Premier League Winners and Losers: Andre Villas-Boas, the Title Race and More

What a weekend it was in the Premier League...

I know I say that just about every week, but this time I mean it. There was action at all ends of the table, both on and off the pitch. Where do I even start?

I guess we can begin with the first slide, so without further ado here are this week's Premier League winners and losers.

Winner: Arsenal

Things are starting to finally look bright again for Arsene Wenger's side.

As an Arsenal fan, I can say that this weekend could not have gone better for the Gunners. They won an absolutely crucial fixture for securing their top-four spot, even after being outplayed for a majority of the match—but it doesn't stop there.

Arsenal's win means that Liverpool lost, and on top of that, Chelsea lost, Spurs lost and Newcastle drew.

This means Arsenal are now three points safe in their Champions League spot and only four points behind third place Spurs.

A rare weekend where just about everything went right for Arsenal—wait, that's not possible, which explains why Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, Yossi Benayoun and Kieran Gibbs all picked up injuries.

Knew it was too good to be true...

Winner: Robin van Persie

Robin van Persie is undoubtedly the best centre forward in the world.

Everything he touches seems to turn to gold. The Dutchman is capable of producing these incredible moments of magic, where for a single second the universe seems to revolve around him and his sensational left foot.

As poetic as that seems, it's true. Van Persie is simply class, absolutely freaking class.

Winner: West Brom

West Brom are riding high at the moment, on the back of a three-game winning streak.

They crushed Wolves and brushed aside Sunderland, but did anyone think they could actually take on Chelsea? Well, they got a fantastic upset to fuel the flames for Roy Hodgon's side's late push for a top half finish.

Meet the Premier League's newest inform club...

Winner: Pavel... I Won't Even Try

This guy's last name is an absolute mess, I might as well just dance around on my keyboard.

But with five goals in three games for Fulham, this tongue twister of a Russian striker may just start to become a household name, with more than a few people saying "Pavel who?" after the unknown January deadline day signing hit a hat trick against Wolves.

He was supposed to be Bobby Zamora's replacement, and some Fulham fans weren't too happy after seeing that they couldn't even pronounce the name of the replacement for their star forward.

Well, it's worth giving it a shot, Cottagers, because you may be yelling this guy's name a lot...

Winner: Ashley Young and Manchester United

Since storming onto the spot with his brilliant brace against Arsenal in August, Ashley Young has had a relatively quiet season for Manchester United, not scoring since.

The former Aston Villa winger finally ended his goal drought with another two goals in Manchester United's impressive 3-1 win over Spurs at White Hart Lane, and he'll be hoping it won't be another seven months until he scores again.

A vintage Manchester United win, and if Ashley Young can find his best form again then he may very well help lead United to overcome their Manchester neighbours in the title race.

Winner: The Title Race

With Spurs now on a two-game losing streak, the title race is officially a two-horse race between Manchester United and Manchester City—and it's going to get intense.

The Premier League crown may very well come down to the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, and don't expect it to be 6-1 this time around.

The title race is heating up, and it seems to get tighter with every match.  

Loser: Liverpool

Despite winning the Carling Cup, Liverpool have a serious problem—they can't score goals.

After largely dominating their home clash against Arsenal, it turned out that their only goal was an own goal from Laurent Koscielny, eventually losing out 2-1 in the dying minutes of the match and letting their undefeated home record slip.

With that loss, the Reds now find themselves 10 points adrift of the top four. Would you trade the Carling Cup for Champions League football? Even as an Arsenal fan desperate for silverware, I know I would.

Loser: Andre Villas-Boas

It still hasn't quite settled in, but Andre Villas-Boas is gone. Done. Finished. That's it.

The 1-0 loss away to West Brom was certainly the straw that broke the camel's back, so the trigger happy Roman Abramovich sacked yet another Blues boss. Was AVB necessarily a bad manager? No.

Sure, his team selections were flawed, and he didn't seem to know the first thing about man management, but I don't think this will be the last we see of him as he's clearly a man with promise and a vision.

With a little more experience and age, Villas-Boas could be one of the world's best. But for now, he's another manager in Abramovich's trash can.

Loser: Chelsea Football Club

If I were a Chelsea supporter, I'd be worried. Very worried.

Under Roman Abramovich, Chelsea Football Club will always be a football club based on purely the short term, and that's a big problem. The Russian seems to have already sacked his best shot at silverware in Carlo Ancelotti, and if he wanted to build a great team for the future, well, he sacked the man for that job just a few days ago. 

Wasn't this destined to be a transitional season anyways?

Abramovich doesn't seem to know the first thing about football, a huge issue considering he currently owns a club with an aging goalkeeper, a leaky defense, an uncreative midfield and forwards incapable of scoring.

Chelsea need more than just a new manager...

Loser: Spurs

This is it. This is the poor run of form everyone was talking about, the bad streak that everyone knew would derail Spurs' unlikely chance at a title.

After a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of North London rivals Arsenal, it got worse for Tottenham as they fell 3-1 to Manchester United at White Hart Lane, despite arguably being the better side. The schedule doesn't get any easier with Everton, Stoke and Chelsea all coming up. 

England is calling, Harry...