Arsenal trio and Manchester City star lead Premier League team of the week

Phil Foden propels City to victory over Manchester United before Gunners hit six past Sheffield United

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  Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring their second goal in the 3-1 Premier League win at the Etihad Stadium on March 3, 2024. PA

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  Erling Haaland of Manchester City scores his team's third goal past Manchester United keeper Andre Onana. Getty Images

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  Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their third goal with Phil Foden. Action Images

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  Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates with teammates after scoring their second goal. PA

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  Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola celebrates after Manchester City's Phil Foden scores their second goal. AP

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  Manchester City's Phil Foden scores their second goal. PA

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  Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring their first goal against Manchester United with Erling Haaland. Action Images

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  Phil Foden of Manchester City scores his team's first goal. Getty Images

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  Manchester City's Phil Foden scores their first goal. PA

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  Marcus Rashford of Manchester United celebrates with Scott McTominay after scoring his team's first goal. Getty Images

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  Marcus Rashford of Manchester United scores his team's first goal. Getty Images

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  Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring his opener with Bruno Fernandes. Action Images

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  Manchester City's Erling Haaland misses a chance. Action Images

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  Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United blocks a shot from Phil Foden. Getty Images

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  Andre Onana of Manchester United saves a shot from Phil Foden of Manchester City. Getty Images

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  Andre Onana of Manchester United looks on as a flare is thrown on to the pitch. Getty Images

After another round of Premier League fixtures, there has been no change at either end of the table as the top three continue to push for the title and the bottom three look increasingly desperate.

The round began on Saturday with six matches at the traditional kick-off time; Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw at Brentford, West Ham beat struggling Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park, and Fulham eased past Brighton 3-0 at Craven Cottage.

Newcastle beat Wolves 3-0 at St James' Park, Darwin Nunez scored at the death in a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest to keep Liverpool top, and Tottenham defeated Crystal Palace 3-1 at home.

Saturday's late game saw Aston Villa beat Luton Town 3-2 having initially let a two-goal lead slip at Kenilworth Road.

Bournemouth then beat second-bottom Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor, before Phil Foden inspired Manchester City to a come-from-behind 3-1 win over Manchester United at Etihad Stadium.

The round then concluded on Monday night as in-form Arsenal piled the misery on bottom side Sheffield United with a 6-0 trouncing at Bramall Lane.

Here is our Premier League team of the week (formation: 3-5-2).

GK: Alphonse Areola (West Ham)

West Ham continued to turn a corner this weekend with a 3-1 win at Everton, their second victory in a row after a run of three straight losses, but the outcome could have been different were it not for Areola's heroics.

First came an excellent penalty save on Beto at the end of the first half, and after the Portuguese striker made amends by heading Everton into a 1-0 lead, Areola produced a fine close-range block on Dwight McNeill to avoid West Ham falling further behind.

After Kurt Zouma levelled for the Hammers, Areola delivered again for his team to tip over a deflected Beto shot, before Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez sealed all three points in injury time.

DF: Tino Livramento (Newcastle)

Only on the pitch for most of the second half but that's all Livramento needed to make his mark in Newcastle's 3-0 win over Wolves at St James' Park. On to replace the injured Kieran Trippier – the player he will ultimately succeed one day – the English right-back slotted straight into the side to ensure Newcastle maintained their dominant performance.

After Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon had given the hosts a 2-0 lead in the first half, Livramento added the gloss to the result with a fine solo goal late on, carrying the ball from the halfway line before poking his finish past Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa.

DF: Cristian Romero (Tottenham)

Tottenham bounced back from their defeat to Wolves with a 3-1 home win against Crystal Palace, although they had to do it the hard way. Eberichi Eze had given Palace the lead in the 59th minute with a sumptuous free kick, before Timo Werner equalised for Spurs 11 minutes later.

Then up stepped Romero as the Argentine defender nodded home a deft header from James Maddison's looped cross to give Tottenham the advantage. Son Heung-min made sure of the win in the final few minutes of regular time, but it was Romero's goal that had given Spurs the upper hand.

