Olivier Giroud's scoring return and Liverpool's glorious forwards all figure in our weekend round-up.
Good to be back
Disregarding any of Olivier Giroud's alleged recent escapades, there was no doubt that in the minds of Arsenal supporters that it was damn good to see him back to his best on Saturday against Sunderland. He has been sorely missed.
The Frenchman's omission for the FA Cup tie against Liverpool was understandable. Arsene Wenger's insistence that Giroud had "looked a bit tired recently" fell on understandably deaf ears after tabloid exposés, but being rested for Arsenal's tertiary priority was not a surprise.
His further exclusion against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, however, hinted at a more punitive measure taken by the club, or alternatively that Giroud had matters within his private life that required resolution before his professional responsibilities could be resumed. Whatever the explanation, there is little doubt that Giroud looked rejuvenated against a clumsy, disorganised Sunderland side.
His first goal was as a result of Jack Wilshere's surge from midfield, his pass finding the Frenchman's left foot - a cool finish was the predictable result. The second came after a woefully weak backpass from Santiago Vergini, from which Giroud was able to poke past Vito Mannone and into the net, and there was still time before the break to provide an assist for Tomas Rosicky to complete the sort of mesmeric team goal from which Arsenal could be forgiven for attempting to trademark.
"I had no hesitation about Giroud's strength of character and I wanted him to come back in the team and be successful," was Wenger's post-match assessment of his striker's return. "He was today by scoring two goals, one great one at the end of a good movement and one a gift."
If he can put personal concerns to one side, there is little doubt that Giroud's form will be crucial in any potential late-season success. Given the lack of alternative options, this is Arsenal's most important player.
Attack, Attack, Attack
For all the understandable talk over Manchester City's phenomenal attacking prowess this season, this is now the Premier League's top-scoring side. At times against Swansea, they looked utterly and absolutely brilliant.
The most positive news for Roy Hodgson (and Liverpool fans, actually) is that this was an attacking display without principal threat Luis Suarez offering anything of note other than his growing sense of frustration at a current lack of goals. Instead, on an afternoon following a dismally dull draw for Euro 2016 qualifying, the England manager will have been left hugely impressed by the English trinity at the heart of all Liverpool did right. They may form the heart of that campaign.
Daniel Sturridge will take the headlines, and rightly so. The striker now has 27 goals in his last 27 domestic matches, and has scored at a rate of a goal every 83.1 league minutes played this season. That's a better record than Cristiano Ronaldo (83.6 minutes), Lionel Messi (95.1 minutes), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (97.1 minutes) and Diego Costa (101.8 minutes). It sounds inherently strange to say, but four months before the World Cup there is no striker in better form, and he's English.
Next up is Raheem Sterling, who continues his remarkable resurgence at Anfield. Only provided with his second start of the season following Sturridge's ankle injury in November, such has been Sterling's excellence that Brendan Rodgers has
