5 Truths: Liverpool need to ditch Simon Mignolet; North London derby will be a treat

Goalkeepers get a fair amount of flack. One minor error can prove calamitous – and it can be a lonely post when the blame is laid firmly at your door. Sometimes you have to stand back and appreciate it’s a difficult job.

But that charitable outlook no longer applies to Simon Mignolet. The Liverpool stopper has had numerous chances and he’s blown the lot. He allowed Fernandino’s shot to wriggle underneath him in the League Cup final before watching his opposite number – Willy Caballero – steal the plaudits for a heroic penalty shootout display. Even if Mignolet did make a number of brilliant saves after his mistake, he still handed City the intitiative.

The Belgian’s calamity showreel also includes clutching onto the ball for 20 seconds, allowing the opposition to strike from an indirect free-kick, and repeatedly flapping at set-pieces. How many times have you encountered this sort of headline: ‘Mignolet howler gifts XXX victory’? All too often, we bet. If Liverpool want to be a serious force next season, they need to upgrade their No.1 sharpish.

It not being melodramatic to suggest Tottenham’s latest get-together with bitter North London foes Arsenal at White Hart Lane on Saturday is the most important in living memory. Long gone is the widespread sniggering you usually get at this time of the year when you wonder whether or not poor old Spurs can finish above Arsenal in the top four. Spurs are no more the fool: not only can Spurs finish above Arsenal, but there is every chance they could pip them to the Premier League title by doing so.

A home win could see Spurs lead Arsenal by six points with only nine games to play, providing both pick up three points in midweek. With Arsenal hosting Swansea and Spurs at West Ham before the derby, there is a long way to go, but these are critical moments for Arsene Wenger’s side. While Arsenal are losing to Manchester United's kids, Spurs have won six straight matches with their own young players. If Arsenal have any nerve left after the Old Trafford collapse, it needs to come to the fore on Saturday. Otherwise, it could be all over for them. Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino must surely smell blood.

Who was honestly surprised when Swansea took an early lead against Tottenham, who proceeded to miss chance after chance? We’ve seen it all before – Spurs don’t have the bottle, supposedly.

Or at least that was until Nacer Chadli popped up to equalise before Danny Rose fired home seven minutes later, as Spurs maintained their unlikely title bid. The best news from a Tottenham perspective? Even when behind, they played without fear and battered their lowly opposition. Sterner tests await, of course, but Tottenham are showing attributes we rarely associate with them – and that’s worrying for their Premier League rivals.

His every touch was greeted with a chorus of jeers from Liverpool fans still unhappy about his Anfield departure, but Raheem Sterling is yet to do enough on the pitch for the Reds faithful to be longing for the England forward to make a sensational return to Merseyside any time soon.

This season, especially in the Champions League, Sterling has shown glimpses of the player City's owners delved deep to acquire, but, as was evident at Wembley, his finishing lets him down when it really matters. Nine goals in all competitions isn't a bad return, but if Sterling could put away his chances, he'd have many more. Twice at Wembley the goal was gaping, but the 21-year-old somehow didn't even find the target. He has time on his side, and will get better, but we are yet to see the full capabilities of Raheem Sterling.

The Gunners likely didn’t feel like sticking the Barcelona match on the TV on the bus home from Old Trafford, given their own result earlier in the day, but they probably should have. What they would have seen from the Camp Nou might have lifted their spirits.

Barcelona picked up three points, but there were signs of fatigue in their performance having played three games in the last eight days. Sevilla didn’t quite have the quality to make the most of it, but Arsenal might. There is at least some hope for Arsene Wenger and his players ahead of their trip to Catalonia on March 16.