Press Association Sport assesses the impact of the Premier League’s debutants in the first fixtures since the end of the January transfer window – as well as one departed player.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
The £56million striker made a goalscoring start with a lovely chip over Jordan Pickford, albeit having been offside when the ball was played through, though he was overshadowed by fellow newcomer Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s three-assist home debut and Aaron Ramsey’s hat-trick in the 5-1 rout of Everton.
We could get used to this link-up play – @HenrikhMkh finds @Aubameyang7 who delicately clips over Pickford#AFCvEFC ? 4-0 ? (38) pic.twitter.com/hs4tVJalou
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 3, 2018
Eliaquim Mangala (Everton)
On the other side of the coin was the Toffees’ on-loan Manchester City defender, who looked lost and displayed the form which made him a big-money flop at the Etihad Stadium. A deflection on Ramsey’s second goal put the seal on an evening to forget.
Badou Ndiaye, Kostas Stafylidis (Stoke)
Senegal midfielder Ndiaye, a £14million capture from Galatasaray, was the main bright spot in defeat to Bournemouth. He produced a pinpoint cross to set up Xherdan Shaqiri’s fifth-minute opener as well as showing his aggressive streak with a cynical tackle to prevent Bournemouth breaking, which brought a deserved booking.
Jordan Hugill (West Ham)
Came on with 11 minutes remaining and his team 3-1 down to Brighton. Went alongside Javier Hernandez in attack but barely got a touch of the ball.
Ademola Lookman (RB Leipzig)
The Everton forward’s loan move was questioned by manager Sam Allardyce but he announced his arrival in the Bundesliga in style with a late winner against Borussia Monchengladbach barely 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute.
? @Everton fans you can officially switch off #ARSEVE now…@Alookman_ is on for Bruma for the final 12 minutes. ?
?⚪ #BMGRBL 0-0 pic.twitter.com/QSEvfmEjV0
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) February 3, 2018
