Premier League Team of the Week - Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Emile Smith Rowe

Arsenal were briefly looking down on the other 19 teams in the division courtesy of their 2-0 win over Luton Town, just before Manchester City recorded a 4-1 rout of top four-chasing Aston Villa.

Tottenham Hotspur failed to make the most of the Lions' heavy defeat, sharing the spoils with London rivals West Ham United in a 1-1 draw, while Manchester United's Champions League hopes suffered potentially the cruellest blow yet in an extraordinary 4-3 loss to Chelsea.

European outsiders Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers could only manage respective 1-1 draws with Everton and Burnley, while Brighton & Hove Albion's efforts against Brentford were in vain in a 0-0 stalemate.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth needed just the one goal to put Crystal Palace to the sword, while Nottingham Forest's survival bid rests with them thanks to an emphatic 3-1 beating of Fulham at the City Ground.

Here, Sports Mole selects its latest Premier League Team of the Week from an unmissable round of fixtures.

DEFENCE

Brighton's 24 shots at the Gtech Community Stadium were the most that the Seagulls had ever had in a Premier League away game without scoring, and 25% of them were thwarted by Thomas Frank's number one Mark Flekken, who came up with six priceless saves to ensure a hard-earned point for the West London crop.

Doubling up on the Brentford backline this week, Flekken was also indebted to the efforts of Kristoffer Ajer in particular against the Seagulls; the former Celtic figurehead contributed five clearances, two interceptions and two blocks to the defensive effort, including an astonishing intervention to deny Danny Welbeck, flicking his boot up to deflect the Englishman's effort over the top while already sliding on the ground.

The third of three London-based rearguard names in this week's XI, West Ham's Kurt Zouma was the latest to exploit Spurs' vulnerabilities from set plays, rescuing a point for the Irons by leaping highest and directing the ball into the net via the top of his shoulder. With 11 goals since the start of the 2020-21 season, Zouma is the second-highest scoring Premier League defender in that time, only behind the 14 Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes has notched.

Also making his presence felt at both ends of the field in midweek was Burnley's Dara O'Shea, who delivered a sumptuous cross for Jacob Bruun Larsen to fire home the Clarets' opener against Wolves at Turf Moor. Vincent Kompany's men may have been forced to accept a point in the end, but O'Shea's four tackles and two clearances also helped to ensure that the hosts would put something on the board in their fight against the drop.

MIDFIELD

Amid the unbridled Stamford Bridge bedlam, Cole Palmer - or 'Cold Palmer' for those of a Blues persuasion - lived up to the latter name on Thursday night. After maintaining his 100% record from the spot with two clean penalties, the 21-year-old's deflected last-gasp strike - the latest winning goal on record in the Premier League - incredibly snatched victory from the closing jaws of defeat against the club he supported during his childhood.

While a crestfallen Man United departed West London with extremely glum expressions etched across their faces, Alejandro Garnacho could not accept one shred of the blame, having put the Red Devils on the brink of victory by capitalising on Moises Caicedo's error and calmly heading in past Djordje Petrovic, benefitting from an astonishing Antony trivela pass for his second of the night.

Assisting Phil Foden - quite literally - in his treble efforts in Man City's win over Villa was irrepressible midfield maestro Rodri, who set up the Englishman's second of the night with an exquisite pass, quickly shifting the ball from his right to left foot before immediately picking out his teammate. The Spaniard's slick assist came after he had already broken the deadlock with a cracking near-post finish, setting a new career best of eight goals in a single campaign in the process.

Whether any of Rodri's strikes can rival Alexis Mac Allister's astounding efforts is another matter entirely, though, as the Liverpool midfielder sparked an almighty roar from the Kop with another sensational strike versus Sheffield United. Despite having to take on more defensive duties again, the Argentine found the top corner with a venomous 20-yard strike to restore the Reds' lead on Thursday - a goal which Cody Gakpo claimed was better than his Fulham thunderbolt - and his overall engine room display was truly dynamic.

There would be no dream strike for Arsenal's Emile Smith Rowe against Luton - much to the disappointment of Gooners - but the fan favourite still made his presence felt on an increasingly rare Premier League start. Having a direct hand in both of his side's efforts, the Englishman won possession back high up the pitch to spark Martin Odegaard's opener, before his cutback from the byline was turned in by Daiki Hashioka to momentarily send Arsenal to the summit.

ATTACK

Palmer was just one of two English hat-trick heroes to travel home with a match ball clutched under their arm in midweek, as Manchester City's effervescent talent Phil Foden tore Aston Villa to shreds at the Etihad. Courtesy of a perfectly-placed free kick, a first-time finish off the post and an emphatic strike into the top corner, the 23-year-old recorded his third Premier League hat-trick, becoming the fifth-youngest player to hit a treble of trebles in the competition.

Finally, Morgan Gibbs-White was the catalyst for Forest's eye-catching beating of Fulham at the City Ground, firstly playing Callum Hudson-Odoi through with a stunning pass - one of four chances he created on the day - before turning scorer with a composed finish, potentially adding a few more pounds to his value ahead of the proposed summer auction.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-5-2): Flekken; Ajer, Zouma, O'Shea; Palmer, Rodri, Mac Allister, Smith Rowe, Garnacho; Foden, Gibbs-White