1) Wenger shapes Arsenal’s attacking future

Alexandre Lacazette heard one of the loudest cheers when he came on for Danny Welbeck against Stoke City. Arsène Wenger said Welbeck had hurt his back and so Lacazette’s return from a knee injury seemed even more timely – given Arsenal play CSKA Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday, for which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied. Wenger loved the gesture Aubameyang made towards the end, passing up a possible hat-trick by allowing the Frenchman to take their second penalty – from which he scored. The manager said it showed the strikers had a good understanding. But can they prosper together in the long-term? It seemed significant that Wenger moved Aubameyang to the left to accommodate Lacazette as the No 9 and then spoke of how the former had played off the left at St-Etienne, and for Borussia Dortmund when they had Robert Lewandowski. Is this how Wenger sees the pair working? David Hytner

• Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Stoke City

2) Hughton awaits Huddersfield’s pivotal visit

One more win might be enough for Brighton to avert relegation but the fear must be that if it does not come in their next match then they may not get it at all. After hosting Huddersfield Town on Saturday Chris Hughton’s team face a gruelling run-in, comprising games with Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool plus trips to Crystal Palace and Burnley. Huddersfield’s schedule is almost as daunting. The stakes for Saturday’s duel are sky high. Brighton turned in one of their few non-performances of the season when losing 2-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium in December but look to have more firepower now. Jürgen Locadia, the club’s record signing, made his first league start in last Saturday’s defeat by Leicester and was a constant threat before tiring towards the end. Huddersfield will have to contain the Dutchman if they are to get a win that would drag Brighton deep into trouble. Paul Doyle

• Match report: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-2 Leicester City

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3) Lloris is up to third … in the wrong table

Tottenham’s defence is usually good enough for Mauricio Pochettino to feel comfortable giving the cold shoulder to Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose but on the occasion of Álvaro Morata’s goal, Spurs looked anything but watertight. The heaviest blame lay with Hugo Lloris’s delayed, confused decision-making. The France goalkeeper was not close enough to catch or punch the ball, instead clawing at thin air having left an unguarded net behind him. The club captain is quickly gaining a reputation for errors: that was the fourth time such a mistake had cost his side a Premier League goal this season, placing him third in the table of calamitous keepers. Understandably, all was forgiven in the light of Tottenham ending a 28-year run without a win at Stamford Bridge – but the keeper’s continuing struggles offer some cause for concern. John Brewin

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Facebook Twitter Pinterest A dejected Cesc Fàbregas as Tottenham celebrate at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

4) Hodgson’s hopes hinge on bereft Benteke

How do Crystal Palace revive Christian Benteke? His two misses against Liverpool were the turning points in a match that had it swung Palace’s way, could have put safety within their reach. Instead they are left to fret and cannot take much encouragement from the form of a striker who has scored twice in 26 games. “Unfortunately after today people will just focus totally on the fact two chances came his way that he didn’t take,” Roy Hodgson said. “It’s going to be a job for us now to make sure we don’t lose so much of what we’ve got from him in the last two or three games. We’re going to tell him all the right things.” The manager has no choice but to impress the positives upon his centre-forward: beyond the brilliant Wilfried Zaha his team continue to lack a consistent threat and an on-song Benteke may yet prove to be the difference between survival and disaster. Nick Ames

• Match report: Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool

5) Allardyce’s engine room runs out of steam

Many an unflattering adjective has been deployed to describe Sam Allardyce’s tactics over the years but he has rarely been criticised for being too bold, just as his teams are not often deemed naive. Yet Allardyce’s decision to field a 4-4-2 formation against a Manchester City side who dominate possession seemed reckless and foolish, especially as one of his outnumbered central-midfield duo was the ageing Wayne Rooney. He was deprived of the injured Idrissa Gueye and James McCarthy and pleaded mitigating circumstances, suggesting neither Tom Davies nor Beni Baningime were fully fit. Yet both youngsters were able to come on and Davies in particular made a difference. It did not reflect well on Rooney, either, that the forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin looked more accomplished in midfield in the second half when Allardyce belatedly withdrew him into a deeper role. It all suggested he got team selection and tactics badly wrong. Richard Jolly

• Match report: Everton 1-3 Manchester City

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6) Swans still swimming in the right direction

