Spurs, West Ham and Everton represent more than half of this composite XI of January’s outstanding performers…
GK: Joel Robles
Robles kept three clean sheets as Everton won all three of their Premier League fixtures in January.
Even better for the Spaniard, he retained his place when Maarten Stekelenburg returned from injury for the visit of Manchester City, a match the Toffees won 4-0.
RB: Kyle Walker
Pep Guardiola said after Tottenham’s 2-2 draw at Manchester City that Walker and Danny Rose (more on him soon) are the best full-backs in the league. That’s good enough for us.
Walker set up Spurs’ equaliser in that match – his second assist of the month – and was excellent as the club won three and drew two of their five January fixtures.
CB: Ashley Williams
When writing about Williams, you can use cliches like ‘tough-tackling’, ‘no-nonsense’ and ‘leader of men’. In the era of ball-playing centre-halves, that’s refreshing.
The Welshman was all of those things and more during Everton’s aforementioned excellent January, most notably in their emphatic win over City.
CB: David Luiz
Chelsea have responded clinically to their defeat to Spurs at the start of the month, beating Leicester and Hull before drawing at Liverpool to go nine points clear.
Luiz helped the Blues keep clean sheets in both those wins and was magnificent at Liverpool, scoring a free kick that Simon Mignolet wouldn’t have got near even if he had been paying attention.
LB: Danny Rose
If praise from Guardiola was not enough, then being one of just three players to retain their place from our December Team of the Month should satisfy Rose.
Playing as a wing-back, the Englishman is athletic and talented enough to not just attack and defend, but also drift inside and affect the game, doing so impressively in Spurs’ 4-0 win over West Brom.
RW: Michael Antonio
Like Rose, Antonio retains his place after another excellent month.
The 26-year-old registered a hat-trick of assists in West Ham’s season-turning triumph against Crystal Palace, most notably for Andy Carroll’s spectacular scissor-kick.
Antonio then scored the eighth goal of his excellent campaign in the Hammers’ win at Middlesbrough.
CM: Tom Davies
Davies, the home-grown talent with a bum-fluff beard and rolled-down socks, is charming.
The 18-year-old was brilliant against Manchester City, slaloming past several players before deftly lifting the ball over Claudio Bravo to score his first Everton.
That display was not a one-off, though, with the midfielder contributing assists in the Toffees’ wins over Southampton and Crystal Palace.
CM: Dele Alli
Alli scored five times in five appearances in January, including the goal that got Spurs back into the game against City and the brace that ended Chelsea’s 13-match winning run.
Like all the great players are, the 20-year-old is at his best in the biggest games (which perhaps explains why he struggled against Sunderland).
His scooped pass for Harry Kane’s hat-trick goal against West Brom, meanwhile, was a delight.
LW: Alexis Sanchez
You knew Sanchez would score the last-minute spot-kick that saved Arsenal from implosion against Burnley.
And even though he was unable to prevent the Gunners suffering the same fate against Watford nine days later, his assist for Alex Iwobi’s consolation was tremendous.
The 28-year-old, who scored three times in January, is a ferocious competitor. So much so that the minor strops he pulls when he feels slighted, like throwing off his gloves or pulling a hood over his face, are more endearing than offensive.
CF: Andy Carroll
The fit-again Carroll is playing some of the best football of his career right now.
Against Crystal Palace, the 28-year-old scored the goal of the season so far with a remarkable scissor-kick – apologies, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Olivier Giroud – before following that with a decisive brace against Middlesbrough.
Selection in this team could well be followed by international recognition should he maintain his form.
CF: Harry Kane
Kane is banging in the goals without being anywhere near his best, which various TV pundits would tell you is the sign of a “top, top” striker. And they’d be right.
The 23-year-old netted a clinical hat-trick against West Brom on the way to scoring five goals in as many appearances in January.
That took his total for the season to 13 – two behind Sanchez and Diego Costa.
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino
Marcos Silva was considered, but it would have been remiss to give the accolade to anyone but Pochettino.
The affable Argentine and his Spurs side enjoyed a fine January – the draw at Sunderland aside – claiming 11 points from a possible 15 to rise to third in the table.
The win against Chelsea and comeback at Manchester City, in particular, demonstrated how formidable the manager and his players have become.
What do you make of our selections? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments section below…
