Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
đź’Ş Bruno’s durability for Newcastle
đź”´ Havertz missed by Arsenal
🔎 An underrated Brentford player?
Brilliant Bruno’s relentlessness
Bruno Guimaraes delighted Newcastle supporters when he was spotted blowing a kiss to Enzo Fernandez after scoring their second goal in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Chelsea.
The Brazil international showed his usual blend of quality and industry in the game, helping set up the opener before scoring the second and covering more ground than any other player on the pitch. That little bit of needle comes as standard too.
More of the same can be expected at the Emirates Stadium on Super Sunday. Meetings with Arsenal tend to bring out the best in Bruno, who has helped Newcastle win three out of three this season and five out of eight since his arrival at the club in 2022.
No player has had a bigger hand in Newcastle’s transformation over the last three years. They were 18th in the Premier League when he joined. Now they are Carabao Cup winners pushing for a second-placed finish, having been captained by Bruno at Wembley.
He has shown the full breadth of his offering this season.
Bruno has run further than any other player in the division, covering a staggering 397km in total. He ranks second only to Elliot Anderson for successful duels and first for fouls won.
He sets the tone for Newcastle’s intensity out of possession and he is of course crucial on the ball too. The goal against Chelsea was his fifth of the season and there have been six assists. Only Bruno Fernandes has made more progressive passes.
When he is not threading passes through the lines to team-mates higher up the pitch, he is often charging forward himself. The addition of the similarly impressive Sandro Tonali to Newcastle’s midfield has freed up Bruno to get into the box more.
It all adds up to a level of completeness few midfielders can match but Bruno’s best asset of all might be his durability. He is one of only nine outfield players to have started every Premier League game this season. And that after starting all bar one last term.
Since Bruno’s first start for Newcastle, in a 2-1 win over Southampton in March 2022 in which he scored the winner, only Bruno Fernandes and Virgil van Dijk have played a higher percentage of available Premier League minutes among outfield players.
It is a huge workload but there seems little danger of him running out of steam, judging by his recent performances. His history of rising to the occasion against Arsenal augurs well for Newcastle too.
Havertz has been missed by Arsenal
Arsenal had won eight of their previous 12 Premier League games when Kai Havertz suffered his hamstring injury in February. They have won four of 12 since, allowing Liverpool to wrap up the title with games to spare. Havertz has proved a big miss.
The 25-year-old has his detractors but he returns to fitness as Arsenal’s top scorer, even after three months out. With 15 goals in all competitions, including nine in the Premier League, he was on track for the highest-scoring season of his career.
It is widely acknowledged that Arsenal need to strengthen their front line this summer but any new striker arrivals must be prepared to fight for their place with Havertz. Although his misses tend to stick in the mind, the underlying data points to improved finishing.
He arrived from Chelsea having drastically underperformed in front of goal, scoring only 19 times in the Premier League from an expected goal total of 26.67 across his three seasons there.
At Arsenal, though, he has actually overperformed on his expected goals, albeit not by much, scoring 22 times from chances worth an expected total of 21.77 since the start of last season.
He is not nearly as wasteful as he is perceived to be, in other words, and on top of that there is everything else he offers Mikel Arteta’s side, from his formidable work-rate to his effectiveness as an outlet for long passes. Arsenal need more firepower, that much is clear. But they need a fit and firing Havertz too.
Damsgaard’s pressing for Brentford
Brentford face Fulham on Sunday having extended their winning run to four games against Ipswich last weekend. They are well placed to secure eighth place and a potential Conference League spot.
Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade combined for their winner at Portman Road but Mikkel Damsgaard has been similarly important to Thomas Frank’s attack this season. He ranks third in the division for assists and seventh for chances created.
The Denmark international is a slight figure who needed time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League following his arrival from Sampdoria in 2022 but he is certainly up to speed now, becoming key to Brentford off the ball as well as on it.
According to GeniusIQ tracking data, Damsgaard has registered more pressures than any other Premier League player this season, while only three have made more pressures leading to turnovers. Damsgaard ranks among the top five for counter-pressures too.
Frank has talked up the quality of his side’s pressing this season, describing their efforts as “world-class” after a 3-1 win over Southampton in August. “We showed again that we are one of the best in the Premier League at doing that,” he said.
It is one of several areas in which the underrated Damsgaard continues to play a significant role.
Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?
Don’t miss a Friday Night Football double-header. Aston Villa face Spurs on Sky Sports Premier League, kicking off at 7.30pm, with Chelsea against Man Utd kicking off at 8.15pm on Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage starts at 7pm.
Super Sunday sees West Ham host Nottingham Forest in the early game, kicking off at 2.15pm, before Arsenal take on Newcastle at 4.30pm, with both games live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event.
Read last week’s Radar column
Mikel Arteta’s coaching has transformed Arsenal but last week’s column looked at why this summer’s transfer window could be the key to him ending the wait for silverware next season. There was also a look at Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss as he impresses in adversity.
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
