Arsenal self-destruct under the Stoke City air raid. Chelsea power on past Sunderland. United get a scare from Hull and Liverpool fall foul to Harry’s revival at Spurs.

It was another wonderfully eventful premiership weekend, with plenty of points flying around – thanks, in the main, to good old Mr Ronaldo. Here’s the notes…

The Lineups

The most notable team changes came at the Britannia, where Wenger made a futile attempt to counter Stoke’s physical threat by bringing in Song, Diaby and Bendtner, while Toure returned to replace the injured Gallas. Nasri, Van Persie Walcott all made way, although the latter two saw action as subs – both will wish they hadn’t.

The defeat by Stoke has left Wenger’s lineup in pieces with Van Persie now suspended for three matches and Walcott and Adebayor facing spells on the sidelines with shoulder and ankle injuries respectively. I’ve said more on Arsenal’s team selection problems here.

Over at Old Trafford, Ferguson recalled Rooney to his starting lineup, benching Tevez. Carrick, Van der Sar and Neville also returned to the side, although with Brown sidelined – Neville’s selection sheds little light on who is Ferguson’s first choice at right back. Expect rotation for the Champions League tie with Celtic on Wednesday, with the trip to the Emirates next weekend in mind.

Adams recalled Defoe to his starting lineup as expected, dropping Utaka to the bench. His use of Kranjcar still needs monitoring. Once again he used him to replace Traore, this time at half time. That’s the third consecutive game that Traore has been hauled off – a worry for his many fantasy owners. Kranjcar could start at Sunderland next weekend after his goal against Wigan.

Moyes started with Cahill and five in midfield at home to Fulham but Saha’s appearance as sub and his winning goal will give the Everton boss food for thought and worry Cahill owners. They should be okay for the weekend clash with West Ham – Fellaini is suspended so Cahill should remain in a 4-4-2 with Saha poised to start.

Redknapp went with Bent over Pavlyuchenko at home to Liverpool – although the Russian played himself back into the reckoning with the winner, set up by Bent. King’s return to the defence saw Hutton dropped to the bench and Corluka shifted to right back. Jenas’ toe injury kept him out and saw a recall for Zokora.

As for Liverpool – Keane returned to lead the line and Rafa rotated at left back with Dossena returning and Aurellio benched. Much like the United right back situation – this position is becoming impossible to read. Agger, Mascherano and Riera all returned having been benched against Portsmouth. Expect more changes over the next two, with Torres looking likely to return to action in the Champions League on Tuesday. He could well start on the bench but would come into contention for a start against West Brom. His return could see Mascherano and Alonso rotated, with Gerrard shifting back to a deeper midfield role.

Southgate kept an unchanged side at home to West Ham but that could change next weekend with Mido coming off the bench to save a point. Alves was replaced in this one and looks under threat for next weekend’s meeting with Villa. Zola also made some interesting changes in the Riverside clash, with Sears, Boa Morte and Collison all starting and Faubert moving back to a midfield role with Neill recalled at right back.

Finally, in yesterday’s game, Hughes kept Richards at left back for City, with Garrido again benched. Bad news for his owners – he is clearly a bargain but with uncertainty over his place and tough fixtures to come, he could well be shown the door by a good few fantasy bosses this week.

The Form

Sadly, all the talk has to surround Ronaldo yet again, as he threatens to break the fantasy football season. Surely now there can be no doubts over his status as an essential acquisition after another weekend of heavy scoring. Two goals against Hull and more FPL bonus moves him up to six goals for the season. Already and he’s the third top points scorer in the FPL and with a points-per-game average of 8.9 – it surely won’t be long before he overtakes Zaki and Lampard.

Frankly, I can’t see how fantasy managers can compete without him. He is hugely expensive but his selection, particularly in the FPL, but can cover a multitude of sins elsewhere in your team. This puts pressure on those managers without him, to make consistently inspired decisions with their team selection and transfers. Lampard can cover some of the shortfall as an FPL captain but the omens are good. He was outscored for the second week by Ronaldo – despite a 5-0 win for Chelsea.

The likes of Arteta, Wright-Phillips, Ashley Young and Fabregas will surely be sacrificed by many managers this week and more points for Delap and Geovanni this weekend, will surely make finding cheap replacements nice and straightforward.

At the time of writing, both Gevoanni, Delap and Ronaldo were totalling over 20,000 transfers each so far this gameweek. A double price rise for all three of those players could be on the cards then.

It’s worth pointing out that Ronaldo is not doing it all on his own for United. Berbatov notched up two more assists against Hull, moving up to six for the season. While he has only hit one Premiership goal so far since his arrival, clearly he has found a role greasing the wheels of United’s flowing football for Rooney and Ronaldo to convert. In terms of in-form forwards, Berbatov is second only to the free-scoring Anelka in the FPL. Berbatov has scored bonus points in 4 of his 8 starts for United – totalling 9 points in those games.

