FA Cup fourth round: 10 talking points from the weekend's action

1) Shaw has turned his career around

“He was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. He has to change his football brain,” José Mourinho said of Luke Shaw after a game in 2017. “We need his fantastic physical and technical qualities, but he cannot continue to play with my brain.” Few could have imagined four years later that the former Southampton defender could be first choice left-back at Old Trafford and eyeing up a return to the England squad. There is no arguing that Shaw looks far fitter now than four years ago but he has heeded Mourinho’s advice to “change his football brain”. Against Liverpool, Shaw was superb in defence and attack; going forward he made key overlapping runs, aiding Marcus Rashford to ensure United dominated that flank in a battle that was crucial to the victory. The arrival of Alex Telles seems to have spurred Shaw on to build on last season’s form. Gareth Southgate will have taken notice. Will Unwin

• Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool

2) West Ham can dream of the Champions League

It may be 16 years since David Moyes led Everton to Champions League qualification but his assistant, Alan Irvine, can see plenty of parallels between that squad and West Ham this season. After the thrashing of Doncaster on Saturday, victory at Crystal Palace on Tuesday night would take Moyes’s side ahead of the champions Liverpool in the table and into fourth spot. “There are similarities from the point of view that nobody expected it,” said Irvine, who worked under his fellow Scot at Preston and Everton. “Of course we haven’t achieved it but it’s great for us to be there. When you come into a team that has been fighting at the wrong end of the table, which we did at Everton as well, then the first thing you want to do is get to a position when you’re not looking over your shoulder. Then you can start resetting the goals.” Ed Aarons

• Match report: West Ham 4-0 Doncaster

Related: Defensive struggles suggest Liverpool have stood still while others push on | Barney Ronay

3) Arsenal are still carrying too many passengers

It said plenty that the three players to come out with flying colours from Arsenal’s insipid defeat at Southampton on Saturday were Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka. The first two were left in London and Saka did, at least, manage to add some drive when hauled off the bench for the final half an hour. That could not really be said for Nicolas Pépé and Willian, recalled having both fallen from favour in the league, even if neither disgraced himself. Pépé created his side’s best chance when playing Eddie Nketiah through, but the problem is that Mikel Arteta needs much more than that from his club-record signing, along with a pricey summer arrival from Chelsea. They need to be grabbing games by the scruff of the neck, but the tie passed Arsenal by until a late rally that fizzled out quickly enough. Arsenal have managed to belatedly solve the Mesut Özil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos conundrums over the past week: the nagging worry is that two further expensive millstones are coming down the track. Nick Ames

• Match report: Southampton 1-0 Arsenal

4) Brighton must sharpen their shooting

It was all a familiar sight. Brighton dominated possession, finished with 21 shots to Blackpool’s five and created enough chances to score as many goals as they pleased. They instead defeated a resolute opponent, a League One club dealing with five new positive Covid-19 tests, only after a long-range effort from Alexis MacAllister deflected into the net off Steven Alzate. A freak goal. There is little doubt about Brighton’s quality, but it seems clear that their season will be defined by how clinical they can be in front of goal. Still, a relatively uncomplicated win over Blackpool is an improvement on being dragged to penalties by League Two’s Newport County in the previous round, an experience Graham Potter described as “traumatic”. Tumaini Carayol

• Match report: Brighton 2-1 Blackpool

5) Gilmour is primed to make impact for Chelsea

It is time for Frank Lampard to unleash Billy Gilmour. The teenager is looking sharp after recovering from a long-term knee injury. Lampard has held Gilmour back so far, restricting him to appearances in a Champions League dead rubber and a couple of FA Cup ties, but the midfielder should keep his place when Chelsea host Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday. The 19-year-old was outstanding in Chelsea’s win over Luton, passing crisply, and his partnership with Mason Mount showed plenty of promise. His inexperience does not seem to be an issue. More seasoned midfielders, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, have not impressed recently and, if N’Golo Kanté is out again with a hamstring injury, it is hard to see why Gilmour should return to the bench against Wolves. He showed that he can handle himself against big opponents last season, demolishing Liverpool and Everton. He is unlikely to let Lampard down. Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: Chelsea 3-1 Luton

Burnley v Bournemouth or Crawley
Manchester United v West Ham
Sheffield United v Bristol City
Wolves v Southampton
Barnsley v Chelsea
Everton v Wycombe or Tottenham
Swansea v Manchester City
Leicester v Brighton

