Barclays Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Outlook After Week 5 Results

Week 5 of the Premier League season was highlighted by a stunning return to form from Arsenal. Arsene Wenger's team stylishly and ruthlessly dispatched a virus-hit Aston Villa 3-0 away from home.

That shifted the Gunners up to fourth in the table. Elsewhere, Stoke City and Queens Park Rangers shared four goals, as did Newcastle United and Hull City.

Here's what the table currently looks like:

Position	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Goal Difference	Points
1	Chelsea	4	4	0	0	9	12
2	Southampton	5	3	1	1	6	10
3	Aston Villa	5	3	1	1	0	10
4	Arsenal	5	2	0	3	4	9
5	Swansea City	5	3	2	0	2	9
6	Manchester City	4	2	1	1	3	7
7	Tottenham Hotspur	4	2	1	1	2	7
8	West Ham United	5	2	2	1	1	6
9	Hull City	5	1	1	3	0	6
10	Liverpool	5	1	3	0	-1	6
11	Manchester United	4	1	1	2	3	5
12	Everton	4	1	1	2	-1	5
13	Leicester City	4	1	1	2	-1	5
14	Stoke City	5	1	2	2	-1	5
15	Sunderland	5	0	1	4	-1	4
16	Queens Park Rangers	5	1	3	1	-8	4
17	Burnley	5	0	2	3	-3	3
18	Newcastle United	5	0	2	3	-6	3
19	Crystal Palace	4	0	2	2	-3	2
20	West Bromwich Albion	4	0	2	2	-5	2

The table has only received a mild shake up after the first six results of the weekend. However, it still makes grim reading for newly promoted teams such as QPR and Burnley.

Both are finding goals very hard to come by, although the latter has at least been stout at the back. Whatever their issues though, these two need to start picking up points and fast.

The Premier League campaign is a long one. But it will feel like a marathon-length nightmare for those who spend it propping up the table.

Here's the full breakdown of Saturday's results:

Home	Away	Score
QPR	Stoke City	2-2
Aston Villa	Arsenal	0-3
Burnley	Sunderland	0-0
Newcastle United	Hull City	2-2
Swansea City	Southampton	0-1
West Ham United	Liverpool	3-1

Ozil Returns to Form for Arsenal

Mesut Ozil has been the brunt of criticism since the season started. His torpid demeanour and drab performances have forced manager Arsene Wenger into defending him at almost every press conference.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

But for once, Wenger can praise the player who cost him £42.5 million last summer. Wenger was suitably effusive after Ozil dominated at Villa Park, per Arsenal.com:

"

Ozil played today behind their midfield because I thought they made it very tight. But it’s important for us to find Ozil between the lines and move the game forward. It worked, but he can play everywhere. I believe that the team played well and after it’s easier for everybody.

"

The manager's reference to where Ozil played at Villa is telling. A big part of the debate surrounding Ozil has focused on his best position.

Wenger has started him on the left flank for most of the early stages of this season. However, many believe Ozil is best suited to a central position as a natural No. 10.

Ex-Manchester United player and current pundit Paul Scholes was one of many to chide Wenger for apparently misusing Ozil, per the London Evening Standard:

"

I admired Mesut Ozil as a player at Real Madrid but it is no use playing him wide. He is not interested in defending and he needs to be in the centre, among good quality players who get the best out of him. He has that languid style which makes it look like he isn’t trying. I am sure that isn’t the case but he is struggling to find his form and he is too good a player to waste.

"

Scholes' next column should dedicate some inches to giving Wenger credit for tweaking things to help Ozil get back to his best. The Gunners chief pushed his mercurial playmaker more into the middle and closer to lone striker Danny Welbeck.

Ozil's numbers certainly vindicated the change as figures from Squawka football reveal:

Ozil was the hub of a team that brought death to Villa via a thousand passes. Well, almost a thousand:

This was Arsenal at their fluid best going forward. Ozil opened the scoring, before teeing up Welbeck. An own goal from Aly Cissokho completed the rout in a barely-over-three-minute spell during the first half.

Villa had been resolute to start the season. But the squad has been decimated by illness during this last week and it showed.

For Arsenal though, the win is a perfect response to the critics (that's you Scholesy). It's also a reminder that Wenger's team can mount a credible title challenge this season.

Life Without Luis Suarez is Proving Brutal for Liverpool

Liverpool narrowly missed out on winning last season's title. However, the Merseyside club has now lost three league fixtures.

What's the difference? Put simply, the difference is Luis Suarez, or more specifically, the absence of the player the Reds sold to FC Barcelona this summer.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

Suarez was once the goalscoring and creative hub of manager Brendan Rodgers' team. His influence was always going to be difficult to replace.

Without the controversial, but supremely gifted Uruguayan attacker, Liverpool are lacking a fear factor going forward. That problem was compounded at West Ham by the absence of current star striker Daniel Sturridge.

The injured England international has developed into a marquee talent at Anfield. Once a selfish (even for a striker) and erratic attacker, Sturridge has matured into a complete forward.

His goals, pace and clever and underrated combination play add impetus to Liverpool's forward line. Without him, Rodgers' team huffed and puffed at West Ham, but failed to craft enough meaningful chances.

Worst still, Liverpool are still shaky defensively. The summer arrival of former Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren hasn't done enough to solidify the heart of the back four.

Liverpool Echo reporter James Pearce summed up the chaos at the back:

The defence was taken apart by the Hammers, hardly the masters of attacking football. Manager Sam Allrdyce's team found goals through Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho and Morgan Amalfitano.

With problems up front and at the back, the Reds seem certain to find this season a lot tougher than the last.

The standings can still alter dramatically once heavyweight title contenders Manchester City and Chelsea slug it out at the Etihad Stadium. There will also be plenty of interest in whether Manchester United's batch of expensive recruits can inspire a second emphatic win in a row.

For now though, Arsenal are the big winners of Week 5. Wenger's team rediscovered its swagger after the 2-0 mauling from Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.

The Gunners are now back in the top four and looking every bit like title contenders.