing a much stronger mentality from them in that they're able to come from behind and win games like they did against Fulham on Saturday.

Whenever they went a goal behind in the past, they didn't show enough character to get themselves back into the game. They usually just gave up and accepted defeat. Especially against the sides they were expected to beat.

This season they're more together as a team and have a much solid backbone which hasn't been the case for them for some time. Mikel Arteta is no doubt behind this as he's been given the time to build the team in his image and bring in the players he wants in order to make his side a competitive team. He's changed the mentality by changing the culture of the club and it's because of him and the work he's done that there is a much better mood around Arsenal these days.

Does Steven Gerrard know his best team at Aston Villa?

It hasn't been a great start to the season for Aston Villa as they've lost three of their opening four games. They've changed formation in every game they've played between a diamond and a 4-3-3 and have also changed personnel within the team. This got me asking whether Steven Gerrard knows his best team.

When Gerrard arrived at Villa Park last November, he played a 4-3-3 formation during the early days of his reign where he got off to a very good start. But that start later petered out as he began chopping and changing formation between a diamond and a 4-3-3.

He played the diamond against West Ham on Sunday and it clearly didn't work as Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins were so far apart from each other for most of the game. They took up some wide positions on several occasions as Villa weren't playing with any wingers and when that happened there was no striker in the box waiting to take a chance. They did beat Everton playing the diamond formation but on other occasions where they have used it. It hasn't worked.

If Villa are to have a successful season this year, Gerrard needs to find his best team and system and fast because the pressure is beginning to mount on him.