10 THINGS WE LEARNED from the Premier League weekend

The Premier League threw up plenty of the usual talking points and drama over the weekend.

Liverpool and Manchester City maintained their unbeaten starts to the league season, Chelsea were convincingly beaten by Tottenham and Huddersfield climbed off the bottom of the table with a win at Wolves.

Here, AMITAI WINEHOUSE assesses 10 things we learned from the latest weekend of the Premier League season...

1. 'Lads, it's Tottenham,’ Sir Alex Ferguson once quipped. They were the side that never turned up on the big days, ready to be rolled over.

Now the Spursy days are gone, made most clear by their phenomenal 3-1 win over Chelsea and the fact they have won more London derbies since Mauricio Pochettino arrived – 22 – than any other team in the league.

They may not win the league. It will take a lot from anyone to stop City doing that. They may not win the Champions League. But this is a special Spurs team, one their fans should appreciate.

2. This Liverpool side are something special, and only City’s utter brilliance will stop them from winning the Premier League this season – they are now unbeaten in their first 13 for the first time in 11 years.

Their strength is especially clear now Mohamed Salah has come back to the fore. He’s had a hand in six goals in his last five league games, a record comparable with his ridiculous output last campaign.

Salah probably needed time to trust his body again after that brutal shoulder injury. It is increasingly hard to view him as a one-season wonder.

3. This is no new issue for Manchester United. When the unfancied sides come to Old Trafford, do not expect them to win.

They have now managed 65 0-0 draws in the Premier League, with 31 per cent of them coming after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Historically, this one was particularly abysmal. Crystal Palace picked up their first point at Old Trafford since 1989. It was also the first home league game against the Eagles in which United have failed to score in 38 years.

Jose Mourinho’s side simply cannot break down teams. They basically matched Palace’s xG - 1.4 against the away side’s 1.3. There is no joy, no ambition. His slow walk to the exit door is already underway.

4. Sunday may be a day of rest for some but not for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese striker has hit 78 per cent of his Premier League goals on that day after striking against Bournemouth.

‘We need Aubameyang’, admitted Unai Emery after the game. That’s clear. He has been such a huge signing since arriving last January, being involved in 23 goals in 28 appearances.

Aubameyang is something Arsenal have lacked for years – a genuine top quality striker. His goal at Bournemouth does not prove it, but simply help confirm it.

5. It is easy to question whether Arsenal have actually improved since Wenger left. They are still outside the top four, near enough to the same points total as they were at this stage last season, and not exactly challenging for the top.

But Emery has clearly improved their mentality and started building a team that could do something down the line.

It must be remembered that they only won four away games all last season – they are already on that figure for this. Sure, Wenger’s Arsenal could walk over anyone at the Emirates. Emery’s side do not need home comforts.

6. David Silva is 32 and we might now start wondering if someone of his quality is going to come along again.

That said, the 32-year-old Silva is better than he was at 30, nevermind when he first arrived in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola has taken an already excellent talent and turned him into something more.

It was symbolic that his fourth goal in four consecutive games for City – the first time he’s ever done that – came after a run through the middle. No longer is this magician wasted out wide. Silva, through the centre, is getting better by the day.

7. Claudio Ranieri’s real task at Fulham will be to fix their broken defence, but that was never going to come in just a couple of weeks.

What he did manage could be significant, though. Ryan Sessegnon is a fine talent, yet the leap up to the Premier League seemed too much for him under Slavisa Jokanovic. Not against Southampton though, when he provided two assists in a game for the first time in his career. Could the Italian get the best of him?

If Ranieri does what he did at Leicester and identifies individuals like Sessegnon that can take advantage of defensive solidity, Fulham still have a shot of staying up.

8. VAR would not have had an impact on Everton’s match winning goal.

It was a different phase of play to the supposedly contentious throw-in decision. In fact, complaining about a throw 80 yards up the field that resulted in a goal at the other end seems untoward.

So if Neil Warnock is going to choose to deflect Cardiff defeats that way, it will not make much of an impression. What will is the fact that Everton have now won four in a row at home, showing just how valuable an appointment Marco Silva is.

9. If there were any doubts over Aaron Mooy’s importance to Huddersfield’s survival hopes, they were quashed at Molineux on Sunday.

His brace simply highlighted the fact that there is no player they can afford to lose less than the Australian. Which makes it all the worse that he will be away with his nation for the Asian Cup in January.

David Wagner and Town will have to find an elegant solution to cope with Mooy’s exit at the turn of the year. If they don’t, they might find themselves sliding down the league.

10. There is a lot to be said for consistency, not least when it comes to a team’s defence. Brighton are bastions of that.

Chris Hughton’s side have lost just one of their last nine league games at the AMEX Stadium. They know they can rely on their central defensive pair, Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy, who played their 50th Premier League game in the draw against Leicester.

With Mat Ryan, on 51 appearances, behind them, Brighton have a firm foundation in defence on which to rest their survival hopes.