Arsenal’s Theo Walcott admitted the number of Premier League sides playing with just three men at the back has taken the Gunners by surprise.

Bitter rivals Tottenham lined up with a three-man backline in the first North London derby of the season on Sunday, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Walcott came close for Arsenal, rattling the bar in the first half as the hosts struggled to break down the Spurs’ defence.

And the 27-year-old England international was shocked that Tottenham had jumped on the bandwagon of success for the dynamic new formation, that has been embraced by the likes of Chelsea, Leicester, Watford, and Middlesbrough this term.

“It did surprise us, completely,” he said. “Middlesbrough did that against us. Lots of teams are starting to do that now, with Chelsea probably the best at doing it at the moment.

“It was difficult to break them down but it was one of those games where there weren’t that many chances.

“I hit the post and maybe Olivier [Giroud] on another day would’ve had more luck, but it’s probably a good result in the end.

“We always want to win these games. It’s very disappointing to not get the win with our home support.

“The fans were fantastic from kick-off until the end and were behind us all the way.

“We couldn’t get the result unfortunately and these games hurt me more than any other game.

“But when you look at how tight the Premier League is and the teams that are fighting for the Premier League, you probably think this is a good result.”

Paul Pogba admits team unity must come above everything else at Old Trafford – after Jose Mourinho singled out defenders Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling for not giving their all to the Manchester United cause on Sunday.

United arrived in Swansea under intense pressure as they had failed to win a league game since their 4-1 thumping of Leicester City on September 24.

And much like that victory against the Premier League champions, Mourinho’s men put the Swans under siege in a superb first half that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic score twice after Pogba hit a screamer.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The Red Devils had headed into the game with a makeshift backline and, before kick-off, Mourinho appeared to suggest that Shaw and Smalling’s absences through injuries were not entirely justified.

But the team that travelled returned to Manchester with a morale-boosting 3-1 win and Pogba believes Ibrahimovic – who had not scored for six games in a row – epitomised their will to win.

“It was one of the best first-half performances so far and that’s how we have to play, we have to give everything, we have to press all together and when we play together we play like that,” he said.

“Zlatan plays for the team and wins for the team and we are all happy for him because he needs to be confident and he scored two goals.

“He gives everything for the team and that’s what we need – players playing for each other and we need that team spirit.”

Sadio Mane claims Anfield is his lucky ground after continuing his goalscoring streak in Liverpool’s weekend thrashing of Watford.

Liverpool hammered the Hornets 6-1 to move top of the Premier League table for the first time since May 2014, having won eight of their 11 league games this term.

Mane netted twice in the game at Anfield, taking his tally to five goals in five games at the historic stadium.

And the Senegalese international believes there is just something about the ground that agrees with him.

“I think Anfield is really lucky because I’m scoring every time!” said Mane.

“But I’m just happy. The most important thing is the three points, so everybody is really happy.”

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In addition to Mane’s double, Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum also found the net against Watford.

With a slew of top-quality players fighting for places, manager Jurgen Klopp has a constant selection headache but Mane insists the embarrassment of riches is a good thing.

“I think competition, if it helps the team win, is very positive and we’re going to keep scoring for the team,” added the 24-year-old.

“It’s very important that everybody knows each other and everybody is enjoying playing for this amazing club.

“It’s also important to score for the team and we’re just trying to work hard in training every day and after the game it can be easy.

“I think it’s too early to talk about what’s going to happen but we’re going to try and take it game by game – and why not win all our games until the end of the season?”

Swansea manager Bob Bradley wants his side to earn the support of the Liberty Stadium crowd with improved performances and more points.

The Swans have managed just a single league win all season, away at Burnley on the opening day, and have five points in the Premier League.

Their 3-1 defeat by Manchester United at the weekend means they’ve picked up just two points from a possible 18 at the Liberty Stadium this season.

And Bradley is demanding more fight from the Swans after a segments of the fans started booing the team during Sunday’s defeat.

“There’s only one way to win the support of fans, and that’s to play better and take points,” he said.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“From the players’ and coaches’ side of things, we have to focus on the part that we control. That’s how we play, how we compete and how we fight for points.

“If the fans are angry at half-time, I understand that. We didn’t do enough to win them over in any way. They have every right to be angry at half-time.

“We have to be honest about the work that needs to be done. We have to get some positive results.

“We understand very clearly where we are. There’s no hiding from the situation. We know all the areas where we need to be better.”

Saido Berahino has sent a firm message to West Brom manager Tony Pulis by taking a topless picture of himself on Snapchat just days after being sent to a fitness camp.

The 23-year-old has hardly featured this season amid rumours he has fallen out with the club over a transfer saga, with the striker keen to leave The Hawthorns.

The Englishman has been heavily linked with moves to Stoke City, Watford and Tottenham in the last two years.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Pulis explained Berahino’s absence from first-team duties is because he is out of shape, but Berahino responded with a snap today – sarcastically captioning it “Fat boy” with a winking face emoji.

“Saido’s off at a fitness centre working with a fella I worked with when I was young in management,” Pulis said last week.

“He’s got a week to top himself up to a level where hopefully he’ll be not only sharp but at a level to sustain it.

“The first six months here he was excellent – that’s what we’re trying to do, get him back to that level.”

