Foden, De Bruyne, Rodri, and Ilkay Gundogan formed a quartet that overwhelmed Arsenal’s soft midfield, with intelligent forward passes from the two at the base catching Arsenal’s hazardously disunited press (most notably instigating the counter-attack for the second goal). De Bruyne was the standout player, of course, and it is no coincidence he was playing more through the centre than at any other point this season. Foden’s movement certainly helped, not least in the creation of the third goal.

It might be time for Guardiola to regularly play inverted wingers, put De Bruyne in a simple number ten, and leave David Silva on the bench.

Ferguson’s wild decisions make Everton great fun for neutrals

There is something intoxicating about Duncan Ferguson’s frenzied start to life as interim Everton manager. Whether it’s jumping around on the touchline, wearing nothing but a shirt in the wind and rain, lying about what formation he’s using, picking every attacker he possibly can, or making bemusing substitutions, Ferguson is enjoyably bonkers.

Before kick-off the Everton Twitter account suggested Ferguson had plumped for a 3-1-5, Tom Davies sat within a circle. Fans will have been relieved to see Mason Holgate move into central midfield once the game was underway, and Everton were once again in a conventional 4-4-2. Then again, it still wasn’t ordinary; Ferguson had at least four forwards on the pitch at any given time and managed to get through four strikers in 90 minutes.

Which brings us onto his treatment of Moise Kean; the 19-year-old was subbed after just 18 minutes, walking off down the tunnel without so much as a handshake from his manager. Some have said this was a much-needed stern message for a player who wasn’t following instructions, but surely a teenager in a new country needs an arm around the shoulder, not a public humiliation. Considering the club spent a lot of money to make this statement signing, when push comes to shove they will back Kean over Ferguson. The manager had better hope his trick sparks a positive reaction.

Late winner shows Mourinho is the antidote to ‘Spursy’ tendencies

Having been outplayed and outfought for long periods in the wind and rain, the last thing we would have expected from a Mauricio Pochettino team is a late winner – and from a good old fashioned set-piece, no less. But under Jose Mourinho Tottenham already appear to have more resolve and more self-belief, on Sunday winning a tricky away game that – were we at the start of a season – would be hailed as a performance of potential champions.

Winning ugly is a difficult skill to develop, and a hallmark of Mourinho teams. Other hallmarks include long passing, quick counters, individualistic dribbling (see Lucas’s opener), and standing off rather than pressing. All of these were in force at Wolves as Spurs bucked the trend by leaving the Midlands with just 42% possession. Wolves average at home is 50%, and against ‘Big Six’ teams that drops to 36.6%.

Worst

A nine-goal Saturday shows the league lacks quality

There were a grand total of nine goals scored in six matches on Saturday. Only seven Premier League clubs actually scored. Nobody did so more than twice. Three of the games – at Sheffield United, Burnley, and Southampton – were contenders for worst match of the season so far.

What happened? It could just be coincidence, of course, but more likely this has something to do with the time of year. The cold and the rain were a factor, plus in the middle of the busy December schedule a lot of teams have begun rotating their first 11s, which inevitably means the football is less fluid. There’s also the added tension surrounding managers under pressure… and the fact Premier League football isn’t all that good outside the top half.

West Ham and Southampton are both pretty terrible at the moment, ditto Aston Villa, Burnley, Watford, and Newcastle. Sometimes the fixture list conspires to throw up a dud round. Next weekend – with Everton v Arsenal, Man City v Leicester, and Spurs v Chelsea – should be much better.

VAR decisions infuriate yet again

We got another two reasons to hate VAR this weekend, but only one of them has received mainstream attention. Sadio Mane’s disallowed goal, thanks to his hip adjudged to be offside by a single millimetre, rightly drew criticism. Many people are angry just because it seems somehow morally wrong – against the spirit of the game – to so strictly magnify these events, slowing the game down and ruining a goal everybody was perfectly happy with before VAR came in.