Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points as they came through the north London derby with a win. The Gunners capitalised on a controversial result at OId Trafford, which saw Manchester United come away with three points in the Manchester derby, while Chelsea got back on track with a narrow win in their London derby with Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere, Everton’s woes continued as they threw away a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 against Southampton, while Brighton dominated Liverpool in a 3-0 win at the AMEX, continuing the Reds’ poor season start.
There were also wins for Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Wolves as Leeds United, Leicester City and West Ham continue to look to be moving in the wrong direction and towards the drop zone.
Here’s who we thought stood out from a dramatic weekend.
GK: Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Arsenal were in cruise control for the first half against a hapless Tottenham side, but the second half was far more even. That the Gunners came away from a north London derby away from home with a clean sheet for the first time since March 2014 was largely down to Aaron Ramsdale, who made a massive seven saves, preventing over 2 xG from hitting the Arsenal net.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
What a few weeks it has been for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. From being virtually at the Old Trafford exit to starting and excelling in the Manchester Derby win at the Theatre of Dreams. The right-back has taken his opportunity with both hands in Diogo Dalot’s absence, winning seven of his nine duels and helping to keep Phil Foden anonymous in the first half.
CB: Benoit Badiashile (Chelsea)
A pretty poor Chelsea came through a tough test against Crystal Palace by the narrowest of margins, and have a lot to thank goalkeeper Kepa for. However, new signing Benoit Badiashile was also excellent on the left side of central defence, and alongside Thiago Silva could bring the calmness and quality that Graham Potter’s side is desperately crying out for.
CB: Levi Colwill (Brighton)
From a new Chelsea signing to a Blues loanee, Levi Colwill will soon be in the England squad if he can continue to turn in performances like he did against Liverpool. The 19-year-old centre-back was immense alongside Lewis Dunk, and kept a poor Reds front three almost anonymous for 90 minutes. Managing a 93% pass accuracy and winning 100% of his ground duels, Chelsea have found another youth academy gem.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
Big games need big players to stand up, and Oleksandr Zinchenko did just that for the Gunners over the weekend. Heading to a ground where they hadn’t won in nearly a decade, the Ukrainian provided some much need poise and creativity from left-back, often inverting to support the Arsenal midfield on their way to an eventually routine win.
CM: James Ward Prowse (Southampton)
Where would Southampton be without their captain and talisman? James Ward-Prowse came up with two goals to rescue them against Everton and leave them still bottom, but with a fighting chance of survival. Capping off a week in which they also beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, Nathan Jones has a platform to build on, largely thanks to his skipper.
CM: Moises Caicedo (Brighton)
Moises Caicedo may not be a Brighton player for much longer amid interest from Chelsea and Liverpool, but while he is the Ecuador star continues to excel for Roberto de Zerbi and bossed the midfield against Jurgen Klopp’s side over the weekend.
Winning all of his tackles and attempting 85 passes with 90% accuracy, he continued to underline why he is valued so highly alongside fellow star Alexis Mac Allister, and that pairing is helping Brighton continue to punch well above their weight in the Premier League.
CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Arsenal’s captain doubled the Gunners lead with a strike from 30 yards out to pile the misery on Tottenham in a wretched first half, and is currently one of the best players in the Premier League on current form.
A leader on the pitch with the talent to match, his fee from Real Madrid is looking increasingly like a bargain.
RW: Solly March (Brighton)
Always hard-working and technically sound, goals have not always been March’s greatest strength. In the absence of Leandro Trossard (frozen out for disciplinary reasons), however, March took his chance excellently, grabbing two goals to help Brighton put Liverpool to the sword at the AMEX stadium. His second, in particular, was taken excellently and continues the Seagull’s excellent run of form.
ST: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
The most dangerous player in the first half, Rashford’s game looked to be over when he went over holding his hip five minutes from the interval. However, the Manchester United star carried on, and ultimately continued his excellent scoring form to snatch a winner in the Manchester Derby.
After a shaky couple of seasons, the Englishman is starting to fulfil his enormous potential.
LW: Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)
It has been a slow start to Premier League life for Brennan Johnson, who has struggled to continue last season’s fine goalscoring form. That changed against Leicester City, however, with the Welshman grabbing two goals and impressing alongside Morgan Gibbs-White in the Forest side.
Seemingly improving game by game, Forest could be set for a strong second half of the season, with Johnson a key part of that.
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