The final international break of 2016 has come to an end, which means no more dreadful weeks without Premier League football till March of next year. Phew! That's a big positive, isn’t it? Premier League football was back this weekend and kicked off with the biggest match of the weekend as Manchester United played hosts to Arsenal.
It was yet another interesting weekend of football as we now have a new leader in the race for the Premier League title and this time it is Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. With the top three separated only by a point, it looks like title race is shaping up pretty nicely for Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea while the North London clubs are not too far away. Mourinho’s Manchester United, on the other hand, have a lot to do to challenge for the title this season.
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Also read: European results roundup(18th - 21st November)
Here are the 10 things we learned from gameweek 12 of the Premier League:
#1 Oliver Giroud is the super-sub
Over the last few weeks, Arsene Wenger’s experiment with Alexis Sanchez as the striker has worked very well for the Gunners. However, when Oliver Giroud was back, there were doubts about his place in the squad. However, the Frenchman has done exceptionally well after coming on in both the games so far scoring in both.
It looks like Arsene Wenger could have a problem in who to select in his main 11 but Oliver Giroud adds a different dimension to Arsenals game i.e., height. Hence, Wenger should stick to having Giroud on the bench and bring him on as a substitute whenever the game looks to be out of favour for the Gunners just as it did at Old Trafford.
#2 Leicester City – from Champions to Relegation battle?
At the end of last season, Claudio Ranieri pleaded with his players to stay on for at least another season so that he could build a team that would last for a few years. However, things seem to be going downhill for the Foxes, and Jamie Vardy and Riyadh Mahrez’s decision to stay at the club seems to have backfired.
After 12 games, Leicester City are on 12 points, which is just two points off the relegation zone. Their midfield lacks imagination while their defence looks like a mess. They over-rely on Mahrez to create chances which the opposition teams have easily figured out. Ranieri needs to find a plan B, and quickly.
#3 Yaya Toure is back, and how!
Pep’s arrival at Manchester City saw Dmitri Seluk, the agent of Yaya Toure openly claim that his client could seek a move away from Manchester should Guardiola arrive. Pep’s arrival saw a few major changes like the departure of Joe Hart but Yaya’s situation was very clear. After a quarter of the season done, Yaya Toure issued a public apology and is now back.
In his first game for Manchester City under Pep, Yaya seemed to be at the peak of his fitness, even at 33, and had a pretty impressive work rate. To add to his great performance, Yaya found the back of the net on two occasions giving Pep a new option in midfield and announcing himself back to the world.
#4 After an express start, Everton have slowed down
Everton looked to be in the run for a Champions League spot in the early bits of the season with stunning performances but it looks like they have slowed down in the past few weeks. After a poor effort against Swansea which saw them earn a point in the dying moments thanks to Seamus Coleman, Everton will now be meeting for a crisis talk – and they’re only placed 7th.
It clearly looks like Koeman is having the Toffees aim higher this season and push for a Champions League spot but he will be concerned about certain players. Ross Barkley, for instance, has not been performing as well as Koeman would like and has been far too inconsistent to be the talisman for Everton.
Koeman will look to find a way to start winning again in order to fight for European spots.
#5 Bournemouth back with a win
After a stunning start to the season, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was considered a prospective manager for the English national team. However, over the past few weeks The Cherries have slowed down and it looked like they weren’t able to break through teams like they usually did. However, a Nathan Ake header ensured a deserved victory against Stoke City.
Bournemouth have been lauded for their attractive football despite the obvious lack of superstars in their team and this win could boost their confidence considerably going into the most intense month of football in December. Eddie Howe can only hope they continue the same to avoid any kind of a relegation battle towards the latter bits of the season.
#6 Liverpool’s monstrous attack finally stopped
Over the past few years, there have been a few teams that demand their opposition to sit back and deploy extremely defensive tactics in order to shut out their attack. Big teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich often see their opponents sit back to defend and this is something Southampton did against Liverpool. The Saints were smart enough to see the threat of Liverpool’s attack and sat back to defend and earn a point.
This not only shows that Liverpool can be contained but it also shows that Claude Puel has done his homework. The Saints’ boss has taken a page from Jose Mourinho’s book and his tactics were something similar to what Manchester United did against Liverpool when they faced off earlier this season. A deserved point for the Saints.
#7 Anichebe-Defoe partnership working for Moyes
A few weeks ago, Sunderland were struggling with just two points on the table and no wins. Two wins in two games now see them jump off the last spot in fantastic fashion thanks to a 3-0 victory over Hull City. Sunderland were too reliant on Jermaine Defoe for goals and David Moyes recognised this and decided to place his trust on Victor Anichebe who paired up with Defoe.
The result was spectacular as the pair has been in fantastic scoring form and it looks like Sunderland can yet again pull off a miraculous escape from the relegation zone. "He was like a young Didier Drogba," said David Moyes about Victor Anichebe who is having a great season after a bad time at West Brom under Tony Pulis.
#8 West Ham show signs of revival
After a horrible start to the season which saw star players injured, West Ham United have slowly been on a bit of a revival after a few good performances in the recent weeks. However, with 10 minutes to go at White Hart Lane, The Hammers and their fans would’ve thought that this could be the game that changes West Ham’s fortunes in the Premier League.
However, it turned out to be a disastrous ten minutes after Payet was subbed off and Nordtveit who came on gave away the penalty. Despite their heartbreaking loss, West Ham have been performing much better as a team and except for a few tactical errors from Bilic, West Ham can hope to improve as the season progresses. Andre Ayew’s return could boost their attack.
#9 Harry Kane - the man Tottenham missed
Tottenham have had a mixed start to the season. The North Londoners are the only side to remain unbeaten this season but have drawn far too many games and look like they were missing Harry Kane in attack. The return of Kane has been timely for Tottenham after the striker scored the equaliser in the North London Derby and ensured Tottenham snatched all three points against West Ham.
Harry Kane is not only the X-Factor that Tottenham needs, his presence also seems to boost the team's confidence in general - much like Lionel Messi does to Barcelona. His positional play as a striker is exceptional and his finishing has been exquisite. Tottenham should be thrilled he's back on time.
10) Chelsea’s defence could be one of the greatest in Premier League history
It might be a bit too early to say this but Chelsea’s defensive record this season could be historic for the club. After going six games without conceding a single goal, this Chelsea squad is now being mentioned in the same bracket as Chelsea of 2004-05, Liverpool of 2005-06 and Manchester United of 2008-09 who went 8 games and 9 games winning without conceding a goal respectively.
Not only is this impressive but the fact that Conte has transformed David Luiz into a fantastic defender is a great achievement. Victor Moses and Pedro’s revival under Conte has been incredible and their striker Diego Costa seems to be silently making his way towards the top of the goalscoring charts.
