Frustration ... Arsene Wenger just doesn't know what to expect from the Gunners at the momemt. Source: AFP
The Manchester clubs assert their dominance over the chasing pack while QPR, Reading and Southampton just can't buy a win between them. It was quite a weekend of EPL action.
Where to start with a game which offered a bit of everything - from the ridiculous to the sublime? Fulham will feel that they could have won the game, but didn't. Arsenal will feel they should have won the game, but didn't.
All in all, 90 minutes of enthralling Premier League football at the Emirates offered a perfect summary of what these two teams are all about right now.
Arsenal have acquired an unfortunate knack of shooting themselves in the foot, while much of the credit for Fulham's return to form in front of goal can be placed at the twinkling toes of Dimitar Berbatov.
The Gunners once again struggled with the basics of defending - picking up men at set-pieces and not diving into rash tackles inside the box, the sort of stuff you teach 10-year-olds.
Steve Bould took plenty of plaudits earlier in the season when Arsenal were looking solid at the back, so maybe he needs to go back to the drawing board and put his message across in a different way because whatever he is saying at the moment clearly isn't sinking in.
It felt like Groundhog Day for Everton at Goodison Park as they fell behind for the sixth Premier League game in succession. For a defence that usually prides itself on their solidity, boss David Moyes will be concerned his team's shaky backline.
However, you cannot fault their powers of recovery. Everton have not lost any of those six games and they somehow turned this match around when it looked for so long like a Sunderland victory.
The talisman once again was Marouane Fellaini. Like at Fulham last weekend the tall Belgian was imperious.
Moyes has stressed his desire not to curb his team's attacking instincts, but if they are to maintain their push for a Champions League spot they will need to learn to keep clean sheets again.
Brian McDermott and Chris Hughton could take positives and negatives from the stalemate at the Madejski Stadium.
For McDermott, the Royals kept a clean sheet for the first time in this top-flight campaign to earn a valuable point in their bid to beat the drop.
But they were unable to make the most of the few chances they created and McDermott will be looking for improvements in their finishing as their search for that elusive first win continues.
Norwich boss Hughton saw his side continue their resurgence from their poor start to the season, making it four Premier League games in a row undefeated. But while the visitors were well-organised and difficult to break down, like the Royals they were not clinical enough to take advantage of the few chances they created.
Southampton have had to play some of the best teams in the Premier League in their opening 10 matches so it has been a harsh introduction. But Swansea at home was supposed to be an opportunity to pick up three points.
And while Saints huffed and puffed they were undone by more basic errors from a dysfunctional defence that is still waiting for their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Things are not going smoothly at the other end of the pitch but at least there is trickery from Adam Lallana and Gaston Ramirez, while Rickie Lambert remains a useful weapon in winning knockdowns from angled passes.
But Nigel Adkins will be left wondering where the next win is coming from.
All is not lost for QPR, who dominated for large spells at The Britannia. The visitors enjoyed almost 55 per cent possession but could not turn any of their tidy approach work into goals.
On a few occasions Adel Taarabt looked odds-on to score but his execution let him down as three more points slipped away.
Defensively they were not put under a great amount of pressure against a Stoke side who are in transition, but they switched off in allowing Charlie Adam to tuck home the winner.
Encouraging signs for Stoke though, who managed to pick up the points without playing well. Tony Pulis is trying to evolve the Potters by introducing a more fluent style and he will be delighted they managed to grab the points to get some momentum going.
Wigan 1 West Bromwich Albion 2
Wigan enjoyed 65.9 per cent of the possession, played 553 passes to their opponents's 276, made 43 crosses against 19 and fired in 14 shots to nine.
Sadly for Roberto Martinez, the only statistic which really matters is the scoreline, with West Brom ending their away-day hoodoo to remain fifth in the Premier League and in contention for European football next season.
The problems facing Martinez and Wigan were summed up by this one fixture. They play football in the right way, passing to feet wherever possible and creating chances, but are let down by a lack of a cutting edge in front of goal and errors in their own defence.
In attack, the triumvirate of Franco Di Santo, Arouna Kone and Shaun Maloney kept Jonas Olsson and co on their toes at times, but were out of synch - and luck - at others.
Aston Villa 2 Manchester United 3
It is a worrying sign for the rest of the Premier League when Manchester United can come out of this game with three points.
They were dead and buried at half-time and Villa were the better team.
But Villa are where they are for a reason, and United attacked their soft underbelly with vigour and mercilessly pushed on to take the three points.
The fact United could afford Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie to mis-fire and still have another striker to claim the match-ball is a sign of how strong their squad is.
Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1
If the mark of champions really is picking up points when not at your best, then the silverware may as well be presented to Manchester City before the Christmas decorations go up.
Roberto Mancini's men have looked a long way short of title holders at times this season, but they boast the only unbeaten record in the top four divisions of English football.
The rest of the Premier League had better beware, with it frightening to think what could happen if City click.
Tottenham did their best to put a serious dent in the Blues' title defence at the Etihad Stadium, even edging themselves in front at one stage, but they will concede that they did not offer enough in the final third.
Newcastle United 0 West Ham United 1
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew refused to use the European trip in midweek as an excuse for a limp display at home to West Ham, but the Magpies are struggling to get going this season.
Cheick Tiote and Fabricio Coloccini were missed as they served their bans, and when Jonas Gutierrez also went off injured, any hope of finding some sort of rhythm seemed to evaporate.
Whether that is because of a more congested fixture list is debatable given the rotation but Sam Allardyce was in no doubt that Europe was significant, openly admitting he'd told his players this presented an opportunity.
The West Ham boss is famous for targeting points and while Pardew bemoaned the stop-start nature of playing against the Hammers, nobody can argue with how effective it is proving.
A few weeks ago, Chelsea's fierce start to the season saw some tout this year's Premier League title race to be a three-horse race. While this may still be the case, this was a particularly lacklustre performance from the Blues.
John Terry proved just vital he can be to Chelsea by netting the opener and his injury saw Chelsea's presence limited to an extent.
For Liverpool, this was probably as good a performance defensively as they have delivered all season. Jose Enrique was magnificent, and Jamie Carragher hadn't missed a beat as he returned to the first team with great success.
This was a big point for the Reds, and Brendan Rodgers will be hopeful it can act as a springboard to their topsy-turvy season.
Chelsea will be hopeful Terry's injury is not severe, and while there were big performances from Juan Mata and Branislav Ivanovic, there can surely be no doubt that if the Blues are to compete for the title this year, they need the presence of their enigmatic leader.
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