Talking of Anelka, the Chelsea man is inevitably attracting interest after his hat-trick of tap-ins against a hapless Sunderland took him to 8 goals for the season. Five addition FPL bonus points in the last two matches have also contributed to his haul and over 18,000 managers have brought him in so far this gameweek. A strange this one this. With Drogba is looming large on Scolari’s bench, one or two blanks and surely he will lose his starting role in the side, or at least be prone to severe rotation.

Malouda chalked up two more assists against Sunderland, taking him to 5 for the season. With a pair of goals to his name, he is beginning to show the fantasy returns we anticipated when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge. Competition in the midfield mid-price bracket however, will likely see him largely ignored by fantasy managers. He is currently owned by just 2.5% in the FPL. A decent differential signing then.

Alex repaid those quick to pounce on his potential in the absence of Carvalho with a staggering points haul – a goal, assist, clean sheet and bonus in the FPL saw him amass 17 points. A major payout. He is only a short term solution of course, but with the Chelsea defence still showing strong returns from clean sheets – he looks a must if you have a spare Chelsea slot in your squad.

Despite the defeat at White Hart Lane, Liverpool still demonstrated strong form. Just how they failed to convert chances and lose to Spurs is baffling but the return of Torres, possibly on Tuesday, will help in that department. Kuyt looked very lively again at the weekend and scored his fourth goal in five games. He provides a good alternative to those that already own Ronaldo, who are looking to ship out Wright-Phillips, Arteta or Ashley Young. Liverpool’s fixtures are very strong with four in six at Anfield. Kuyt and the Liverpool defence should continue to profit heavily over this period.

Harry’s impact continues to lift the potential of Bentley who has scored a goal or an assist in all three matches under Redknapp. With FPL managers scrambling for the funds to bring in Ronaldo, he is unlikely to pick up too much interest just yet but in a few weeks, we can expect increased interest and a possible price rise. Tottenham have two good spells of fixtures to come so their attacking players are worth monitoring.

Portsmouth have stuttered since Harry’s departure and Defoe has now gone four Premiership matches without a goal. He didn’t start one of those, away at Liverpool in gameweek 10 and with Portsmouth away from home in the next two his prospects of scoring, or even starting, must be in question. Traore’s value could also be in question should Adams begin to hand starts to Kranjcar on the left of midfield.

West Brom’s Miller demonstrated his potential with a goal and an assist against t Blackburn. Mowbray will surely now start with the ex-City striker, even when reverting to a 4-5-1. We should find out if that’s the case next weekend when the Baggies go to Liverpool. Indeed, while Miller shows promise in fantasy terms – his next two matches against Liverpool and Chelsea are probably not the best platform for him to demonstrate further.

Everton’s clean sheet against Fulham meant they have now conceded just one goal in their last three Premiership matches. With fixtures looking strong until the trip to White Hart Lane in gameweek 15, investment in their defence could be on the cards. Jagielka came away with a second successive 3 point bonus point haul and he appears to represent the best value in their back four as a result.

Geovanni’s penalty at Old Trafford came as a surprise; with King off the pitch, the Brazilian is the next in line for spot kicks and he converted for his fifth of the season. He is continuing to show outstanding fantasy value then, and with Hull’s fixtures now picking up – that seems set to continue. Hull face Bolton and City at home next, before travelling to Portsmouth and Stoke. There should be points at both ends for Brown’s side from those games with Geovanni, King and Cousin showing further profits going forward and Myhill, Turner, Dawson and Zayatte gaining at the back.

Man City continue to slip, with Wright-Phillips owners beginning to lose patience off the back of six consecutive blanks. The away form is a major concern for City but with difficult home games against Spurs, Arsenal and United in the next four, there is no guarantee that things will pick up at either end for City.

Ashley Young also needs some strong returns against Newcastle tonight. An assist last time out against Blackburn, his first score in five matches, kept the wolf from the door but with Arsenal and United to come in the next four, his fixtures are set to stiffen.

Injuries and Bans

Walcott and Adebayor picked up injuries that were described as “very bad” by Wenger. Walcott has a suspected dislocated shoulder, while Adebayor appeared to suffer an ankle injury in two challenges with Shawcross. Sagna also picked up a knock and was replaced.

Van Persie will be handed a three match ban for his red against Stoke and will miss next weekend’s clash with United, the Carling Cup tie with Wigan and the home Premiership match with Villa.

Ashley Cole will undergo a scan early this week on the calf injury he picked up against Sunderland. Cole is already out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Roma according to reports this morning. Bridge will come in and could well offer an a further “cheap” option in the Chelsea defence along with Alex.

Blackburn’s McCarthy will miss next weekend’s match with Chelsea after his red against West Brom.

Rooney and Fabregas were notable names added to the suspension tightrope, this week. They picked up their fourth bookings and are just one booking away from a one match ban.