Arsenal duo join goal machine Haaland in Premier League new signing XI
With a break in Premier League action following the passing of the Queen, WhoScored take a look at the best rated new signing XI so far this season. Manchester City's star striker Erling Haaland lead the charge, while Arsenal have two players make the team. The likes of Newcastle, Leeds and Wolves are also represented.
For the purpose of this XI, we take a look at those to have moved to their new team this summer, which rules out Matt Targett, whose loan move was made permanent in the window, and Julian Alvarez, who joined Manchester City in January, but only made his debut for the champions in 2022/23 having returned to River Plate on loan.
The former Burnley goalkeeper moved to Newcastle and has been an ever-present for the Magpies. Pope has kept three clean sheets, which is level with Jose Sa, Robert Sanchez and Ederson at the top of this metric, and has made the most saves of any goalkeeper this season with 28, nine of which came in his MOTM performance at home to Crystal Palace, rewarding him with a WhoScored average rating of 7.27.
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest) - 7.16
Joining Nottingham Forest from Liverpool over the summer, Neco Williams has played every minute for Forest at right wing-back. Across his six games for Steve Cooper’s side, Williams has made 38 tackles and interceptions, that more any other player in England's top tier this term. Most notably, he has an average 2.2 shots per game, the highest of any recognised defender in the Premier League. In doing so, he comes into our XI with a WhoScored rating of 7.16.
Armel Bella-Kotchap (Southampton) - 7.01
The young German centre-back from Southampton takes a spot in our team. Bella-Kotchap has averaged of 1.2 tackles per 90, and two interceptions per 90 across the five games he has played for the Saints. His assist against Leicester is his only goal contribution to date, and with a pass success rate of 72%, he deserves a spot in this team with a WhoScored rating of 7.01.
James Tarkowski (Everton) - 7.05
Another player from the XI to have left Burnley over the summer, James Tarkowski has been a solid performer for Everton, despite their perilous position in the table. Tarkowski has often found himself in the right place at the right time to ease pressure on the Toffees backline, ranking fourth for clearances (33) to make the XI with a WhoScored rating of 7.05.
Oleksandar Zinchenko (Arsenal) - 6.95
The former Manchester City full-back left, along with Gabriel Jesus, to join former Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta at Arsenal. They have brought experience and a winning mentality to a squad filled with quality, but also inexperience. Zinchenko has looked sharp in the four Premier League games he has played, picking up a MOTM performance on his debut. The Ukrainian has is making an average of 2.2 tackles per 90, and looks a solid acquisition.
Our first midfield spot in the XI goes to Fulham’s Joao Palhinha. Since joining from Sporting CP, he has been a key part of Fulham’s good form at the start of their Premier League season. An impressive average of 5.1 tackles per 90 is more than any other player to have registered at least 200 minutes of game time, and he even got on the scoresheet for the Cottagers against west London rivals Brentford. With his impressive performances for Fulham so far, Palhinha has picked up a WhoScored rating of 6.94.
New Leeds midfielder Marc Roca has been a key player for Jesse Marsch’s team in the engine room since joining from Bayern Munich. He has made an average of 2.4 tackles per 90 and scored against Brentford in their last outing, highlighting his presence in both halves of the pitch. Roca enters the midfield with a WhoScored rating of 6.92.
Cheick Doucoure (Crystal Palace) - 6.89
The Malian defensive midfielder, who joined Crystal Palace from Lens in the summer, has played in every game so far for Palace. He is averaging a respectable 2.5 tackles per 90 this season. He picked up an assist against Brentford at home, and has a WhoScored rating of 6.89.
The new record signing for Wolves completes the midfield, with a rating of 6.89 from the four games he has played. He has made an average of 2.1 tackles per 90 so far, and provided the crunch assist for Daniel Podence in their 1-0 win over Southampton. Nunes has looked solid in his early days, and will hopefully build upon his respectable start for Bruno Lage’s side.
Erling Haaland (Manchester City) - 8.20
The star player of the season so far, with an impressive 10 goals in his first six games, it is no surprise Erling Haaland makes up the first of two striker positions. His goal rate of 1.9 per 90 is outstanding and highlights just how complete he is. The frightening thought for Premier League defenders is that at 22, Haaland is only going to improve. He also picked up an assist against Bournemouth, and has back-to-back hattricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. He has a goal contribution in every game so far, which makes his 8.20 WhoScored rating no surprise.
Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) - 7.75
The man who was replaced by Haaland, Gabriel Jesus has been a key asset to Arsenal’s impressive start to the season. Jesus has three goals and three assists this season from his six appearances for the Gunners. He is not only finishing his chances, but helping his teammates as well. His performances have rejuvenated a side who guttingly missed out on the Champions League last season, and his energy has helped Arsenal to the top of the table as it currently stands.
