Five things we learned from the weekend football

1 David De Gea is back to his best

Manchester United looked lively as they hit Tottenham on the counter to gain a half-time lead at Wembley but the second period was all about the excellence of goalkeeper David de Gea, who successfully denied Spurs on 11 occasions to maintain a clean sheet.

De Gea has not always looked himself this season with United's ropey rearguard often giving him plenty of work, although on this occasion the Spanish stopper was quite clearly back to his best.

Tottenham's expected-goals figure was around the two mark and yet because of De Gea United managed to grab a 1-0 victory.

2 Critical period for Arsenal

Was it really only six weeks ago that Arsenal thumped Tottenham 4-2 in the north London derby?

Arsenal were then 5-4 for a top-four finish and our weekend reviewer said they were "definite candidates for Champions League spot", while a headline on the BBC read: "Unai Emery's remarkable Gunners transformation continues" claiming the manager had "blown the winds of change through Arsenal like a hurricane".

At the time it felt very much like a statement victory, but Arsenal have since won just three of their eight Premier League games (all at home, against Huddersfield, Burnley and Fulham) and Saturday's 1-0 defeat to West Ham was an absolute shocker of a performance.

Emery's team selection is being pulled apart and always will be when Aaron Ramsey and Lucas Torreira are on the bench and Mesut Ozil is not deemed good enough for a place in the 18-man squad.

It was like watching the final knockings of the Arsene Wenger era and if Emery is to give the impression of moving the club in the right direction he really could do with big performances in a critical period for the Gunners, who face Chelsea, United and Manchester City in three of their next four fixtures.

3 Claude Puel is on the brink at Leicester

There is no doubt Emery needs time, but Leicester boss Claude Puel's time is up according to the majority of the Foxes's fanbase after their FA Cup defeat at Newport was followed by a home loss to ten-man Premier League strugglers Southampton.

Leicester have beaten City and Chelsea recently but they have also suffered some horrendous results in more winnable fixtures which suggests the manager is struggling to motivate his troops.

Puel has never come across as the most engaging of characters during his two spells in England, the first of which was at Southampton, who are definitely heading in the right direction under Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Bookmakers chopped Puel to 1-2 in the Premier League next manager to go market with Leicester's next four matches against Wolves, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs offering little respite even allowing for the fact that Leicester tend to raise their game against better teams.

4 Burnley's luck from last season returns

"We have had a bit of luck with the own goals but we haven't had much this season," said Burnley manager Sean Dyche after a ridiculous 2-1 win over Fulham that was achieved with no shots on target.

Burnley defied logic, wage bill and shot statistics to qualify for Europe last season when among some admirable qualities they benefited from plenty of good fortune. It looks like that has returned.

5 Dean Smith's honeymoon period at Aston Villa is over

The marriage was made in heaven.

Dean Smith, the Aston Villa fan with a penchant for pretty football, took over at his beloved club and the early upturn in energy from the stands was noticeable, however, the honeymoon phase is over.

Villa were abysmal in their 3-0 loss at Wigan, managing no shots on target and only four attempts in total.

They have one win in their last eight and Smith called their performance "rubbish". Up next is a tricky test against in-form Hull.

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