Premier League Winners and Losers: North London Derby, Darren Bent, and More

What a weekend it was in the Premier League. 

To say we got to see a memorable North London derby is an understatement, but that wasn't the only excitement from Gameweek 26. A number of clubs bounced back from recent setbacks, while others suffered shock results.

Either way, there were plenty of winners and losers, so here they are.

Winner: West Bromwich Albion

In what should have been an even mid-table clash, Sunderland went into this away match as favourites, coming off an excellent run of form including a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

But something went wrong. After just three minutes, West Bromwich Albion struck through Peter Odemwingie, and the game finished 4-0 to the home side, with Roy Hodgson's side bagging two goals on either side of half time. 

This is the second game in a row that West Bromwich have won by four goals, thumping their rivals, Wolves, 5-1 in last week's fixture. Peter Odemwingie scored a hat trick in that match and a brace in this match, so I'm expecting the Nigerian to lead West Bromwich to a late season charge. 

Winner: Terry Connor!

When Mick McCarthy was sacked following Wolves 5-1 drubbing by rivals West Bromwich, it took longer than you'd expect for Wolverhampton to find a managerial replacement.

Actually, they never did find a replacement—so the current manager is now Terry Connor, McCarthy's ex-second in command. It seemed as if things had gone from bad to worse for Wolves as Newcastle went up 2-0 at St. James—erm, Sport Direct Arena—but Connor led his side to an inspiring away comeback, salvaging a 2-2 draw in the end.

I'm expecting Connor to keep his job for longer than others expect, and to become a fan favourite among Premier League followers. He's already got me.

Winner: The Boys Under Fire

Going into this weekend's fixtures, there were a number of players coming under tremendous fire from critics and fans, and an excellent performance seemed necessary if the players wanted to survive in the cut-throat atmosphere. 

Yes, I'm talking about Theo Walcott and David Luiz.

Theo Walcott hasn't come up with a remotely good performance since his hat trick of assists against Blackburn in Arsenal's 7-1 mauling of the Rovers, and rumours from the Daily Mail were even circulating that he could be axed from the squad during the summer.

Well, it was looking like doomsday for the Arsenal winger after a problematic first half of "classic Theo" moments. Actually, it was a game of two halves for the mercurial English talent.

Walcott netted a brilliant brace in the second half to sink North London rivals Spurs, using his pace on both occasions to get behind the defender and finish surprisingly well.

As for David Luiz, well, the under fire Brazilian centre back scored in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Bolton. He's been criticized for being too attacking as a centre back, but he proved a valuable contribution to the Blues' squad to score in their emphatic win.

Winner: Veterans

Both scorers in Manchester United's 2-1 win over Norwich at Carrow Road were 37 years of age or over.

Yep. Paul Scholes netted yet another goal to add to his surprisingly high tally to put the Red Devils' 1-0 up. However, after Grant Holt equalized in the second half, it was looking like Sir Alex Ferguson's side would drop two points and lose ground in the title race.

Not on 38-year-old Ryan Giggs watch. To top off his 900th appearance for Manchester United, Giggsy scored a 92nd minute winner to hand the three points to his beloved club. 

Not something you see every day.

Winner: Arsenal

Arsenal are officially the most unpredictable club in the Premier League.

After crashing out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, Arsenal's match against Spurs looked like a perfect setup for either a tremendous downfall or a spark to set things right.

In case you've been living under a rock, it was the latter.

This result just goes to show that even without Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal are still unbeatable at their best. 

Loser: Darren Bent and Aston Villa

Saturday was a horrible day for Aston Villa supporters.

Not only did they travel to Wigan and muster a 0-0 stalemate, but they also lost Darren Bent, their top scorer and arguably their best player for the rest of the season. 

Alex McCleish's side have come to a shocking 15th place with Bent, so can you imagine what could happen now without him?

It's been a rough, rough season for the Villains. 

Loser: Sunderland

"Wait, what?"

That's what I thought when I heard the scoreline of Sunderland's fixture away to West Bromwich, and I don't think I was the only one. No one was expecting one of the Premier League's most in form teams to lose to West Bromwich 4-0, especially after overcoming Arsenal 2-0 in the FA Cup. 

If this isn't the sign of a good run of form ending, I don't know what is. Watch out, Martin O'Neill.

Loser: Tottenham Hot Spurs

No one wanted to declare this earlier in the season out of fear of looking like an absolute fool later on, but I think it's now safe to say that Spurs are out of the title race. 

Looking back on the 5-2 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal, Spurs' 2-0 lead wasn't much, as their two goals weren't really deserved—one was a lucky deflection, while another was a penalty earned from a clear dive.

From then on, Arsenal showed the amount of spirit in the squad that they seem to show quite a lot nowadays, not letting themselves fall to the ultimate humiliation. Instead  they turned their fate around by putting five goals past their bitter rivals.

The remainder of Spurs season could be very interesting.