EPL Players of the Week

We are finally underway!

The Barclays Premier League kicked off Saturday, and if this weekend's games are any indication of how the rest of the season is going to play out, then we are in for a wild ride.

Liverpool got trounced 3-0 by an extremely upstart West Brom; Sunderland held Arsenal to a scoreless draw; Fulham and Swansea ran away with 5-0 wins; Everton upset Manchester United 1-0 and in what was possibly the game of the week; Manchester City had to come back from 2-1 down to beat a surprisingly solid Southampton squad 3-2. 

A bunch of players stood out in this first BPL weekend, so let's take a look at some of the standout performers in the first edition of Premier League players of the week.

Mohamed Diame, West Ham United

Mohamed Diame had a really encouraging debut for West Ham United in their winning start to their new Premier League campaign.

The tall Senegalese midfielder bossed the midfield for the majority of the game, stifling any sort of attack Aston Villa wanted to force through the middle of the pitch. 

Diame rarely gave up the ball and held the ball well under pressure—really good start for Diame and the Hammers. 

Michu, Swansea City

Michu played 84 minutes of great football on his Premier League debut for Swansea on their way to a 5-0 victory over QPR.

Michu scored his first two Premier League goals on Saturday, jumpstarting a very convincing, dominating performance from Swansea. The Spanish midfielder caused QPR problems all afternoon, popping up in tricky places, and his two goals are an encouraging start to what could be a Chicarito-esque debut season. 

Nathan Dyer also had a great game, scoring two goals and providing a great source of pace and skill from the wing. 

Damien Duff, Fulham

Fulham showed that they didn't miss Clint Dempsey at all and ran out 5-0 winners, with a drubbing of Norwich City. 

Damien Duff put forth a performance that belied his years (he's 33), scoring the first goal and providing the spark from midfield that Fulham desired. 

New-boy Mladen Petric could have taken this spot, but Duff served as a replacement for the unfaithful Dempsey and served his role with aplomb. 

Shane Long, West Brom

While Shane Long didn't score a goal in West Brom's 3-0 defeat of Liverpool, he was responsible for the two penalties Liverpool conceded, which turned the tide of the game. 

And despite his weak penalty, which would have put West Brom up 2-0, Long popped up in loads of tricky placed behind the usually strong partnership of Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger. 

In short, he was an absolute handful that Liverpool simply could not handle. 

Pavel Pogrebnyak, Reading

Pavel Pogrebnyak really shouldn't have come off at all in Reading's first game back in the Premier League. 

Granted, Adam le Fondre secured the point with a last-gasp penalty, but if the tall Russian had stayed on, Reading may have won it.

Pogrebnyak continued his good form from his stint from Fulham, displaying some good hold-up play and great chemistry with le Fondre. 

Pogrebnyak was bright in a game that was otherwise pretty dull. 

Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Tottenham

Benoit Assou-Ekotto was one of the more consistent performers in Tottenham's losing effort against Newcastle. 

He made purposeful runs forward from the back and covered himself well when the attack didn't pan out. 

Despite the losing effort, Andre Villas-Boas can be encouraged by the performance of his left-back. 

Santi Cazorla, Arsenal

It certainly was a weekend for the new boys of the Premier League. Santi Cazorla was another new signing that had a great impact on his new team.

Despite the 0-0 draw with Sunderland, Santi Cazorla displayed why Arsenal was so attracted to him, making fantastic runs up and down the midfield, showing good vision and a surprisingly strong early chemistry with his new teammates. 

Arsenal, despite the early setback, should be one of the most exciting teams in the Premier League, even without a certain Dutchman. 

Eden Hazard, Chelsea

Even though Chelsea won 2-0, they didn't look as dominating as they should have against a Wigan team that didn't look like challenging for the win until the last 10 minutes.

However, new boy Eden Hazard had a great start to his Chelsea career, setting up Branislav Ivanovic's opening goal with a cutting pass through the Wigan defense and winning the penalty that made it 2-0. 

In addition to his hand in the two goals, Hazard displayed his pace and skill he showed in with Lille last season and showed why he was one of the hottest commodities in the transfer window this summer. 

Manchester City vs. Southamption: Take Your Pick

Manchester City started off their campaign just as they ended the last one: drama, drama, drama.

City needed to come back from 2-1 down to Southampton to win 3-2, with goals from Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and the winner from Samir Nasri. 

Saints' substitutes Rickie Lambert and Steven Davis came on to give Southampton the 2-1 advantage over the reigning champs and made their case for a starting place. 

The two captains had outstanding games, with Vincent Kompany having another solid game and Adam Lallana displaying a Premier League maturity, possessing a cool demeanor on the ball.

So take your pick. 

Marouane Fellaini, Everton

Scoring the winning goal to upset Manchester United and ruining £70-million-man Robin van Persie's debut gets you on this list.

Marouane Fellaini had his usual dominant performance in midfield in a tightly-contested match, and scored the winner off a well-taken header. 

He was a constant threat from midfield and looks to be a thorn in every Premier League side this season.

So who is included in your Player of the Week list? Let me know in the comments section!