Matchday Six in the Premier League passed without too much incident but some players will know they could’ve done a lot better looking back on it. But it wasn’t just players making the blunders over the weekend but the referees too, as we saw yet another grey area in officiating, dealt with poorly at the Emirates.
3. Bobby Madley
We’ll start off this week’s Wally of the Week shortlist with a man who has appeared on it before after his dismal performance in the Manchester City vs Everton game where he sent off Kyle Walker and Morgan Schneiderlin. This week he took charge of another Monday night game which saw Arsenal host West Brom. With the score at 0-0 in the first half, Jay Rodriguez was brought down in the area by Shkodran Mustafi but, instead of rolling around on the floor holding his ankles, Rodriguez got straight back up and went on to have a shot on goal. His effort rebounded off the post and so his team didn’t have the advantage, so Madley should’ve brought the play back and given a penalty. The referee proceeded to play on and Jake Livermore struck the rebound wide as Tony Pulis lost his cool with Madley on the touchline. There were questions about the free kick that led to Arsenal’s first goal and the penalty that resulted in their second so Mr. Madley was at the centre of attention and the main target of Pulis’s grief.
2. Serge Aurier
When you sign for a new club in a new country with new fans, it’s important to make the right impression. And Ivorian right back, Serge Aurier, was doing just that with a couple of promising performances in his opening games in a Spurs shirt but it all unraveled for him at the London Stadium. Aurier was constantly caught on the wrong side of Marko Arnautovic and only risky last ditch tackles prevented the Austrian getting on the scoresheet. In the second half, Aurier was booked for a petty foul on Andy Carroll and then he was given his marching orders after chopping down the West Ham striker just minutes later. With the Hammers mounting a comeback at the time, getting sent off wasn’t the best idea Aurier has ever had and his teammates struggled to hold on to what seemed a comfortable victory earlier on in the game.
1. Alfie Mawson
After a shaky start to his Swansea career, Alfie Mawson has come on leaps and bounds over the last few months to become one of the first names on Paul Clement’s team sheet. But at the Liberty Stadium against Watford, the England U21 international had a day to forget as two errors contributed to two Watford goals and a 2-1 defeat for his side. After 13 minutes in South Wales, Mawson attempted to cut out a cross from the right but could only divert the ball straight into the path of Andre Gray who collected the gift with glee and notched his first goal for the Hornets. After Tammy Abraham had equalized for the home side, Mawson made a decisive mistake to allow Richarlison and Watford to snatch a winner in the dying moments. The Brazilian was running at Mawson around 30 yards from goal but, instead of putting a strong tackle in, he wavered a boot in the general direction of the ball and allowed Richarlison to waltz through the centre of the Swansea to score the winner and the Hornets took all 3 points back to Vicarage Road. A bad day at the office for Alfie Mawson and that’s earned him top spot in Wally of the Week so, some consolation for him there.