6) Maguire shining in Hull’s relegation dogfight
Marco Silva has undoubtedly been the driving force behind Hull City’s turnaround since the turn of the year but their captain, Harry Maguire, has also come to the fore. The 24-year-old, who joined Hull from Sheffield United for £2.5m in 2014, was used sporadically by previous managers but has been at the heart of Hull’s resurgence. The challenge for Silva, regardless of which division they are playing in next season, will be retaining the defender, whom he has suggested should be in England squad. “Of course, it is an important player to us, a young player as well and it’s important for Hull City to keep these types of players,” said Silva, who confirmed the club had not received an official approach for Maguire. The centre-back, after a difficult first 12 months in east Yorkshire, almost joined Bristol City in 2015 but Steve Bruce rejected the offer and the player, although he has had to bide his time, is reaping the rewards. Ben Fisher
7) Butland return is good for Stoke and England
England have lacked for good news on the goalkeeping front for some time but the return of Jack Butland for Stoke, after more than a year out since his injury against Germany, offers one piece of encouragement. Butland was probably the standout performer in an otherwise meaningless goalless draw with West Ham on Saturday. His saves from André Ayew and Manuel Lanzini caught the eye but it was his commanding overall presence in the box that might have most impressed the watching England manager, Gareth Southgate. “All top clubs need keepers like Jack,” said the Stoke manager, Mark Hughes. They need good strikers too, of course, and Stoke must hope Saido Berahino’s luck finally changes soon. The forward is still goalless for his new club and was agonisingly close to breaking his duck when denied by Adrián’s one-handed save. Tom Davies
8) Sunderland need to keep hold of French gem Ndong
Sunderland’s relegation represented the “worst day” of David Moyes’s career and his Wearside tenure may now end in divorce but the former Everton, Manchester United and Real Sociedad manager did something right in the north-east. When he invested almost half the club’s £30m summer spend on the little-known Gabon midfielder Didier Ndong, from Lorient in France, eyebrows were raised – and not least in Ligue 1 circles. Ndong, though, has frequently proved to be Sunderland’s best outfield player this season (the brilliant young goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has been the real star) and, typically, kept his side in the game up until Josh King’s late winner for Bournemouth. Sunderland’s record signing is still a bit raw but his high‑energy enterprise could serve the team extremely well in the Championship. Providing Sunderland can keep hold of him, of course … Louise Taylor
9) Gabriel mistake exemplifies Arsenal fragility once more
It was a moment that summed up Arsenal’s afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur and, also, a broader theme of their season. One-nil down to Dele Alli’s goal, it was vital that they kept things tight for a few minutes, tried to ride out the storm. Enter Gabriel Paulista. It was a ridiculous challenge from the Brazil defender, one that he did not need to make and it presented Harry Kane with his penalty, three minutes after Alli’s goal. Game over. Gabriel lacked the composure when the pressure was at its highest and it felt like yet another instance of Arsenal’s fragility. This was an ordeal for them. Quite simply, Tottenham wanted it more. They ran harder and further; they dominated the 50-50s and, were it not for Petr Cech, the final scoreline would have been heavier. Thanks to results elsewhere, Arsenal’s top-four hopes are not dead. Playing like this, they will be. David Hytner
10) Everything has turned out fine for Leicester after all
It has been a wild season for Leicester City, a rollercoaster ride that led to Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal and at one stage looked like ending with English football witnessing its first top-flight champions to be relegated since 1938. Yet when the dust settles on this chaotic campaign, and people look back through the record books in years to come, everything will point to a perfectly acceptable season on the back of the unthinkable 12 months earlier. After flying the flag for English football in the last eight of the Champions League, Leicester are now on course, with three of their final four games at home, to finish in the top half of the Premier League. “If somebody said we’d got to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and finish 10th, then a lot of people would have been snapping people’s hands off for that,” Danny Drinkwater said after this win. Stuart James
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