Ties to be played midweek, week beginning 8 February

6) Foxes look defanged without Vardy

Jamie Vardy is 34, and on Saturday had an operation to fix a persistent hip problem. This may not be a problem for Leicester in the short term: “we can cope without him”, insisted Brendan Rodgers, and in any case Vardy is expected to be back within a couple of weeks. But perhaps Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Brentford offered a glimpse of a future Leicester would prefer not to confront just yet. Rather than trying to replace Vardy like-for-like, Rodgers used Ayozé Perez as a false No 9, with the wide forwards and James Maddison looking to make runs beyond. After some fits and starts it seemed to work, albeit against second-tier opposition. And yet, a note of warning: Leicester have not beaten a Premier League team without Vardy for almost 13 months. When injury or form finally claim Vardy, one thing is for certain: replacing him will be no easy task. Jonathan Liew

• Match report: Brentford 1-3 Leicester City

7) Rodríguez a cut above as he looks to inspire Everton

There was little to learn for Everton as they waltzed past Sheffield Wednesday into the next round but it did give the public a chance to see the quality James Rodríguez has to offer in the second half the season. The Colombian regularly showed a standard of passing others in a Toffees shirt could only aspire to. If Everton are to push for a top-four finish, Rodríguez will be central to it, as he can make the difference against the best teams in the league, a match-winner who has proved himself at a World Cup and in the Champions League, which is the sort of experience Carlo Ancelotti will be relying on as winter turns to spring. The rest of the team look more positive when the midfielder is on the pitch, which was evidenced during his spell out of the team in December. Now he is back and looking ready to take on the Premier League. Will Unwin

• Match report: Everton 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday

8) Even Guardiola’s galácticos struggle with long throws

When Pep Guardiola waxed lyrical about the maturity of his Manchester City squad, it was in effect a back-handed compliment that served as another reminder of how closely Cheltenham Town had run them. Michael Duff’s players rode their luck, as he knew they would have to, but the League Two side came within nine minutes of unseating arguably the best team in the country and recording a famous upset. City were rattled, none more so than when the Cheltenham captain Ben Tozer limbered up for another monstrous long throw late on. “Unfortunately in the Tony Pulis era at Stoke City I was not here,” Guardiola said. “But I heard a lot of stories from my staff about this weapon; it’s an incredible weapon. You can avoid corners and free-kicks but avoiding throw-ins is impossible and when they put it [in the box] it’s so difficult.” Ben Fisher

• Match report: Cheltenham 1-3 Manchester City

9) Can Brewster end his barren Blades run?

If Sheffield United hoped that a £23.5m outlay on Rhian Brewster would pay for a place in next season’s Premier League, the probability that the Championship beckons dictates that he is destined to remain their record signing for quite some time. The numbers are unflattering: 16 games have brought no goals and four shots against League One Plymouth did not produce the elusive first. “It’ll come for Rhian because he is a finisher,” said a supportive Chris Wilder. Brewster’s return of 11 goals in 22 games on loan at Swansea suggests as much but Billy Sharp looked altogether, well, sharper on Saturday. Brewster could be forgiven for lacking confidence as his drought continues but his failure so far means he and United could be stuck with each other. “He’s got to keep his own spirits up,” Wilder said. “We have belief in him. We are all rooting for him and it’ll come.” Richard Jolly

• Match report: Sheffield Utd 2-1 Plymouth

10) Striking issues remain for Nuno and Wolves

An FA Cup tie against a side 111 places below them in the league felt like the ideal opportunity for Wolves to rediscover the goal-scoring touch which has abandoned them of late. Vitinha’s fantastic long-range strike was enough to see off National League North side Chorley, but Nuno Espírito Santo’s side can count themselves extremely lucky to have not at least been taken to extra time in Lancashire on Friday. Wolves staggered rather than sauntered into round five, with the absence of Raúl Jiménez still painfully obvious. The arrival of Willian José is certainly welcome, but both Patrick Cutrone and Fabio Silva did nothing to suggest they could provide serious competition for the Brazilian on Friday, with neither mustering a shot on target against part-time opposition. In the end, it was job done for Nuno in regards to avoiding a monumental upset, but the issues which have plagued his side in recent weeks show no signs of abating. Aaron Bower

• Match report: Chorley 0-1 Wolves