Sports Mole's Premier League Team of the Week

The big question after the 16th round of Premier League matches concerns Manchester United and a possible challenge for the title.

Louis van Gaal's men are certainly the division's form side, having won six on the bounce, with their latest victory coming at the expense of rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

At the top, Chelsea maintained their three-point lead over Manchester City by beating Hull City 2-0, while City themselves recorded a 1-0 win away at Leicester City.

Elsewhere, there were important victories for North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, but West Ham United couldn't match their capital counterparts, having only mustered a 1-1 draw against Sunderland. As for Everton, they got their fifth win of the season against Queens Park Rangers.

Towards the bottom, there were 1-0 victories for Burnley and West Bromwich Albion, while a 1-1 draw was played out at Selhurst Park between Crystal Palace and Stoke City.

Having taken all of that into consideration, Sports Mole has selected the 11 players that made the biggest impression on us this weekend.

David de Gea (Manchester United)
The Red Devils won 3-0 against their biggest rivals, yet their goalkeeper was the best player on the pitch. De Gea made eight saves in total, including three to frustrate Raheem Sterling.

Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)
With the fit-again Mathieu Debuchy required to fill the void at centre-back, youngster Bellerin provided a dynamic presence at right-back. The 19-year-old was solid defensively and went on to set up a goal.
Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)
In the moments that Leicester did get forward at the King Power Stadium, they found the City skipper in characteristic stubborn mood. The Belgian made numerous interceptions and challenges before he limped off in the closing stages.
Michael Carrick (Manchester United)
A midfielder by trade, Carrick showed that his ability to read and subsequently snuff out danger can be useful in defence. He looked the most assured of United's three-man defensive unit.
Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur)
Having started to establish himself in the Spurs starting lineup, Davies returned to haunt his former club. He made one fantastic challenge to deny Wilfried Bony an almost certain goal in the first half, before he went on to assist the winner for the North Londoners.

Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
For the second game in succession Sanchez didn't get his name among the scorers, but the Chilean was still a blend of creativity and pace, which Newcastle struggled to contend with. He assisted Arsenal's opening two goals of the contest.
Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
In certain quarters Cazorla has been criticised for not scoring enough goals this term, but he showed a clinical touch on Saturday. His first goal was a clever chipped effort, while his second displayed great calmness from the penalty spot.
Ross Barkley (Everton)
Playing in a deeper central role than normal, Barkley had a great impact on proceedings at Goodison Park. He made a career-high number of tackles in one match, kept the ball moving and opened the scoring.
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
The talented Belgian scored the first goal at Stamford Bridge with a rare headed effort. Later, he turned provider with a clever reverse pass to assist Diego Costa in making the points safe for Chelsea.

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Dietmar Hamman compared Kane to Teddy Sheringham after his showing against Swansea. While it may a little early in his career for such comparisons, the 21-year-old is fast becoming a fan favourite among the Spurs faithful. He scored his side's first goal at the Liberty Stadium and harried the defender into giving away possession for the winner.
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
The French centre-forward looked like he was approaching something close to full match fitness as he scored two goals against Newcastle. The first was a well-taken header, while the second was a near-post effort.

Numpty of the week

Divers: Costa, Willian and Sebastian Pocognoli were all cautioned for diving this weekend, while Chelsea defender Gary Cahill can count himself extremely lucky to escape punishment for the same offence. It will be argued that in some cases these players were anticipating contact and were therefore protecting themselves, but simulation is cheating and over the last few days it's been far too rife in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, until offenders can be punished retrospectively with suspensions, there is no major deterrent for a diver, particularly when they can potentially win their side a penalty or a free kick in a dangerous area of the pitch.

Goal of the week

Santi Cazorla - (Arsenal) vs. Newcastle: The fleet-footed playmaker skipped away from Newcastle centre-back Fabricio Coloccini, before being presented with goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, who had seemingly closed down the angle well. However, a cute chipped effort from Cazorla got the better of the young custodian, with the ball finding the far corner of the away side's net.