After every round of Premier League fixtures, we pick our team of the weekend, explain our selections and then invite you – our loyal army of readers – to pick your team of top men. We’re looking for the players who caught your eye with dazzling displays or powerful performances on Matchday Three (1-2 September). You can choose any formation and there’s no limit on how many players you can pick from each team – so have a think, then get involved.

TEAMtalk’s Top Men (3-4-3): Friedel; McAuley, Vermaelen, Clark; Cazorla, Mulumbu, Snodgrass, Vaz Te; van Persie, Fletcher, Tevez

Selected by Tom Crowther – follow him on Twitter at @TomCrowther5

Goalkeeper

Brad Friedel (Spurs): Spurs splashed the cash on French stopper Hugo Lloris on deadline day, but Brad Friedel put in a man-of-the-match performance to give Andre Villas-Boas a selection headache after the international break. The 41-year-old showed there’s plenty of life left in the old dog yet by producing a number of key saves including a superb diving effort to deny Robert Snodgrass in the first half. The veteran goalie worked wonders to keep the Canaries at bay.

Defenders

Gareth McAuley (WBA): Was a tad lucky to come up against an out of sorts Marouane Fellaini but the centre half had a fine game and scored Albion’s clincher. The Northern Ireland international scored with a thumping header after losing his marker, Fellaini, with a clever run as Chris Brunt whipped in a corner.

Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal): Was a rock at the back for Arsene Wenger’s men. Made a number of key challenges and restricted the Liverpool front line to limited chances along with his centre-half partner Per Mertesacker. If Vermaelen can stay fit all season Arsenal as they have proved in the first three games will be a tough side to break down.

Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa): Had to be on his A-game against a Newcastle side that threw everything at Villa in the second half. Clark defended well, won some important headers and wasn’t afraid to stick his boot through the ball and get it clear. At the other end Clark was a real threat from set pieces and it paid off for him 22 minutes in when he got on the end of a Barry Bannan cross. Villa were well worth the point to get the ball rolling for the season.

Midfielders

Santi Cazorla (Arsenal): Cazorla hasn’t taken long to settle in to the Arsenal side. He was a constant threat to the Liverpool defence and was involved in the majority of Arsenal’s bright moves. Santi looked confident on the ball, and fits the mould of an Arsenal player perfectly. It was his pass that set up Lukas Podolski to open his account for the Gunners. Cazorla also got himself on the scoresheet when Reina couldn’t keep hold of his shot after a neat one-two with Podolski.

Youssouf Mulumbu (WBA): Mulumbu has started the season very well for West Brom. He and Claudio Yacob have sat in front of the defence and broke everything down for Steve Clarke’s men. Mulumbu in particular was excellent and he had to be against an in-form Everton. He broke up play and covered over five miles for the Baggies. He kept everything simple cleared the ball when he had to and was very accurate with his passing. He was named both player and players’ player of the year last season and has started the season looking to retain the award.

Robert Snodgrass (Norwich):For those that don’t know me, I am a big Leeds fan and it pains me to see Robert Snodgrass and Jonny Howson in a Norwich shirt. But there is no denying Snoddy was the best player on the park for the Canaries against Spurs. His delivery from set pieces was excellent and he forced Brad Friedel into a fine save in the first half. He finally beat the big man in the 85th minute with a brilliant finish from a Grant Holt lay-off.

Ricardo Vaz Te (West Ham): Was always ready to feed off Andy Carroll and did so brilliantly when he laid off Kevin Nolan to open the scoring after getting on the end of a Carroll flick on. The Portuguese winger was unlucky not to get himself on the scoresheet. He had a number of good efforts thwarted by Mark Schwarzer. I’m sure his goals will come if he keeps getting on the end of Carroll flick-ons.

Strikers

Robin van Persie (Manchester United): Van Persie may have made a mess of his second-half penalty, but the United new boy more than made up for his aberration from the spot with two late goals to seal his hat-trick and the Red Devils crucial late win.

Van Persie has settled straight in at Old Trafford and already looks to be forming productive partnerships with those around him. Michael Carrick picked out the Dutchman on a couple of occasions early on but, as van Persie admitted, it wasn’t until Paul Scholes came on when the striker really came alive.

Steven Fletcher (Sunderland): Strikers are paid to score goals and Steven Fletcher has earned his money this weekend, scoring two goals with really good finishes. Mick McCarthy said he is capable of playing for a top- four side and he proved that. Firstly, he anticipated Chico’s mistake and kept his cool to slot the ball past Vorm. Secondly, he showed great desire to get on the end of Seb Larsson’s cross and beat Chico to the ball. Great start for Fletcher just wait till he’s match fit.

Carlos Tevez (Man City): Sergio who? It’s all about Carlos Tevez for Man City this season as he put in another man-of-the-match performance against QPR. He was always a menace, always as threat as he split Rangers open to set up Toure for the opener and grabbed a late one for himself. He also became the first City player to score 50 Premier League goals but more importantly secured me 24 points for my Fantasy Football team.

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