Mike Phelan is well acquainted with Will Keane and after watching him limp off against Southampton, he is confident that the 23-year-old Hull City forward has the mental resilience to overcome another injury setback.

Keane and Phelan spent several years together at Manchester United and after loan spells at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Preston and Wigan, Phelan brought Keane to the KCOM Stadium for £1m in August.

Hull’s tumultuous season continued with a rollercoaster 2-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, and Phelan was left with mixed emotions as the joy of victory was tempered by injuries to Keane and Abel Hernandez.

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Hernandez left the field after nine minutes with a groin problem, while Keane was off within 30 minutes after what looked like a serious knee injury.

And though Phelan was disappointed with the injuries, he highlighted Keane’s fortitude as a reason to be positive.

“Relief, happiness, concern about the injuries we’ve picked up in the game and the players we’ve got going away on international duty,” Phelan said after game, when reflecting on his emotions.

“Will is one I’ve known for a number of years. He’s always shown real endeavour and potential.

“When he’s got himself to that point when he’s firing and got himself ready, he’s suffered a blow again.

“Sunday’s another one of those days. Sometimes players can handle that because they’ve been through it before and I’m sure he will.”

When a club’s own website reports their side were “humiliated” then you know it must have been bad. And it doesn’t get much worse than Watford’s defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.

After a reasonable start where they pressed the Reds well in their own half to nullify the attacking threat, the Hornets fell to pieces and could have lost by an even greater margin.

The attacking threat was almost non-existent from the Hertfordshire club and they were awful in possession but even more crucially, they were woeful in defence as Jurgen Klopp’s men once again reiterated they are genuine title-challengers.

A brace for Saido Mane and goals for Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Georginio Wijnaldum ensured the Reds overtook Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, while Daryl Janmaat’s goal was a mere consolation as Watford’s impressive defensive record was ended in emphatic fashion at Anfield.

Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates one of several Liverpool goals against Watford. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

And head coach Walter Mazzarri acknowledged: “This game is a lesson for the future. I understand many things from this game and we will learn from this.

“You can lose at the home of Liverpool, but we should not have lost like that. We have to make the best of it for the future.

“I am convinced that after the international break we will see a different performance.

“Liverpool’s performance was very strong. From the teams we have played so far, they are the team I have been most impressed by.

“In every single way they were better than us, but we must still make more pressure on the other team for these games. It is something we will reflect on.”

Claudio Ranieri has apologised to Leicester City fans after the club lost their unbeaten home record and raised concerns about fatigue amongst his squad.

Defeat to West Brom at the King Power Stadium on Sunday was the Foxes’ first defeat at home in the Premier League since September 2015.

The Italian manager is also attempting to balance multiple demands on his squad with success in the Champions League a clear priority for the club and the extra games seemed to weigh on the players against the Baggies.

Meanwhile, Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy are just two members of the squad who have been called up for international duty leaving them little time to recuperate.

“I am very sorry we lost our unbeaten record at home,” Ranieri said.

“We knew it would be a tough match against West Bromwich. It was the same last season in the 2-2.

(Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

“I don’t know if they need rest but 80 per cent of my players go to international teams. They don’t have rest.

“They travel and when they come back it is two days before the Watford match. We have to work.

“We made a plan to go on the flank and make crosses from the flank but we made very few. Also the end we made some long balls and for the central defenders it was too easy.

“To say something is easy, to do it is more difficult. Maybe we had Champions League fatigue, I don’t know.”

Tottenham Hotspur are five points off the top of the Premier League table, but boss Mauricio Pochettino insists he is delighted with the start his side has made to the new campaign.

The North London side are the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League following their 1-1 draw with Arsenal, although it stretched their winless run to seven games in all competitions.

Spurs have suffered injury problems this season, with Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld missing sizeable chunks so far and Dele Alli now set for several weeks on the sidelines.

And Pochettino believes that remaining unbeaten is a major achievement for the club after a tough start.

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“All the teams have good or bad moments in the season. If you suffer bad moments and are unbeaten you can only smile, because I am happy,” he said.

“There are many small problems. Now we have two weeks to recover all the players. When you compete in the Champions League and the Premier League, for me they are both the toughest competitions in the world and we need all the squad fit.

“We have a short squad and we suffered some issues. We have had to play with the same players and we cannot rotate the way we’d like to rotate the players to give freshness and arrive in better conditions.

“But I’m very happy with how we have finished now. It feels fantastic.”

Hard work has finally paid dividends for Marten de Roon according to Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka after the midfielder’s first goal of the season.

And de Roon could not have picked a better time to score as his injury-time equaliser earned Boro a hard-fought point against Manchester City.

Sergio Aguero had given the hosts the lead but they were unable to put the game to bed and the Dutch midfielder, signed for around £12m in the summer, made them pay.

The 25-year-old scored once in 36 Serie A appearances last year for Atalanta and Karanka feels nobody deserved to get the goal more.

“If someone deserves that goal, it’s Marten,” Karanka said. “He was disappointed again to miss last week with injury and he has worked very hard.

(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“He showed his experience and made another step. I was really pleased with the performance and the goal was amazing.

“The first half we went to the pitch with too much respect for Manchester City. The second half we showed we are just not here to defend, and we played in our way.

“I am really pleased for the players, who showed once again that we can compete with anyone.”