The 16th round of Premier League matches was one to forget for leaders Arsenal.

The North Londoners slumped to a 6-3 defeat away at Manchester City, while also having to see the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all record victories.

At the bottom, Sunderland could only a muster a 0-0 draw away at West Ham United, but there was an important 1-0 victory for Cardiff City at the expense of West Bromwich Albion.

It was a result that cost Steve Clarke his job at The Hawthorns.

Below, Sports Mole has picked out the 11 players who we feel had the biggest impact on the weekend's proceedings.

David Marshall (Cardiff City)
It was a priceless victory for Cardiff, but one that would not have been possible without their goalkeeper. In the closing stages it appeared that Shane Long had headed West Brom level, but Marshall showed great reflexes to tip the Irish striker's effort wide of the target.

John Flanagan (Liverpool)
Although usually a right-back, youngster Flanagan was asked to defend on the left flank away at Tottenham Hotspur. It pitted him against Aaron Lennon, but he dealt with that threat extremely well. His first goal for the Reds (their third of the game) also put the match beyond the home side's reach.
Wes Brown (Sunderland)
When Gus Poyet took charge of Sunderland, he made a point of insisting that the defence needed tightening up. Wes Brown has played a key role in recent weeks and he continued his positive form with a stubborn performance away at West Ham United.
Phil Jones (Manchester United)
The England international has been David Moyes's Mr Versatile. He was deployed in his most natural centre-back position against Aston Villa and showed how comfortable he was there. Without the presence of Nemanja Vidic, Jones made a number of key headed clearances.
Seamus Coleman (Everton)
With Leighton Baines still injured, the attacking full-back mantle at Everton has been left to Coleman. He took it in his stride against Fulham as he scored the goal that put the home side 2-1 up.

Steven Pienaar (Everton)
The South African is not a traditional winger who likes to get chalk on his boots. He is keen to come inside and get involved in the build-up play - just as he did during Everton's first two goals against the West Londoners.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool)
Steven Gerrard's hamstring problem appeared to have freed Henderson from the midfield shackles. He took responsibility against Spurs, made numerous bursts forward and showed a wide range of passing. The goal that he scored was just reward for his display.
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
The Brazilian has often lived in the shadows of Yaya Toure this season, but Fernandinho took centre stage against Arsenal. He scored two goals, both of which showed unnerving composure.
Samir Nasri (Manchester City)
He may not have got among the goals, but Nasri showed his former club Arsenal just what they were missing at the Etihad Stadium. The French international seems to have been given a new lease of life since Manuel Pellegrini took charge.

Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)
If there is one criticism of Welbeck, it's that he is not an instinctive finisher. He had no such problems against Villa, though, as he scored two early goals and on a couple of occasions went close to bagging his first senior hat-trick.
Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
The only surprise about Suarez's performance was that he did not have another match ball to add to his collection. He terrorised the Tottenham rearguard and arguably should have scored more than the two goals that he ended up with.

Numpty of the week

Loic Remy: The Queens Park Rangers loanee has been in superb form of late for Newcastle United, but it deserted him against Southampton. The Frenchman had two glorious chances that would have given the Magpies all three points, but he failed to convert either, meaning that the contest ended 1-1.

Goal of the week

Gary Hooper (Norwich City) vs. Swansea City: The summer signing from Celtic now has six goals for Norwich City, but his strike at Carrow Road was the pick of the bunch. Having collected the ball 25 yards from goal, he proceeded to lob a volley over visiting goalkeeper Michel Vorm.