Robin Van Persie and the EPL Players of the Week: Week 3

Week 3 of the EPL was the first batch of matches after the craziness that is the transfer window, and they did not disappoint.

Andy Carroll was a major component of West Ham's dominating performance over Fulham, Swansea finally didn't win a game as they were held by Sunderland and Tottenham continued wasting points after Norwich snatched a late 1-1 draw.

West Brom surprisingly ended Everton's 11-game unbeaten run, Stoke drew again against Wigan and Manchester City beat QPR with much less suspense than when the two teams last met. 

Arsenal broke their scoring duck against a hapless Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa played out a disappointing draw and in the game of the week, Southampton nearly upset Manchester United were it not for the hat-trick heroics of marquee signing Robin van Persie.

With all this excitement, let's take a look at this week's EPL players of the week. 

Andy Carroll, Liverpool outcast, showed that he can be effective in the Premier League, as he dominated Fulham's back line for the entire time he was on the pitch.

He harassed Brede Hangeland all afternoon and was directly involved in every single Hammers attack. 

It's a shame he went off with a hamstring injury and looks to miss England's next two World Cup qualifiers (via the Daily Mail), because his up-top play was invaluable for the Hammers on Saturday. 

Nathan Dyer was by and large the biggest catalyst for Swansea in their entertaining 2-2 draw with Sunderland. 

Dyer owned his flank all afternoon, and it was his fantastic pass into Wayne Routledge that led to Swansea's first goal. 

Maybe someone should call up Roy Hodgson?

It is also worth mentioning that Michu continues to impress, as he scored his fourth goal for the Swans and continues to top the scoring leaderboards. 

Were it not for Robert Snodgrass' beautiful first-time half-volley to steal the point for Norwich, Brad Friedel would have taken this spot by himself.

The American stopper proved that age is just a number and that new signing Hugo Lloris is going to have a rough time taking the No. 1 spot away. Friedel made several fantastic saves on the afternoon and kept the Spurs in the match.

Snodgrass was brilliant from midfield, making darting runs and causing all sorts of problems for the Spurs' defense. Norwich was unlucky to take the three points from White Hart Lane, with Snodgrass and company outplaying the home side. 

Where did Steve Clarke and West Brom come from? Who seriously thought they were going to do this well?

Gareth McAuley capped off a brilliant defensive performance with a goal from Chris Brunt's corner. The defender beat Tim Howard to the corner and put the ball away for West Brom's second goal to seal the three points.

Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie get honorable mentions as well for their part in the Baggie's first goal. Odemwingie, introduced in the second half as a sub, tore down the left flank and drove a hard, low cross that evaded Howard. Long was there to tap the ball in. 

Seriously, though, who saw West Brom coming? 

Wigan's biggest summer signing, Arouna Kone, impressed against Stoke in a really electrifying 2-2 draw.

Really, this spot could have gone to anyone not named Andy Wilkinson or Maynor Figuroa.

But it was Kone's brilliant play up top for Wigan that gets him a place on the list. His play under pressure was really good all night, and it was capped off by a beautiful bit of skill to release Franco di Santo for Wigan's second goal. 

Stoke should feel unlucky to not take the three points after Peter Crouch's equalizer. Both Charlie Adam and Ryo Miyachi, both new signings, came close to taking the winner, but to no avail. 

Carlos Tevez continued his resurgence with Manchester City with a really encouraging performance against QPR.

Tevez was his usual tricky self all afternoon, getting in behind the Rangers' defense and causing problems. His link-up play with his teammates is getting better with every match and he looks really comfortable playing with the club that he self-exiled himself from a year ago. 

The Argentine capped off his performance with what looked like the simplest of goals. Edin Dzeko sent a shot toward the corner flag, but Tevez redirected the ball past Robert Green with the greatest of ease. 

Lukas Podolski was a constant threat to Liverpool on both sides of the ball. The German's runs up the flank were purposeful and effective, and he was a pain in the butt to get around on defense.

Even though Liverpool dominated possession for the most park through Joe Allen, Arsenal was able to counter and smash the Liverpool defense through Podolski and Santi Cazorla. 

His goal was pure class, pure Arsenal counterattacking football.

As a Liverpool fan, that's all I have to say. Well done.  

Hatem Ben Arfa unleashed a wonder goal to make sure Newcastle shared the points with Aston Villa.

Brad Guzan had no chance. 

Poor Southampton—3-2 losses to both Manchester clubs, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

If Robin van Persie hadn't completed his hat trick to win the game, he wouldn't be here because Southampton largely outclassed the Red Devils for the better part of the match. 

But to score a hat trick to win the game deserves a place on this list.

Rickie Lambert, Morgan Schneiderlin and Adam Lallana all had outstanding games against Manchester United, but you just can't compete with one of the most prolific strikers of this generation. 

So your thoughts?

Who do you think deserved to be a player of the week? I would be more than happy to discuss with you your thoughts in the comments section below.