Man Utd midfield man in Prem’s worst XI alongside Arsenal ‘striker’

What has happened to Casemiro? The Man Utd midfielder was given the runaround by Brighton, and he makes the Premier League’s worst XI alongside an Arsenal striker shackled by Everton…

Here is that worst XI based on WhoScored ratings from the weekend’s top-flight action…

GK: Thomas Kaminski – 5.22
The Luton keeper was attributed an error that led to Fulham’s winning goal, which is a little harsh when you look at it. Kaminski pushed out an awkward delivery into the path of Carlos Vinicius, but he wasn’t helped by an orange shirt flying across the path of the ball, giving the keeper very little time to react. Being booked for timewasting in the 36th minute hardly boosted his rating.

RB: Joel Ward – 5.43
The Palace skipper had an afternoon to forget at Villa. Ward should have doubled the lead the Eagles relinquished late on but his big chance from close range went wide of the post. His radar was off, with all six long balls or crosses he attempted finding a Villan, contributing to the 10 occasions he lost possession.

CB: Chris Richards – 5.83
Ward was fuming after his team-mate Richards was punished for a sliding challenge on Ollie Watkins that eventually gave Villa the chance to nick it. “It’s never been a pen,” said the captain after Richards ruined an otherwise creditable afternoon’s work.

CB: Max Kilman – 5.87
The Wolves captain has come in for stick from supporters in recent weeks but having watched the game and flicked through the centre-back’s statistics, it is hard to pinpoint why he’s among the sub-six scorers. Kilman missed the target with one effort on goal and perhaps went long a touch too often, but…anyone?

LB: Emerson – 6.15
The West Ham defender is desperately unfortunate to feature here after a weekend of strong performances from Premier League left-backs. Indeed, Emerson has received plenty of praise for his display against Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva, but the algorithms are rather harder to please. The pr*cks.

CM: Casemiro – 6.03
What has happened to Casemiro? The Brazilian was a colossus for Manchester United last season. This term, he’s looked like he aged five years in one summer. It didn’t help that against Brighton, Casemiro was played at the base of a diamond, around which no one seemed to have a clue where they should be at any given moment.

Read more: Neville picks out ‘legless’ Man Utd player vs Brighton; reveals pre-season ‘worries’ have come true

RM: Albert Sambi Lokonga – 5.88
The on-loan midfielder endured a forgettable debut for Luton, losing all but one of his eight duels and conceding possession 10 times with 32 touches. Two dibbles and two crosses attempted, none of either completed.

LM: Dwight McNeil – 5.84
McNeil was largely a passenger on the left of Everton’s midfield against Arsenal, touching the ball only 20 times in 88 minutes, winning only one of seven duels. He failed with his only attempted dribble, despite three Arsenal players showing him how it’s done.

RM: Tahith Chong – 5.88
Chong spent his Saturday afternoon toiling on Luton’s left at Fulham, where the Manchester United academy graduate managed 19 touches in 74 minutes but gave possession to the hosts with eight of them. He mustered one effort on goal, a tame shot easily saved by Bernd Leno on a day the Hatters failed to make the most of their chances.

CF: Eddie Nketiah – 5.93
There were plenty of contenders for the striker spots, with Rasmus Hojlund, Carlton Morris, Heung-min Son and Bryan Mbeumo also earning sub-six scores, but Nketiah gets the nod after struggling to shake off Everton’s centre-backs at Goodison. The Arsenal striker lost all three duels, managing only one shot that was blocked while losing possession four times with only 10 touches in 66 minutes before being replaced by Gabriel Jesus. The bench surely beckons.

CF: Raul Jimenez – 5.80
The Fulham forward was pocketed by Luton’s defenders, with the Cottagers only improving once Jimenez had been replaced as part of a double change that saw Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi change the course of the game. Twenty-one touches resulted in nine turnovers, with his only effort on goal a bicycle kick that went well wide.