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Pickford punished for poor punch as Aubameyang helps Arsenal stun Spurs

:Headline: Pickford punished for poor punch as Aubameyang helps Arsenal stun Spurs: ID:343167: from db_amp
The struggle continues for Manchester United, Southampton and Burnley.
Pickford punished for poor punch as Aubameyang helps Arsenal stun Spurs

In a weekend highlighted by derby drama, Liverpool stunned Everton at the death, Arsenal rallied to beat Tottenham, but Burnley's struggles continued.

Here, Press Association Sport highlights five things we learned from the Premier League weekend.

Forgotten man writes his name in derby folklore

Replacing a manager who has been at a club for so long as to have effectively taken charge of every single detail of operations is a huge challenge – as Manchester United have discovered. Most expected Unai Emery to face the same challenges at Arsenal, but since the season began with back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea, Emery has done a hugely impressive job of injecting energy and belief into an Arsenal side who had grown stale. He had already earned the confidence and support of a fanbase who had grown restless under Wenger, but Sunday's stirring victory over Tottenham took his stock to new levels. A table of results based on half-time scores this season would have Arsenal down in 19th place, but after another come-from-behind win they are up to fourth and look very capable of making a return to the Champions League.

United's top-four hopes take another hit

Technically Manchester United are closer to the top four at the end of the weekend than they were before it – eight points adrift rather than nine – but the 2-2 draw at Southampton did nothing to convince doubters they are capable of forcing their way into it any time soon. Playing a Saints side bereft of confidence, United were once again only stirred into action once they had fallen behind, and produced another largely negative display in a 2-2 draw against a team that, before kick-off, looked there for the taking. Two of United's next three fixtures pit them against Arsenal and Liverpool, the latter clash coming at Anfield on December 16, and unless they can find a spark very soon they could find themselves out of the reckoning before Christmas.

Hughes treading water

When Southampton raced into a 2-0 lead just 16 minutes into their Saturday evening fixture against Manchester United, it seemed like Mark Hughes might be getting the result he so sorely needed as speculation about his future intensified. But though the final 2-2 result was better than what most people expected before kick-off, the Saints' inability to capitalise on the hot start means they still only have one Premier League win all season.

Burnley's woes deepen

Burnley's 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace has left the Clarets in the relegation zone – a far cry from their dizzying seventh-placed finish last season. The distraction of Europe was a possible excuse for a slow start, but they were quickly knocked out and with the season now 14 matches old and with only nine points on the board, alarm bells are starting to ring at Turf Moor. Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal are all on the fixture list before the month is out, meaning things seem likely to get worse before they get better.

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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal281510352242855
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest28156745331251
4Chelsea28147753361749
5Manchester CityMan City28145953381547
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton28121064640646
8Aston Villa2912984145-445
9Bournemouth28128847341344
10Fulham2811984138342
11Crystal Palace2810993633339
12Brentford28115124844438
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs281041455411434
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd2897123440-634
15Everton2871293135-433
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2896133248-1633
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2865173857-1923
18Ipswich TownIpswich2838172658-3217
19Leicester CityLeicester2845192562-3717
20Southampton2823232068-489
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