Another surprising weekend of Premier League action has brought about plenty of talking points with Everton looking a completely different team under Sean Dyche and Manchester City taking another slip in their hunt for the Premier League title.
Arsenal re-established their lead at the top after an impressive comeback showing against Aston Villa and showed they are seriously up for the fight, while Graham Potter’s Chelsea woes took another turn for the worst.
Sportsmail covers all the big talking points as we look at 10 things we learned from the Premier League weekend.
Jadon Sancho’s best position isn’t on the wing
Jadon Sancho arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 2021 as the apparent heir to the club’s right-wing position. But against Leicester on Sunday he showed everyone exactly why he isn’t a winger.
United manager Erik ten Hag has worked wonders with his squad and has transformed individuals such as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, now he appears to be working on something similar with Sancho.
Jadon Sancho (red) thrived in a playmaker position for Manchester United against Leicester
The Englishman was no sooner on the pitch than he had scored his second goal in three league games and was more effective playing behind a striker around the edge of the opposition box than he ever has been on the wing for the Red Devils.
Everton will stay up under Sean Dyche
It looked as if keeping Everton in the Premier League could be mission impossible for Sean Dyche when he walked through the doors at Goodison Park at the end of January. But just three games later and it looks as if he is already on his way to keeping them in the top flight.
Saturday’s win over fellow strugglers Leeds marks six points in three games for Dyche and his staff having previously shocked Arsenal in his first game in charge before becoming unhinged in the Merseyside derby.
Everton bounced back to winning ways and Dyche has clearly succeeded in implementing his tactics and already knows his best line-up after less than a month in charge. Something ex-boss Frank Lampard was unable to do.
Dyche still has a long way to go but all the signs point to the fact that he has simply got too much survival knowhow to see Everton drop down to the Championship.
Sean Dyche secured his second win as Everton boss and will keep the Blues up this season
Arsenal players match their manager’s fight
If you’re going to win the Premier League title then you need talent, hard-work, clear instructions, and as Arsenal showed in their comeback win over Aston Villa, a lot of fight.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta staunched the away dugout at Villa Park and was absolutely furious when his side went behind twice before Jorginho’s late-strike rebounded off Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and back into his own net.
Arsenal clinched an important victory that saw them re-take their place at the top of the Premier League standings, but it was the fight shown by their squad that made the difference.
Their players could have crumbled after a three-match winless run but this young Arsenal side demonstrated they have harnessed the fire of their manager and this could prove to be the difference if they are to become Premier League champions.
Arsenal’s players showed the same fight as their manager Mikel Arteta (pictured) on Saturday
Man City’s status doesn’t guarantee victories
Manchester City have been the dominant force in English football over the last decade. They have engineered consecutive squads of title winners under Pep Guardiola and boast the status of being one of the best teams in the world.
That status has seen teams coming up against City feel as if they had no hope in the world when they stepped onto the Etihad turf and looked in the faces of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne across the tunnel, but that has all changed.
Against Nottingham Forest, City were on top and looked set to cruise to an easy win after Bernardo Silva opened the scoring, but Chris Wood’s late strike ensured the spoils were shared as the reigning champions’ title hopes were dealt a serious blow.
City’s opponents used to feel as if they were already beaten before a ball had been kicked, but that’s all changed after recent surprise results and they must start turning dominant possession into wins if they are serious about lifting the Premier League title this season.
Man City slipped up against Nottingham Forest as their inconsistencies were again highlighted
Arsenal miss Thomas Partey more than Gabriel Jesus
When Gabriel Jesus was forced out of the World Cup and go under the knife for surgery on a knee injury, Arsenal supporters feared that their Premier League ambitions would be derailed. The emergence of Eddie Nketiah proved otherwise.
However, the sidelining of Thomas Partey appears to have dealt the bigger blow. Gunners boss Arteta revealed that the defensive midfielder missed their weekend win over Villa with a back injury and would be assessed throughout this week to see if he would be available for their trip to Leicester on Saturday.
Partey has been a real miss and the numbers show that the team’s winning percentage drops from 71 per cent to just over 50 per cent when he isn’t available for selection and average points per game drop from 2.2 to 1.6.
Thomas Partey (left) has been Arsenal’s biggest injury miss not Gabriel Jesus
Leeds will drop if a new manager isn’t appointed
In contrast, Leeds’ search for a new manager is still ongoing and the longer it goes on the more likely a possibility relegation becomes. Michael Skubala has been overseeing training and matchday managerial responsibilities since Jesse Marsch was sacked two weeks ago.
Leeds players look lost as does the club staff who are unsure how long they will be in charge and are therefore unable to fully implement their tactics and plans on players awaiting a new leader to walk through the door.
The search for a new chief continues with Victor Orta, director of football at Elland Road, leading the charge but given his success so far it looks as if this whole mess will continue and could be the undoing act if Leeds are relegated.
Leeds director of football Victor Orta has come under pressure after failing to find a new boss
Chelsea’s big-money squad lacks direction
Saturday’s home defeat by bottom of the table Southampton was probably the lowest point in Graham Potter’s managerial reign at Chelsea. James Ward-Prowse’s superb free-kick proved to be the difference at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s squad of big-money players again failed to impress.
There isn’t one single person to blame at the club for their struggles, some would suggest owner Todd Boehly has recruited without proper investigation into players, some may argue that the players are at fault for underperforming, but undoubtedly the first person that will bear the brunt of the criticism is Potter.
The Englishman is being afforded time at the club by those above him but defeat to Southampton raises some serious question over whether he is the best man for the job. Whether Chelsea’s stars aren’t buying into Potter’s plans or if the role is just too big for him, something needs to change and quick.
Chelsea’s woes continued as strugglers Southampton secured a shock Stamford Bridge win
Man United are real title contenders
Ten Hag previously said during his time in charge of Ajax that a ‘manager can’t work magic’, but he has done just that during his first year at Manchester United. Sunday’s victory over Leicester wasn’t just another step in United’s transformation, it was a declaration that they are serious Premier League title challengers.
Rashford’s brace ensured the Red Devils moved to within three points of rivals Man City and just five points short of leaders Arsenal, but all the hallmarks are there of a side building towards a strong finish.
Man City keep tripping up, Arsenal are lacking consistency in recent games, and United are ready to pounce if an opening amongst the top two emerges.
Manchester United are serious title challengers especially with Marcus Rashford in the squad
Darwin Nunez is finally justifying his price tag
The Liverpool forward has been slated by the media, rival supporters, and even some of his own supporters who have been largely underwhelmed by the striker who was meant to rival Manchester City’s Erling Haaland this season.
However, in his past two outings, Nunez has begun to show just why he was brought to the club in the first place. He helped run the show against Everton last Monday and against Newcastle scored the opening goal that set them on their way to victory.
If Liverpool are to somehow clinch a Champions League place then Nunez will be vital.
Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez has begun to produce performances that were expected from him
Son Heung-min shows he is too important to be dropped
Spurs have shown everything that is great about them this season and at the same time everything that is bad about them. But in their 2-0 win over West Ham, Son Heung-min was on show to star in the limelight.
The South Korean international came off the bench to replace Richarlison in the 68th minute and four minutes later had found the back of the net. He may not be firing on all cylinders but no Spurs player is and Son is too important to be dropped.
Son Heung-Min came off the bench to score in Spurs’ weekend win over West Ham
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