James McAtee is Man City's future as Liverpool boss Arne Slot sends Trent Alexander-Arnold message: FA Cup third-round ties - what we learned

James McAtee's 19-minute hat-trick in Manchester City's 8-0 romp against Salford City was somewhat overshadowed by Pep Guardiola's admission after the game that Kyle Walker wants to leave the club.

Guardiola revealed he only wants to select players who are committed to the cause, explaining Walker's omission, but in McAtee he has a player who could well represent City's future.

In becoming the first Englishman to score an FA Cup hat-trick for the club since Robbie Fowler against Scunthorpe in January 2006, the 22-year-old quadrupled his career goal tally for City.

Admittedly, this was only McAtee's fourth start, having been out on loan at Sheffield United last season, but after Guardiola retained his services for this campaign it was important he took his opportunity against lowly opponents.

"I'm so happy for him, he's a special player," said Guardiola. "Scoring a hat-trick is not easy.

"He's been at City for a long time, a City supporter and he was one of the biggest talents at the academy from the generation of Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Liam Delap. He played with these guys and was the captain of them. I'm really, really pleased he's here with us."

This was collectively a clinical exhibition from City. Jeremy Doku dazzled and Jack Grealish ended his goal drought but McAtee was the pick of the bunch.Ben Grounds

Trent Alexander-Arnold stood in front of the Liverpool fans with his arms aloft, taking in the acclaim. It brought to question, why would the Liverpool defender ever want to leave?

His strike into the top corner in the 4-0 victory over Accrington showed what big a talent he is. He ran the game, albeit against weakened opposition, but him being a cut of class above the rest showed how rare a talent he is.

Arne Slot knows it, and he sent Alexander-Arnold - into the final six months of his Liverpool deal - a message before kick-off.

The Dutch manager started Rio Ngumoha - Liverpool's second-youngest-ever player - who just weeks ago spoke about his own personal ambition to win the Ballon d'Or - an aim Alexander-Arnold revealed was on his bucket list.

"He is at a club where players can win the Ballon d'Or. Let's wait but it's far too early to talk about that!" said Slot before the game.

Ngumoha benefited from the freedom handed to him - he made more one-on-ones than anyone else and freed up space for Kostas Tsimikas to create four chances - the most from the opening 45 minutes.

Inverting inside and adored by the home crowd, Alexander-Arnold must remember the freedom and love he has at Liverpool, before he makes a career-defining decision.Sam Blitz

Two days of training sessions was enough to see hallmarks of the Graham Potter stamp on his new West Ham side, with plenty of positives but some familiar negatives from his opening game.

Here were the key takeaways from Friday's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa...

Tactical flexibility: What appeared a 4-2-3-1 on the team sheet was more of a 3-4-2-1 in-game, with Ollie Scarles and Crysencio Summerville as wing-backs and Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus playing as No 10s.

It demanded a lot but allowed West Ham to overload Villa's wide areas while keeping compact when they lost the ball, though it was much less effective once Summerville went off injured.

A new-found energy: Whether it was a new-manager bounce or not, Potter's players looked as motivated as they have all season and played the first half at a really good tempo, with everyone pitching in - a stark contrast to most of the Julen Lopetegui era.

Edson Alvarez's performance was the most notable turnaround but the sight of Paqueta chasing back to slide in and give away a corner was another unfamiliar sight. It wore off as West Ham tired after the break, which Potter will have to address.

Is Paqueta back? Creative players have thrived under Potter's style and the early signs are that Paqueta might have rediscovered his mojo after a miserable half-season under Lopetegui.

Aston Villa had trouble picking up his late runs into the edge of the box and after scoring the opener, he nearly struck again from the same position minutes later. He needs a manager who gets him, and maybe Potter does.

West Ham need a striker: Niclas Fullkrug's injury after 15 minutes looks a bad one and leaves Danny Ings as West Ham's only fit striker. The Hammers needed attacking reinforcements anyway but that is only accelerated now, with Michail Antonio already out for the season.Ron Walker

Reece James' latest Chelsea comeback from a hamstring injury only lasted 45 minutes but thankfully his early withdrawal from the 5-0 win over Morecambe was a pre-planned exercise from Enzo Maresca, who said: "The idea is to slowly build the right condition - we need to be a bit more careful. We have to help him to get in the right condition."

In his first start since playing against Manchester United in November, James did provide a reminder of the skillset he can provide to Chelsea down that right flank. Despite the clear mismatch in terms of individual quality up against Morecombe, James' delivery from wide areas was consistently on the money.

In his 45 minutes of action James created three chances. With Chelsea lacking a little dynamism and creativity down the right this season with Malo Gusto struggling for form and fitness, getting it right with James in terms of his recovery back to somewhere near his best could be a huge weapon as Chelsea look to make some noise on all fronts.Lewis Jones

Losing strikers Evanilson and Enes Unal to serious injuries this week was a real kick in the teeth for Bournemouth, who have shone in the Premier League in recent months.

