Gabriel Agbonlahor may have missed out on Fabio Capello’s England squad, but he gained compensation as the Barclays Premier League Actim Index got under way. The young forward’s hat-trick in Aston Villa’s 4-2 win over Manchester City earned him 63 points to catapult him to the top of the standings.

Frank Lampard celebrated his bumper new five-year deal at Chelsea with a goal and an all-action performance in Chelsea’s 4-0 thumping of Portsmouth. Team-mate Deco may have claimed the headlines with a debut that netted him an impressive 33 points, but Lampard’s goal plus four shots on target and 38 passes sealed second place in the Index with 47.

In fact, it was a good week for the men pulling the strings as midfielders claimed five of the top 10 places in the week’s standings. David Dunn’s wonder strike against Everton not only suggested he may be able to fill David Bentley’s boots at Blackburn but also put him in the top 10 along with Lampard, Deco, Chelsea’s Joe Cole and Hull hero Geovanni, who netted on his League debut for the Tigers against Fulham.

It was also an impressive weekend for Arsenal debutant Samir Nasri, who racked up 21 points for the Gunners in a fine introduction to Premier League life. The former Marseille winger registered the only goal in the victory over West Brom while also making it an uncomfortable debut for Scott Carson with four shots on target.

West Ham’s Dean Ashton was on the pitch for less time than anyone else in the top 24 places but still managed to register two goals and two shots off target in his 74 minutes to notch 41 points, which gave him fifth place in the Index. He left the pitch with what was feared to be a calf injury but luckily for the striker it turned out to be cramp and he should be back for the clash with Manchester City.

In contrast, Wigan’s Honduran defender, Maynor Figueroa, had a nightmare weekend as he clocked up five shots off target and three fouls in Wigan’s defeat to West Ham to end the week on minus 26 points. But he was not the only Latic to have a bad start, as striker Amr Zaki and midfielders Antonio Valencia and Wilson Palacios all ended in minus figures on -13, -4 and -2 respectively.

It was just as bad for Tottenham, who also ended the week with four men in the red after their 2-1 loss at Middlesbrough - Bentley and Gareth Bale (-5), Giovanni and Darren Bent (-4).