1) Emery’s defensive resources tested

With the issues piling up in terms of Arsenal’s defensive composition, it almost passed unnoticed that against Huddersfield they managed a league clean sheet – their first since September. Centre‑back concerns felt strongly under the microscope at the end of a week when Rob Holding suffered a cruciate injury, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi picked up simultaneous suspensions for their yellow card count, and the German skulked off with an injury in any case. Unai Emery has to find, to borrow an old Wengerism, internal solutions for Sunday’s game at Southampton. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Nacho Monreal, career full-backs, could be drafted in to a back three. Laurent Koscielny has not played for seven months and was not deemed fit enough to come on against Huddersfield. Emery will have to make do and mend. Amy Lawrence

• Match report: Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield

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2) Depleted Bournemouth need reinforcements

Mohamed Salah put on a masterclass in finishing at Bournemouth but there was no denying that Eddie Howe’s players gave Liverpool a helping hand during a meek and error-strewn second-half performance that exposed weaknesses in a squad that appears to be creaking. With Lewis Cook joining Dan Gosling and Adam Smith on the sidelines, and Callum Wilson also missing with a hamstring injury, Bournemouth are looking a little thin on the ground at a time when their form has badly tailed off. The fixture list has not been kind but five defeats in six games – and given how well Huddersfield played on Tuesday they could have lost all six – has punctured some of that early season optimism. Bournemouth are still eighth, only three points behind Manchester United, but January could be a good time for Howe to freshen things up. Stuart James

• Match report: Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool

3) Tarkowski bolsters Burnley

After two hernia operations in six months, the return of James Tarkowski to full fitness will be a great relief to Sean Dyche, who has witnessed Burnley suffer a poor start to the season, not aided by the fact his natural replacement, Ben Gibson, is yet to make a league appearance because of a similar problem. Although Tarkowski has made 13 league appearances the hernia has continued to trouble him. He first underwent surgery in the summer but a second operation recently seems to have helped him overcome his pains, crucially allowing him to take his place alongside Ben Mee. Tarkowski’s third Premier League goal of the season was decisive but a clean sheet for a team who had conceded 32 times in 15 previous league matches will be a further boost that can be built on heading into two tough games, against Tottenham and Arsenal. Will Unwin

• Match report: Burnley 1-0 Brighton

Facebook Twitter Pinterest James Tarkowski celebrates Burnley’s win with Joe Hart. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images via Reuters

4) Warnock craves cutting edge

It may seem unfair to argue Callum Paterson should not be leading the line just after he has scored a winner, but imagine what Cardiff might be capable of with a proven Premier League goalscorer in their ranks. It must be especially galling for Bobby Reid and Gary Madine, forwards with a single goal between them this season. Neil Warnock travelled to France on a scouting trip this month and the Nantes striker Emiliano Sala is among those on his January wish list. The Cardiff manager has built a unique side, one dripping in team spirit, but after passing up several chances before eventually finding the breakthrough, it is no secret they are short of quality in the final third. “We all know what we need,” Warnock said. “It’s no good looking for a certain type of player because they’ve got to be able to work hard as well as put the ball in the net.” Ben Fisher

• Match report: Cardiff 1-0 Southampton

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5) Guardiola relishes competition

Pep Guardiola was sanguine while dissecting a first Premier League loss, expressing joy and satisfaction at his players’ performance even in defeat, until the relentlessness of the division cropped up. “You don’t have to tell me how competitive this league is,” he snapped back. “It’s you and your analysts that keep saying we are invincible, that we are perfect and that, in February, we are going to win the league. You said that. All of you. Not the manager, not any player, not the club.” He had a point. It was refreshing to see a team resist City so effectively, to leave Liverpool alone as unbeaten – already a fine achievement – but the champions’ focus remains. Maybe the title race will be tighter this time round, extending further into the spring, but Guardiola already seemed to be thrilling to the challenge. His belief in his players will not be dented by a solitary defeat. Dominic Fifield

• Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Manchester City

6) Sarri tinkers to good effect

Chelsea’s form had been sketchy before Saturday, and Maurizio Sarri’s tactics were partially responsible. So wedded is he to his philosophy that for him, change constitutes bringing off a player in order to replace him with whoever on the bench is most similar. This was evident in the goalless home draw with Everton and the defeats by Spurs and Wolves, suggesting a belief that his system is infallible and when it doesn’t work, the problem is necessarily one of personnel. But against Manchester City we saw the first modifications to it: N’Golo Kanté took on a slightly deeper role, starting closer to Jorginho, while Eden Hazard, nominally Chelsea’s centre-forward, roved about the pitch as he pleased. Both moves were crucial in securing a landmark victory – what may, in later years, be identified as the point at which the Sarri era truly began. Daniel Harris

• Barney Ronay: Kanté’s manic commitment helps rattle City

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Maurizio Sarri altered Chelsea’s shape. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images via Reuters

7) Leicester toothless without Vardy

A first defeat in seven gives little cause for Leicester to panic but the manner of their reverse against Spurs did lay bare an elephant in the room. They missed the injured Jamie Vardy for a second consecutive week and it showed, with Kelechi Iheanacho putting in a skittish performance in his stead and hearing some of the crowd cheer when he was taken off. Vardy turns 32 next month and, while he is a remarkable specimen, the time will soon come when the zip and incisiveness that have been so fundamental to Leicester’s success begin to tail off. Claude Puel was noncommittal when asked whether he would supplement his attack in January but it is probably time for a little succession planning. Leicester remain a far less potent proposition without their attacking talisman and that, sooner rather than later, will have to change. Nick Ames

• Match report: Leicester 0-2 Tottenham

8) Ranieri faces daunting task

The sign of how far Manchester United have fallen is that there was genuine surprise in Fulham suffering a 4-1 trouncing at the hands of José Mourinho’s team. The corollary of this is particularly concerning for Claudio Ranieri’s new team: it shows just how poor they are and how much of an achievement it would be for him to save the bottom side from the drop. Fulham have nine points, the same as Southampton, yet United could only draw at St Mary’s the previous Saturday. Ranieri’s men carried minimal menace and were seriously off the pace with and without the ball. As the Italian put it: “I said to my players: ‘If you play like in the first half it is the way to relegation. But if we play like in the second half we can survive.’” Next up are West Ham, Newcastle, Wolves and Huddersfield; Fulham have to start collecting points soon. Jamie Jackson

• Match report: Manchester United 4-1 Fulham

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aleksandar Mitrovic looks rueful as Fulham slide to defeat. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

9) Jota and Wolves rediscover threat

After a run of one point from six games that suggested Wolves were perhaps not the greatest team to ever win promotion to the Premier League, two victories have set them back on track. But maybe most encouraging for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side in those two games is the attacking dynamism and threat that has often been absent, specifically from Diogo Jota. The forward scored 18 goals last season but had not managed any this term before the win over Chelsea: now he has two in two, and he added to his strike against Newcastle by providing the driving run from which Matt Doherty eventually got their winner. They still have only 17 goals from 16 games, fewer than every other team above 13th and only one more than bottom-placed Fulham, but if Jota can keep up this form then they will look in much better shape. Nick Miller

• Match report: Newcastle 1-2 Wolves

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10) Pellegrini revives slimmed down Snodgrass

Robert Snodgrass’s resurgence at West Ham is proof that hard work pays off. A £10m signing from Hull in January 2017, the winger was a figure of scorn at the London Stadium until Manuel Pellegrini’s arrival in the summer and it seemed his future lay elsewhere when David Sullivan, the club’s co-owner, said that it was a mistake to buy him last year. But while Slaven Bilic was happy to loan Snodgrass to Aston Villa at the start of last season, Pellegrini told the Scotland international that he would give him a chance if he shed some pounds. Leaner and meaner now, the 31‑year‑old’s influence has grown since Andriy Yarmolenko ruptured an achilles in October and he chose a fine way to score his first Premier League goal for West Ham in their win over Crystal Palace, sparking a thrilling comeback with a curling strike from 20 yards. Jacob Steinberg

• Match report: West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace