Premier League GW20 Team of the Week: Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Igor Thiago

The red and blue halves of London were celebrating come the end of Premier League gameweek 20, where Arsenal were one of the big winners after edging out Bournemouth 3-2 in a South Coast classic.

The Gunners' lead at the top of the Premier League table now stands at six points thanks to Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, who are now level on points with Aston Villa following the Lions' 3-1 success over Nottingham Forest.

Any increasingly faint hopes Liverpool had of defending their title surely evaporated in a chaotic 2-2 draw with Fulham, but Manchester United failed to take advantage in their 1-1 stalemate with Leeds United.

However, Brentford are now firmly knocking on the European door thanks to their 4-2 triumph at Everton, as are Sunderland after their hard-earned 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Elsewhere, Brighton & Hove Albion enhanced their top-half credentials with a 2-0 success over Burnley, Newcastle United did the same in an identical win over Crystal Palace, and the 20th time was the charm for 20th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers in a long-overdue 3-0 triumph vs. West Ham United.

Here, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week for the latest round of fixtures.

Goalkeeper: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)

England's number two maybe could have done better to prevent Newcastle's second goal, but with five saves, four punches and two successful run-outs from two attempts, he was the sole reason the Eagles did not lose by more.

Centre-back: Lewis Miley (Newcastle)

Shifted to a central role for the purposes of this TOTW, Lewis Miley claimed a smart assist for Bruno Guimaraes's goal and also set a new Premier League record for the season against Palace.

The teenager incredibly completed 59 of his 59 passes, the most made in a Premier League game with a 100% success rate this season, and the second-most on record for Newcastle after Cheick Tiote's 66/66 against Arsenal in 2016.

Centre-back: Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)

Pinball in the Crystal Palace six-yard box and Malick Thiaw doubles the Newcastle lead! ? pic.twitter.com/OXfS5Nqddh
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2026

Lining up alongside his Tyneside colleague, Malick Thiaw doubled the Magpies' lead on Sunday by poking home at a goalmouth scramble, and the German also made a staggering 17 defensive contributions - including 5/5 ground duels won - to preserve a well-earned clean sheet.

Centre-back: Nathan Collins (Brentford)

Amid claims that Liverpool have taken an interest in his services, Nathan Collins did his hopes of a Big Six move no harm whatsoever against Everton, powering home a header and executing the pass that eventually led to Igor Thiago's hat-trick goal.

Right midfield: Jack Grealish (Everton)

It was not all doom and gloom for Everton against Brentford, as Jack Grealish set up both Thierno Barry and Beto to end a run of 14 Premier League games without an assist, and his 100% dribble success rate from four attempts further suggests that his best self is returning.

Central midfield: Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Arsenal turn it around!

Declan Rice fires it home! ? pic.twitter.com/yohVWA8Crj
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 3, 2026

Scoring his second-best career brace to date, Declan Rice finally followed up his devastating Real Madrid double with two strikes in a Premier League game for the very first time, 296 appearances later.

The £105m man swept home two well-taken first-time finishes in the five-goal thriller with Bournemouth, in addition to making eight recoveries to further justify the half-price chants.

Central midfield: Vitaly Janelt (Brentford)

As well as matching Grealish on the two assists front - delivering pinpoint crosses for Collins and Thiago at the Hill Dickinson Stadium - Brentford stalwart Vitaly Janelt also recorded three interceptions, two blocks and a total of nine defensive contributions as his winter revival continues.

Left midfield: John McGinn (Aston Villa)

Joining Rice in the first-time Premier League brace club, Aston Villa hero John McGinn crashed home a first-time strike before benefitting from John Victor going walkabouts, although his second finish from range was no easy one by any means.

Attacking midfield: Mateus Mane (Wolves)

Mateus Mane's assist against Arsenal showed a small glimpse of his potential, and the Wolves teenager has now undoubtedly burst onto the scene after an effervescent display vs. West Ham, finding the back of the net with panache and also winning the Old Gold's penalty on a breakout performance.

Attacking midfield: Hwang Hee-chan (Wolves)

At the other end of the Molineux experience scale, Hwang Hee-chan coolly converted the penalty that Mane won on Wednesday, in addition to teeing up Jhon Arias as he registered a goal and assist in the same Premier League game for the first time.

Centre-forward: Igor Thiago (Brentford)

Igor Thiago has a hat-trick as Brentford will take all three points ?⚽️ pic.twitter.com/flYrOv76FV
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 4, 2026

Igor Thiago's game-changing contributions against Everton started when he made a crucial goal-line clearance from James Tarkowski's header, before having his way with the Toffees defence by scoring a tremendous treble.

The 24-year-old is just the seventh player from his country to take home a Premier League match ball, and now sitting on 14 goals for the term, he will almost certainly break the record for the highest-scoring season for a Brazilian player in the competition; one more strike will equal it.