So, barring Monday night's clash between Brighton and Stoke, week 12 of the Premier League has drawn to a close. After nine matches and 28 goals, who were the Winners And Losers from this weekend's matches?
Winners
- Arséne Wenger
A convincing, and frankly un-Arsenal-like, 2-0 victory over Tottenham helped to dispel some concerns over Wenger's management of the club and his team's temperament in big games. More pleasing still, was to see such a maligned figure as Mesut Ozil tracking back and defending heartily for his side. The front three of Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette linked up well and there certainly seems to be some promise for this combination as the season progresses.
One game does not make a season and Wenger still has a long way to go to bring many fans back onside, but this was about as perfect a day as he could have hoped for.
- Callum Wilson
The obvious choice, given his excellent hat-trick for Bournemouth at home to Huddersfield on Saturday afternoon, but what a heart-warming story. After missing most of the past two seasons with serious injuries, his goalscoring return will have been cheered across the whole country. A popular and talented centre-forward, it is to be hoped that this performance acts as a springboard for an in-form and injury-free run in the side.
- Marco Silva
Strengthened his hand considerably amid ongoing interest from Everton. The Watford manager oversaw a comfortable 2-0 victory over West Ham that was never in any serious doubt from the moment Will Hughes gave them an early lead.
The performance will have reinforced to Watford the need to keep him, and further highlighted why Everton are so keen to prize him away. Silva is a hugely talented young manager, and despite his apparent desire to move to the Toffees, it remains likely he will stay at Watford for the rest of the season. Has them playing with solidity and confidence and they are many punters' favourites to take the 7th spot this season.
- Jack Cork
What a week for the 28-year-old. Eyebrows were raised when Swansea let him leave in the summer, and his form for Burnley since then has been fantastic. Made his England debut during the international break, and followed up with a goal against his old club on Saturday. Becoming one of the surprise success stories of the season.
- José Mourinho
He will have been delighted. Despite falling a goal behind to Dwight Gayle and Newcastle, his Manchester United side responded with their most convincing display in well over a month. The commanding nature of their 4-1 win, allied to the comebacks of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, will have enthused to Portuguese manager heading into the hectic Christmas period. Pogba's performance, in particular, highlighted how much he has been missed and a goalscoring return for Romelu Lukaku added to the feel-good factor around Old Trafford. Doubts remain - particularly over the form of Victor Lindelof - but all-in-all a superb weekend for Mourinho.
Losers
- David Luiz
It is now three wins, three clean sheets on the spin for Chelsea in the Premier League, the last two of which have been achieved without their charismatic Brazilian.
Recalled to the bench for the Blues' 4-0 hammering of West Brom, that will have been of little comfort to Luiz as he watched another assured performance from Andreas Christensen. The Dane has become a real find for Chelsea and it may prove increasingly tough for Luiz to claim his place back. Chelsea is starting to find form again, and Antonio Conte will not disrupt that by changing around his back line from week-to-week. Luiz may be staring at a few more weeks on the sideline yet.
- Mauricio Pochettino
It is just one win in 17 away games against the other members of the 'Big Six' for Pochettino as Tottenham manager, and Saturday's 0-2 reverse at Arsenal was one of the most disappointing performances of his reign to date.
His side was second best all over the park, and rumours of a potential rift with Danny Rose only served to add to the tense atmosphere around Spurs fans at the moment. Pochettino's away record against the best opposition is the single biggest obstacle to Spurs' hunt for the biggest trophies, and they will not win the Premier League any time soon unless this is rectified. Doubts also starting to creep in over the normally-reliable Hugo Lloris, whose lack of bravery when confronted by Sanchez for the second goal was by no means his first mistake of the season in a big game. Spurs are an impressive club and Pochettino an impressive manager, but their fragile temperament remains a concern.
- Pep Guardiola
It may sound strange to say after Manchester City recorded their 11th win in twelve league matches, but this was not an ideal weekend for Guardiola.
Nothing wrong with the performance, although they took a while to get going, however, the injury to John Stones is a concern. Stones has been the league's best defender this season and is now looking at 4-6 weeks on the treatment table. Vincent Kompany did not convince and should have been sent off against Leicester, sparking fears that this could be a tough few weeks defensively for City. Additionally, the performances of their nearest challengers, Chelsea and United, will not have gone unnoticed by the Spaniard. Both sides were impressive and seem to be approaching top form, so City will need to be at their very best to maintain their lead at the top coming into Christmas.
- West Brom's fans
It is difficult to imagine any fans in the Premier League suffering more than those at West Brom at present.Turgid Football, a flat atmosphere and a team going nowhere but backwards.
It seems almost certain that Tony Pulis will be sacked as manager at some point this week, but the conundrum then becomes who to replace him with? The Baggies need a saviour as they slide towards the bottom three, and Pulis would normally be considered ideal for the job. Sam Allardyce is an option if he fancies it, but West Brom needs to improve quickly before they fall into meltdown. Saturday's performance against Chelsea was shambolic, particularly in the first half. Four straight losses and only a point above the relegation zone, these are worrying times for the West Brom faithful.
- Charlie Austin
What does he have to do to start a game? Southampton, as has been the case for over a year, was unthreatening and lacking creativity against Liverpool on Saturday, and yet their most natural goalscorer continues to warm the bench.
Doubts remain over his fitness, and he may never recapture the form of his QPR days, but Austin is a goalscorer and with Shane Long enduring a horrific goal drought, and Manolo Gabbiadini inconsistent, there has to be a place for him in the side. A front three of Austin, flanked by Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic, would offer threat and menace. With the Saints' defence struggling more than usual this term, adding goals is essential and Austin must be given a run of games to rectify this problem.
