As the Premier League resumed after the
international break, Arsenal stretched their lead
at the top of the table with an emphatic victory
over Norwich.
Chelsea remained in contention with the league leaders
after they beat Cardiff in a controversial affair at
Stamford Bridge. Manchester City and Everton picked
up maximum points, while Liverpool and Southampton
kept up their recent form away from home.
Take a look at my team of the week and see if you
agree with my selections.
GOALKEEPER - HUGO LLORIS (Tottenham)
I was tempted to put Norwich's John Ruddy in, but as
good as he was, four goals were put past him by
Arsenal. Clean sheets are at a premium in football, and
on that basis, I'm going for Hugo Lloris who provided a
solid performance away at Aston Villa.
Did you know? Frenchman Lloris has kept a joint-
league-high five clean sheets this season.
DEFENDER - NATHANIEL CLYNE (Southampton)
There's been a lot of talk about Adnan Januzaj and
whether he should play for England. Well, I've got a
better idea. Why don't we consider Nathaniel Clyne,
who is home-grown and was every bit a match for the
Belgium-born starlet? That way, we give exciting local
talent every encouragement to pursue their dream to
play for their country.
Did you know? In Southampton's ranks this season,
only defensive midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin (33) has
made more tackles than Clyne (24).
DEFENDER - PHIL JAGIELKA (Everton)
You know exactly what you are going to get with Phil
Jagielka, and we saw it again in Everton's 2-1 win
against Hull. No heroics like Chelsea's David Luiz, just a
rock-solid performance. A real Mr Dependable.
Did you know? England man Jagielka has been
Everton's best passer this season, completing 381.
DEFENDER - DEJAN LOVREN (Southampton)
I'd like to know precisely what manager Mauricio
Pochettino is serving his players at Southampton? They
have the best defensive record in the Premier League
and Lovren is one of the reasons why. At no stage was
the centre-back intimidated by Manchester United's
frontline in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
Did you know? Lovren has yet to miss a minute of
action this season on his way to helping the Saints to
the best defensive record in the Premier League (with
only three goals conceded).
DEFENDER - JAN VERTONGHEN (Tottenham)
Jan Vertonghen is a first-class defender who can
operate anywhere across the back-four. His
performance for Spurs against Aston Villa was of the
highest order. He always looks composed, and is always
prepared to join in attacks as well as defend.
Did you know? Belgian Vertonghen has not missed a
single minute of Spurs's last 20 Premier League games,
while this season he has posted an impressive 86%
pass-completion rate.
MIDFIELD - MESUT OZIL (Arsenal)
I thought it was Mesut Ozil who was the one who was
supposed to provide Olivier Giroud with the superb
crosses, not the other way around? I also thought that
Ozil was the king of the assists, not a goalscorer. This
consistency by Arsenal, along with the sublime football,
is getting very worrying. Spurs fans should be
concerned.
Did you know? German Ozil has already netted two
goals and provided three assists in only five Premier
League games for the Gunners.
MIDFIELD - STEVEN GERRARD (Liverpool)
What a week for the Liverpool captain. He steered
England to World Cup qualification in his 107th
international, before scoring his 100th Premier League
goal against Newcastle. I said some time ago that Steve
McClaren made the worst mistake of his managerial
career by not appointing Gerrard as the England
captain when he had the chance.
Did you know? Gerrard has become the 24th player
to score 100 Premier League goals.
MIDFIELD - JONATHAN DE GUZMAN (Swansea)
He did warn Sunderland with an earlier free-kick that
whistled by the upright with Keiren Westwood well
beaten, so it was no surprise that when Jonathan De
Guzman got a second chance he crashed a beauty past
the goalkeeper. That put the Swans 2-0 and initiated
the shout from the travelling support to bring back
former head coach Paolo Di Canio. Nothing can be that
bad.
Did you know? Dutchman De Guzman netted a fine
goal for the Swans and overall mustered three shots
(two on target, one off), more than any other player at
the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
FORWARD - ANDROS TOWNSEND (Tottenham)
What a week Andros Townsend has had. He helped his
country qualify for the World Cup by running Poland
ragged, and then scored his first goal in the Premier
League for Tottenham by doing precisely the same
thing he did to the Poles against Aston Villa.
Did you know? Townsend scored with his 27th shot
(including blocked efforts) this season, the highest
number of attempts on goal before scoring of any
Premier League goalscorer this season.
FORWARD - SERGIO AGUERO (Manchester City)
What an asset Sergio Aguero is proving to be for
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini. I've
criticised City's superstars in the past for their
lacklustre away performances this season, but not
against West Ham. Right from the start, Yaya Toure and
David Silva looked liked they meant business and
supplied the service to Aguero to do the damage. When
all is said and done, City might be a serious title threat
after all.
Did you know? Aguero scored his first Premier League
headed goal on his way to netting a brace and assisting
City's other goal in the 3-1 win at West Ham.
FORWARD - EDEN HAZARD (Chelsea)
Whatever your thoughts on the merits of referee
Anthony Taylor's decision not to intervene in Samuel
Eto'o's controversial interception on Cardiff goalkeeper
David Marshall, what was impressive was Eden Hazard's
ability to take advantage of the situation. Fortunately
for Mr Taylor, Hazard's second goal had absolutely
nothing to do with him.
Did you know? Scored two, and assisted one against
Hull. Has now created a league-high 19 goalscoring
chances from open-play.
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