League Focus: WhoScored Premier League Team of the Week

With around a third of the season now having passed there have been some magnificent games in the Premier League already and gameweek 12 saw no shortage of drama. With 35 goals scored over the 10 fixtures the North London derby set the tone for the games ahead, with Arsenal eventually running out 5-2 winners for the second successive season when hosting bitter rivals Spurs.

There was a convincing 5-0 win for champions Man City against Aston Villa, albeit aided by a bemusing decision to award a penalty to the hosts shortly after half time. Mancini's men went on to run riot after their fortuitous second goal, showing no mercy with some of their star players hitting top form in the second half.

It is no surprise then to see as many as four City players make their way into the WhoScored team of the week, while both Theo Walcott and the instrumental Santi Cazorla also made the XI from Arsenal's winning team.

However, perhaps the least shocking inclusion in the line-up is that of Norwich's John Ruddy between the posts. The Englishman was in inspirational form to ensure The Canaries held out for a historic win over United, keeping a clean sheet despite a barrage of late chances from Ferguson's side as they looked to complete yet another comeback.

Ruddy produced 7 saves to keep the Red Devils at bay, with only Swansea's Gerhard Tremmel keeping out more efforts this weekend (8). In addition he made two successful high claims from crosses in an imperious display and deservedly earned the WhoScored man of the match award with a rating of 8.7.

Our backline consists of three former Villa players, with Lambert's side perhaps in need of the likes of Carlos Cuellar and Aaron Hughes based on their form from the previous weekend. With Shorey and Maicon taking the full-back spots, it was Spaniard Cuellar who picked up the highest rating of all defenders in the league, helped in no small part by a decisive second goal in the 3-1 win at Fulham.

He was also in great form defensively though, making 3 tackles, 2 interceptions and 10 clearances to help contain a persistent 10-man Fulham outfit. The Cottagers' defender Aaron Hughes also deserves great credit, having to put in a huge amount of effort following the dismissal of his defensive partner Brede Hangeland in the first half. The Northern Irishman won 9 aerial duels, made 7 interceptions and 15 clearances in a courageous performance.

Left-back Nicky Shorey completed more accurate crosses than any other player in the league this season against Everton(9), with 5 coming from open play also ranking as a joint record for the division so far. In turn he created 6 chances for teammates, with City's Samir Nasri one of only two players to set up more efforts at goal at the weekend, with 8.

The Frenchman's passing was near exemplary as ever, with a 90% accuracy, and it comes as no shock to see that passing is a key strength of Nasri's according to the characteristics in his player page at WhoScored. Another puppet master to make our XI was Santi Cazorla, whose goal and assist in what was a debut North London derby for the diminutive Spain international capped a superb all round display.

The former Malaga playmaker also completed 4 successful dribbles, with only two players managing more in gameweek 12, while he also delivered two accurate through balls and 8 out of 9 long pass attempts. Cazorla was another man of the match winner with WhoScored on a day when all of Arsenal's attacking talents were in on the act following the dismissal of former Gunners goal-getter Emmanuel Adebayor.

Luis Suarez notched another brace to move clear as the league's top scorer, with his performance against Wigan also including 5 successful dribbles - only bettered by Ben Arfa this weekend - but it was City marksman Carlos Tevez who picked up a player of the week rating from WhoScored of 9.5.

The Argentine struck with 2 of his 6 shots against Villa, of which 3 were on target, as well as setting up compatriot Sergio Aguero for the fourth goal of the game. An ever busy display saw the striker create 5 chances for teammates in total, while his hold up play was also excellent, completing 89% of his 44 passes in a display which helped Mancini's side return to the top of the table.