The long, two-week slog of the international break often leaves us itching for some much-needed top-flight action and the return of the Premier League was more than welcome as we were treated to two epic title clashes.

Let's go through the biggest talking points from an action-packed weekend with eight things we learned from the Premier League.

Is Diogo Jota the signing of the season?

It's fair to say Liverpool's £41million purchase of Wolves forward Diogo Jota caused a bit of scepticism in Merseyside. A good player who has chipped in well - but isn't that quite a lot of money for a player whose stats seem pretty unremarkable?

How wrong many of us were to see this deal as an expensive cover option - the Portuguese star has shown himself to be indispensable for the Reds after eight goals from 12 games.

He gave the fragile Reds a vital two-goal cushion at the end of the first half with a beautiful glanced header from Andy Robertson's cross that he powered beyond Schmeichel to deflate the away side.

Time for Tottenham fans to get carried away

Remaining calm is not something that happens all too often over in north London - so don't expect too much silence from Spurs fans after they finished a Premier League weekend at the summit for the first time since August 2014.

The game in question - a 4-0 win over QPR in Mauricio Pochettino's second game in charge would have likely been met with sarcastic celebrations. But now, nine games into the current season, you can bet there will be a shift in mood after a comfortable 2-0 win over four-time Premier League champions Manchester City.

Tottenham supporters are often teased by rivals fans for making DVDs to commemorate famous wins, while Jose Mourinho's celebration of a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace that guaranteed Europa League football was widely mocked too.

It's far too early to be talking them up as champions, but if the Lilywhites are still hanging onto the top spot on Christmas Day then we can start having that conversation.

Arsenal STILL can't find their shooting boots

Further down the road, there's something of a storm brewing at the Emirates. Is it right to call it a crisis or is languishing in mid-table just something we should expect from the Gunners now?

From the high of winning the FA Cup and Community Shield back-to-back and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penning new terms, it was all set up for Arsenal to push on this season. But in an area where they looked so strong - it's all gone a bit pear-shaped.

Mikel Arteta admitted he is 'worried' about their recent struggles in front of goal after a 0-0 stalemate against Leeds. Failing to score in four of their last five games would concern most top-flight bosses, and the bizarre dip in form of his skipper Aubameyang is similarly mystifying.

Loftus-Cheek could be Fulham's saviour

Another defeat for Fulham, another scandalous penalty miss, some more chaotic defending at the back - but is there finally a glimmer of hope?

Scott Parker left on-loan Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the bench for the 3-2 defeat to Everton but brought him on for the last half an hour. With his side 3-1 down, why not give him a chance to strut his stuff with minimal pressure.

What an impact. He hadn't been on for long when he surged towards the Toffees box, playing a great one-two with Aleksandar Mitrovic before being tripped over in the area to win a penalty.

Mendy is unbeatable

Chelsea's £20m signing from Rennes will soon earn the nickname Gandalf - because he doesn't seem to let anyone past him. Frank Lampard's goalkeeping nightmare is finally over, but he couldn't have imagined that Mendy's arrival would go this well.

His clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Newcastle was his seventh in nine games - astonishing. In the Premier League, he has only been beaten once, which turned out to be a consolation for Sheffield United in a 4-1 win.

He has brought calm to a Chelsea defence that was regularly at sixes and sevens before he turned up. Being forced to choose between Kepa Arrizabalaga and Willy Caballero was proving to be a lose-lose situation for Lampard but a difference it makes to have a sturdy shot-stopper.

No home comforts for United

You have to give it to Manchester United - they get results when they have to, but they really did squeak by at Old Trafford against struggling West Brom on Saturday, and their home comforts have been anything but that.

There would be no surprises if the Baggies had walked away from the Theatre of Dreams with a result, and United had lady luck to thank after the away side were denied what looked to be a perfectly good spot-kick.

Bruno Fernandes clumsily sent Conor Gallagher tumbling in the second half, but referee David Coote opted to overturn his own decision. Ten minutes later, United go up the other end get a penalty of their own - which was missed by Fernandes before scoring a re-take.

Pep needs patience

A look at the league table doesn't provide much inspiration at all for Pep Guardiola nor the Manchester City faithful. Nor does the damning stat that this is their worst start to a Premier League season since 2008-09, with their ten goals scored the lowest since 2006-07.

Coming into the game against Tottenham, there was supposed to be a feeling of optimism with the Spanish boss finally ending months of uncertainty by pledging his future to the club, but lackluster is the word to describe their display in their 2-0 defeat to Spurs, who now sit where they strive to be.

City have known nothing but title races since Guardiola arrived at the Etihad but after the ill-feeling of losing to Lyon in the Champions League quarter-finals last season, the next chapter of his reign has been met with a similar bad taste - but he shouldn't lose hope altogether.

Pitch-side monitors play a big role

We asked for it, we got it. Last year referees were told to use pitch-side monitors 'sparingly' - which translated to 'never'.

And after clamor from clubs, managers, and pundits to take a second look at contentious incidents, we've finally seen more officials jogging over to the sidelines for a quick glance.

Liverpool are still strong title contenders despite injury depletion of the first team squad.

Man I would be in relegation by now if not for penalties, VAR and dubious referees.

Lampard is proving to be a genius coach despite the relative inexperience.

Arsenal's problem is bigger than the manager.