After Manchester United became the first team in 8 months to beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Rio is joined by Ste Howson and Joel Beya to analyse that victory along with Arsenal’s draw at 10-man Chelsea.
There’s detailed analysis on the personnel utilised in the wing-back roles after Ruben Amorim admitted that two of those players are currently playing “far from their best”.
After Bruno Fernandes overtook Paul Scholes on the list of record Premier League assists, Rio admits that nobody could be expected to replace the output of the captain - even when he’s playing in a deeper role.
Rio also compares the challenge for Joshua Zirkzee to the one that former team mate Diego Forlan faced and questioned whether the Dutchman has the self-belief to command a regular starting spot.
Zirkzee may be given more opportunities during AFCON where Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbuemo will miss up to seven league matches during the most congested part of the season - something that worries Ste and Rio. They believe the depth of Amorim’s squad is not sufficient without further reinforcements.
Joel is happy with Arsenal’s point at Stamford Bridge and Rio compares the mentality of the Arsenal players to that of his title-winning squads in terms of playing rivals away from home.
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