Premier League Team of the Week: Erling Haaland, Cody Gakpo, Trent Alexander-Arnold

Arsenal ensured that the gap did not grow any bigger with their gritty 1-0 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Nottingham Forest's hopes of a Leicester City-esque miracle suffered a setback in an astonishing 5-0 loss versus a brilliant Bournemouth.

Manchester City's pursuit of Champions League football received a fillip in a 3-1 beating of European rivals Chelsea, as did Newcastle United's, as the Magpies trumped lowly Southampton by the same scoreline.

Speaking of Northern successes down south, Manchester United were counting their lucky stars in a 1-0 triumph over Fulham, but Tottenham Hotspur might now be considered genuine relegation candidates after an embarrassing 2-1 loss at home to Leicester City.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa and West Ham United contested a fiery 1-1 stalemate, Brentford benefitted from a controversial VAR call in a 2-1 success at Crystal Palace, and Everton's David Moyes-inspired revival continued in a 1-0 triumph at Brighton & Hove Albion.

In a round of fixtures where several defenders and attackers stole the show, Sports Mole selects its Premier League Team of the Week, including one high-profile omission up front.

DEFENCE

Only afforded his chance in the Leicester goal thanks to Mads Hermansen's injury, Jakub Stolarczyk might very well have given Ruud van Nistelrooy food for thought moving forward, having excelled in the astonishing Tottenham comeback with five saves, three punches and six clearances.

Spurs' bitter rivals Arsenal enjoyed better fortunes at the home of Wolves - at least points-wise rather than disciplinary-wise - but take nothing away from the performance of Emmanuel Agbadou. Taking to the Premier League like a duck to water, the 27-year-old won 10 of his 11 ground duels - putting in six tackles and completing three dribbles from three attempts - in addition to losing just two of his nine aerial contests at Molineux.

Elsewhere in the West Midlands, Aston Villa were left to lament another injury to the incredibly unfortunate Tyrone Mings, but his defensive partner Ezri Konsa put in a performance his skipper would have been proud of. From making three tackles, three interceptions and a clearance off the line, Konsa's display was pivotal in the Lions escaping with a point.

Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate was a highly honourable mention, but Reds representation is coming later on, and the men from the blue half of Merseyside need their own mention. With an astounding 13 clearances, two blocks and three out of four aerial duels won, Jarrad Branthwaite shone in the Toffees' beating of Brighton, possibly adding a few pounds to his value ahead of another summer auction.

MIDFIELD

We promised Reds representation, and here it begins; the Trent Alexander-Arnold horror show against Man United now seems a distant memory, as the right-back was far too hot for Ipswich to handle. In addition to a beautiful assist for Cody Gakpo, Alexander-Arnold crashed the woodwork and completed all three of his dribble attempts, a masterclass that may excite both Liverpool and Real Madrid supporters depending on how his contract situation plays out.

From a full-back who could leave on a free transfer to one of the most expensive defenders of all time, Josko Gvardiol terrorised the Chelsea backline at every opportunity on Saturday. If any player in the first half deserved a goal, it was the Croatian, who converted a simple tap-in for the Citizens' equaliser while also registering a 100% success rate from five attempted take-ons.

The goals keep on coming in the engine room, where Newcastle's Sandro Tonali capped off the Magpies' beating of a lowly Southampton with a clinical finish into the bottom of the net, while also putting in six successful challenges; the exact type of tough-tackling display we should get used to seeing more often.

Another midfielder who is also belatedly trying to make a name for himself in the Premier League, Tyler Adams ended Bournemouth's drubbing of Forest with two assists to his name, playing the final pass for Justin Kluivert before intercepting a lackadaisical pass and picking out Dango Ouattara. Impressing defensively as well as offensively, the American contributed five tackles and two interceptions to boot, as Andoni Iraola's side extended their marvellous unbeaten Premier League run to 11 matches.

ATTACK

With an embarrassment of riches to pick from in attack this weekend, there was always going to be at least one absentee who would have warranted a place almost every other gameweek, and that unfortunate soul is Newcastle hotshot Alexander Isak.

It was a tight tussle between the Swede and fellow Scandinavian sensation Erling Haaland, but the latter just edges this vote based on the quality of his contributions, having delicately lifted the ball over a lost Robert Sanchez before the most exquisite assist to Phil Foden after some quintessential dominant hold-up play.

Few players have made Murillo look a fool this season, but the Nottingham Forest defender was utterly humiliated by Bournemouth hat-trick hero Dango Ouattara, firstly being massively outjumped by the 22-year-old before being left for dead for the winger's second. Not content to declare at two, Ouattara then capitalised on a rare Matz Sels mistake to travel home with his first-ever senior match ball.

Providing three contributions of his own at the weekend, Liverpool's Cody Gakpo bagged a brace for himself and set up Mohamed Salah in the battering of Ipswich, continuing his love affair with the Anfield turf. The Netherlands international has now scored in five successive Premier League home matches, just the third Dutchman to do so after the legendary Van Nistelrooy and Robin van Persie, and he has well and truly found his feet in England now.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-4-3): Stolarczyk; Konsa, Branthwaite, Agbadou; Alexander-Arnold, Tonali, Adams, Gvardiol; Ouattara, Haaland, Gakpo

Written by

Ben Knapton