Guglielmo Vicario and Destiny Udogie failed to impress for Tottenham in a 4-0 loss to Newcastle on Saturday, while Nicolò Zaniolo pulled off a MOTM performance in Aston Villa’s win over Jorginho’s Arsenal.
Several Italian players, most of whom will likely feature in the Italy squad at Euro 2024, were involved in the latest Premier League round, and the most successful was surely ex-Roma winger Zaniolo, who was voted by Aston Villa fans as their MOTM in a 2-0 away win at Arsenal.
The stats don’t say all about Zaniolo’s performance in London. The Italian finished the game with 70% passing accuracy and won six duels from 15 but even coach Unai Emery was impressed with his attitude and praised the Galatasaray loanee after the game.
Zaniolo has made six appearances under new Italy coach Luciano Spalletti, and his solid performance against Arsenal consolidated his chances to be part of the Azzurri squad at the Euros.
Italians in EPL round-up: Spurs stars flop
Zaniolo’s compatriot Jorginho, on the other hand, was introduced as a substitute just before Aston Villa’s goals and Mikel Arteta was blamed by English pundits, including Arsenal legend Paul Merson, for not starting the Italian Regista.
It was a pretty disappointing weekend for Vicario and Udogie. Both Tottenham stars failed to impress in a 4-0 loss against Newcastle on Saturday. English media noted that Vicario could have done more to avoid the Magpies’ third goal, while Udogie lost a duel in the first half, paving the way for the hosts’ opener.
Italy Euro 2020 winner Emerson Palmieri played 90 minutes in a 2-0 loss to Fulham but won eight duels from 11 and finished the game with 82% passing accuracy. On the other hand, Angelo Ogbonna was an unused substitute for the Hammers.
Last but not least, Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton were held to an away 1-1 draw by Burnley on Saturday and remain tenth in the Premier League table with 44 points, six below Manchester United in 7th.