DF: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Liverpool continue to march forward with a patched-up squad but they can always rely on the commanding leadership of Virgil van Dijk. After his goalscoring heroics in the League Cup final win over Chelsea, the Dutchman was again his team's main man in the dramatic 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest to keep the Reds top of the table.

There were concerns Van Dijk, now 32, had lost a step last season but he has been back to his immense best this campaign. If Liverpool are to add more silverware in Jurgen Klopp's final season, Van Dijk will be a key reason why.

CM: Declan Rice (Arsenal)

After wins for Liverpool and Manchester City, the pressure was on Arsenal to keep pace when they travelled to Bramall Lane on Monday night. As expected, though, there was little for the Gunners to worry about as they bulldozed Sheffield United 6-0.

Key to Arsenal's victory was their total domination in midfield, led by Rice. The England international may be primarily in the team to provide structure and defensive insurance, but he is just as effective on the edge of the opposition area. Rice's excellent performance included a goal, too, scoring Arsenal's fifth of an embarrassingly one-sided first half.

CM: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

Alongside Rice pulling the strings in Arsenal's midfield was his captain Odegaard. The Norwegian opened the scoring in the fifth minute to send the Gunners on their way, and he continued to dazzle in advanced areas against a hapless Sheffield United.

Not as prolific as last season when he scored 15 league goals, this was Odegaard's sixth of the current campaign, but his influence is no less important in this Arsenal team.

CM: Harry Wilson (Fulham)

A season of mixed form for Fulham so far but they're enjoying a nice little run at present, including the latest 3-0 win over Brighton at Craven Cottage.

Wilson was instrumental to Saturday's victory, curling in the opening goal after some battling build-up play from the impressive Rodrigo Muniz. The pair reversed roles for Fulham's second goal as Wilson bent in a superb cross for Muniz to head home. Adama Traore added a late third for the hosts but by then the game had been settled thanks to Wilson's brilliance.

RW: Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Pep Guardiola described Foden as "world-class" and the Premier League player of the season after his starring role in the 3-1 win over rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Few can argue against that.

Trailing at half time to a stunning Marcus Rashford strike in the eighth minute, City kept their cool and soon levelled through Foden's brilliantly-taken finish. The England midfielder then doubled his tally and earned City the lead with a well-worked team goal, before Erling Haaland atoned for his horror miss earlier in the game with the third.

Foden has become an indispensable part of Guardiola's City machine and must surely be a guaranteed starter for England at Euro 2024 this summer.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

The Brazilian has not been at his devastating best for much of the season but in recent weeks looks to have hit his stride. Unfortunate, then, for Sheffield United to come up against a returning-to-form Martinelli, who caused havoc down the left wing at Bramall Lane, scoring Arsenal's third and setting up Kai Havertz for the fourth.

Arsenal's goalscoring in recent weeks has been nothing short of spectacular; Mikel Arteta's side have scored 31 in their past seven games, and with Martinelli now contributing again, the goals are coming from everywhere.

CF: Rodrigo Muniz (Fulham)

For large parts of the season, Fulham really struggled in the absence of striker Aleksandr Mitrovic, who left the club for Saudi giants Al Hilal last summer. It has taken some time for him to hit his stride, but Muniz now looks every bit the worthy successor.

After struggling for game time and goals earlier in the campaign, the Brazilian is now Fulham's main man up front and scored his fifth goal in his past five games in the win over Brighton. In addition to his headed finish, his hold-up play and ability to battle with defenders make him an effective team player, as demonstrated in his assist for Wilson's opener.

CF: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Aston Villa continued their push for the top four with victory at Luton Town on Saturday and it was their star striker who led the way. Watkins opened the scoring with a near-post header from Leon Bailey's corner, before doubling Villa's lead with a fine touch and finish from Douglas Luiz's long-ball over the top.

Villa made hard work from themselves by allowing Luton to draw level through Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris, before Lucas Digne struck late to secure the win. But it was Watkins' goals – his 16th and 17th of the campaign – that set Villa on their way to victory and maintain their bid for Champions League football.