Premier League Team of the Week - Marcus Rashford, Virgil van Dijk, Bukayo Saka

The Gunners sit two points clear of Manchester City - who could only draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest - with a game in hand, while Manchester United boosted their own title bid by thumping Leicester City 3-0.

Tottenham Hotspur now occupy the fourth and final Champions League place thanks to a 2-0 win over London rivals West Ham United, bumping down Newcastle United, who lost by the same scoreline to Liverpool.

Chelsea's misery under Graham Potter continued with a 1-0 loss to basement side Southampton, while sixth-placed Fulham survived an onslaught from seventh-placed Brighton & Hove Albion to win 1-0.

Elsewhere, Everton defeated Leeds 1-0 in a crucial basement battle - it was the same story for Bournemouth in their narrow success over Wolverhampton Wanderers - and Brentford left it late to hold Crystal Palace to a 1-1 draw.

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

DEFENCE

Both Alisson Becker and David de Gea were impenetrable forces in goal throughout the weekend, but Fulham would not have weathered the Seagulls' relentless storm without Bernd Leno, who stopped seven shots en route to an unexpected clean sheet on the South Coast.

Occupying an unfamiliar centre-back role for the purposes of this Team of the Week, Seamus Coleman affirmed that he meant his wonderful winner against Leeds - catching Illan Meslier off his line and finding the net with a sensational cross-cum-shot - in what was a sterling captain's contribution to lift his side out of the bottom three.

Over at the City Ground, Forest were thanking Man City's profligacy as much as anything else on Saturday, but January arrival Felipe has seamlessly slotted into the Tricky Trees' backline, producing a vital interception to prevent Erling Braut Haaland scoring a tap-in from Phil Foden's pass and also making 10 clearances in a dominant display.

Returning to the Liverpool backline like he never left, Virgil van Dijk's first game back in over a month was a joyous affair for the towering Dutchman, whose seven clearances, two blocks and 96% passing accuracy were crucial in quelling the 10-man Newcastle juggernaut at St James' Park.

MIDFIELD

It has taken the arrival of Pedro Porro for Emerson Royal to finally put a consistent string of performances together, but Tottenham fans are thankful that he did, as the Brazilian was once again a standout performer in the win over West Ham - taking his goal like a seasoned striker, creating two chances and completing 95% of his passes out wide.

Emerson had combined with fellow full-back Ben Davies for his goal on Sunday night, but the Welshman is edged out to the left-wing back spot by Southampton's Romain Perraud, who made six tackles and produced an incredible goal-line clearance from Raheem Sterling against Chelsea - celebrating his heroic efforts like he had scored himself.

There was joy in the capital for Spurs, but not for their upcoming opponents Chelsea, who became the latest victims of another sublime James Ward-Prowse free kick. Some in the home crowd may have resigned themselves to going 1-0 down before the Saints captain managed to get the ball over the wall and back down low into Kepa Arrizabalaga's goal for his 17th successful free kick in the top flight - only Lionel Messi (31) has more in the big five European leagues since 2013.

Another long-range stunner nearly settled an astonishing battle between Aston Villa and Arsenal, where Jorginho deservedly kept his place in the first XI and justified his selection again. Sending a 93rd-minute effort towards goal from range, Jorginho rattled the bar before witnessing ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez inadvertently head the ball into his own net, and he controlled the tempo with two key passes and three tackles in another assured performance.

However, the label of midfield royalty this weekend undoubtedly belonged to Bruno Fernandes, who set up Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in the win over Leicester - creating a whopping nine chances on the day - and he could have had a hat-trick of assists if Diogo Dalot had not fluffed his lines from only a few yards out.

ATTACK

Despite taking kick after kick once again, Bukayo Saka and his bruised ankles can always be relied upon to deliver for Arsenal. As well as scoring a stunning half-volley to draw his side level in the first half, Saka totalled six shots at Villa Park and also harnessed his defensive acumen with four tackles in another clutch performance.

The Three Lions boys would make headlines for all the right reasons this weekend, as Marcus Rashford continued his magnificent run in front of goal when Leicester came to town. While the Foxes struggled for ruthlessness, Rashford offered the visitors some lessons in finishing - clinically finding the bottom corner before staying onside and firing home through the legs of Danny Ward - scoring for the fifth Premier League game in a row and taking his total in all competitions this season to an eye-catching 24.

SPORTS MOLE'S PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE WEEK

Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week (3-5-2): Leno; Coleman, Felipe, Van Dijk; Trent, Ward-Prowse, Fernandes, Jorginho, Perraud; Rashford, Saka