Whether or not it is enough to derail their bid for a first top-half finish in the Premier League since 2016/17 remains to be seen. But, for now, the makeshift strike-force deployed by Andoni Iraola is doing its job - and then some.

Dango Ouattara started through the middle and scored two goals, with Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison - who was recalled from a loan spell at Watford this week - also on target in the 5-1 rout of West Brom.

"The forwards played very well, most of them scored goals so it's really pleasing," said Iraola after the game.

"Dango has played No 9 for his national team [Burkina Faso]. We have players who can help us there even if it is not their best position. A lot of players have played in positions they are not used to and everyone has helped us."

It may be a case of fitting square pegs into round holes for the time being, but Iraola has players at his disposal who are more than capable of deputising and doing what is required to stand up and be counted.Dan Long

It has been a slow start to life at Brentford for Fabio Carvalho.

A lot was expected from the £27.5m signing from Liverpool who was starved of minutes under Jurgen Klopp, but showed plenty of promise at Hull City during a loan spell in the Championship. But the move has resulted in just three Premier League starts - and his latest test from the off in the 1-0 defeat to Plymouth has drawn criticism.

"Carvalho isn't good enough for me in this Brentford team," said Zone Sporty VIP' Clinton Morrison, who used to play for the west London club. "I know he's not been playing football but he's slow, he takes too many touches. Brentford like to move it quicker."

It is not the first time the 22-year-old has left Brentford fans unimpressed. The same slow play saw Carvalho at fault for Brentford's second goal in the 2-1 loss at Chelsea. More points were lost when the midfielder missed a gilt-edged chance in the defeat at Fulham, with the summer signing costing his team three points on that day.

But what Carvalho needs to remember is that it takes time to get up to speed in a Thomas Frank team. It did not click immediately for the likes of Yoane Wissa, Mikkel Damsgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter, now all three are among the first names on the teamsheet. Kevin Schade, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Nathan Collins are among the other Brentford players to dip before a rise.

Carvalho knows the path is there for him to make a name for himself, he just needs patience.Sam Blitz

By nature, Georginio Rutter is not a prolific forward. He had only scored 27 career goals in more than 150 appearances in all competitions when he joined Brighton from Leeds in the summer.

That said, the Frenchman certainly would have received a confidence boost after his double in the 4-0 win at Norwich.

For the first, he used all of the strength in his neck to crane and powerfully head Joel Veltman's cross past George Long. For the second, his shot from a tight angle took a deflection off Callum Doyle and whistled into the opposite corner.

The double marked his first goal involvement since providing an assist in the 2-2 draw with Wolves on October 26 and his first goal since the 3-2 win over Tottenham 20 days earlier.

"Scoring those goals will be good for his confidence, I'm sure of that," Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler said afterwards.

"He worked very hard, getting into a lot of good positions, and he had already gone close on a couple of occasions before he scored his goals."

With Danny Welbeck also making his return from injury after a month out, and Joao Pedro confirming on his social media that he had undergone a scan and it was 'OK', it was a positive day all round for Brighton's forwards.Dan Long

The winning feeling really is infectious.

Nuno made 11 changes to his Nottingham Forest starting XI for the 2-0 victory over managerless Luton, but the strength of their squad was highlighted. Players came in knowing the standards are sky high and were keen to make a big impression. The victory means it is seven wins on the bounce as the positive feeling continues at the City Ground.

And a cup run to go alongside their tilt at European qualification in the Premier League looks very manageable. Under Nuno, Forest are a match for anyone.Lewis Jones

After five defeats on the spin, Leicester's 6-2 thrashing of QPR will have been sweet relief for Ruud van Nistelrooy - and a timely morale boost for his players, ahead of a huge midweek match-up with Crystal Palace.

That home game on Wednesday is looking like a relegation-battle six-pointer and Leicester will feel their prospects of turning over an improving Palace side have had a boost after a wretched run of results.

There was thick fog at the King Power but goals for key attackers Jamie Vardy, Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi - along with James Justin's second double of the season and a Wout Faes stunner - will give the Foxes' fans a brighter outlook ahead of their return to Premier League action.Peter Smith

Exeter's recent FA Cup history does not make for particularly interesting reading, no disrespect intended.

In the previous three seasons, they had not made it past the second round - and only four times since the start of the 2004/05 season had they reached the third round.

When Matt Phillips struck to put Oxford in front at St James Park on Saturday, given the way the U's had started under Gary Rowett - three wins and a draw in the Championship - it seemed like the chances of progressing any further would escape them once again.

But Demetri Mitchell's double turned the game in the Grecians' favour and Vincent Harper added the gloss to secure a 3-1 victory that sends the Devon club into the fourth round for the first time since the 1980/81 campaign, when they reached the quarter-finals under Brian Godfrey.

From here, anything more is a bonus. A near half-century long exodus from the fourth round is over.Dan Long