Carlos Carvalhal’s side remain three points above the drop zone with seven games left after this defeat at Manchester United. But the former Wednesday manager has the Swans functioning as a unit and should, surely, avoid relegation. Of the recovery from bottom place when he took over at Christmas, Carvalhal said: “We are swimming now, absolutely, and this is good because if you go below the [relegation] line sometimes the sharks push you down and you can go last position. But so far we’re swimming so it’s not bad, but we still feel we need swim faster and we need more points to stay up. I don’t have a number [of points needed], don’t ask me, I don’t know. I am not a person to do that because the best way is to try to win the next game, because you never know in football. A team that hasn’t won many games can win their last three games and achieve nine points and produce a surprise.” Jamie Jackson

• Match report: Manchester United 2-0 Swansea City

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7) Benitez digs Newcastle out of danger by putting Pérez in the hole

Newcastle’s position, probably one win from survival, is testament to Rafael Benítez’s meticulously high‑calibre coaching. It has not only improved Jonjo Shelvey to the point where there is a case for the playmaker being on England’s flight to Russia but also transformed the games of, among others, Mo Diamé and Paul Dummett. Ayoze Pérez, too, has grown into a No 10 role integral to Benítez’s tactical blueprint. Pérez is not a natural trequartista but looks increasingly impressive playing between the lines and scored the winner against Huddersfield. Benítez said: “Ayoze’s position is one where he has to do difficult things. Normally a proper No 10 would have quality when they dribble but Ayoze has clever movement and understands the game.” The manager always believed Newcastle would strengthen as the season progressed. “It’s the way we train. We don’t just coach players, we try to teach them.” Louise Taylor

• Match report: Newcastle United 1-0 Huddersfield Town

8) Defoe rolls back the years after troubled season

In January 2014 Jermain Defoe’s Premier League career appeared at its end. Swapping Tottenham for Toronto suggested a player winding down or at least seeking fresh vistas but more than four years on, the stoppage-time equaliser at Watford on Saturday took Bournemouth to 37 points, usually enough to secure safety in the top division. “Razor-sharp,” the Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe, said of the 35‑year‑old striker. Defoe, however, has not made the expected impact at the club he rejoined last summer, having been a teenage sensation loaned by West Ham United for the 2000-01 season and scoring in 10 successive games. An ankle problem has reduced his availability and potency to just four goals, and almost certainly prevented him from being in England’s plans for Russia this summer, but his contribution on Saturday was a telling one. John Brewin

• Match report: Watford 2-2 Bournemouth

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marc Pugh and Dan Gosling join the party as Jermain Defoe wheels away at Vicarage Road. Photograph: AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images

9) Rise of Tarkowski mirrors West Brom’s swift plunge

James Tarkowski, for one, can vouch for the way things can turn almost overnight. From Oldham to Brentford, to becoming one of the first names on the Burnley teamsheet and making his England debut last week, the 25‑year‑old’s rise has been impressive. His club are riding the crest of a wave but after dispatching West Bromwich Albion to stay seventh, he referenced the volatility of football, half an hour after some of the Hawthorns crowd had thrown their season tickets from the Smethwick End on to the pitch. “You’ve only got to look at a club like West Brom, who have been up and around the top-10 for years and are struggling now, so you’ve got to enjoy it while you can but not take it for granted because it can easily turn around,” Tarkowski said. “Football can change very quickly, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.” Ben Fisher

• Match report: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Burnley

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10) Hughes needs points rather than lessons

Mark Hughes used an ambitious 4-4-2 for his first league game in charge of Southampton, with Charlie Austin joining Manolo Gabbiadini up front and Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond on the wings. Perhaps the manager felt West Ham would be vulnerable after recent events at the London Stadium. He left James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu on the bench and asked his team to attack in a relegation six-pointer. Yet that approach played into West Ham’s hands. Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were overrun in midfield, West Ham pressed and fine goals from João Mário and Marko Arnautovic meant the game was over by half-time. Afterwards Hughes spoke about “a very good learning experience”. But with Arsenal and Chelsea up next for Southampton, the lessons from this defeat will need to be absorbed quickly. If not, relegation will be a formality. Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: West Ham United 3-0 v Southampton

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