Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action - ONE

Brendan Rodgers should not shoulder all Liverpool’s blame, Arsenal flip back to brilliance and Yohan Cabaye proves his extra worth again

1) Rodgers is not solely to blame at Anfield

In the end, Brendan Rodgers’ reign as Liverpool manager was terminated in a phone-call from the United States. It was fitting there was distance between Mike Gordon, the president of Fenway Sports Group who made the call, and the manager who paid the price for several months of alarming results and performances considering the owners’ reluctance to take responsibility for their part in the club’s reverse.

FSG believes Rodgers should have produced better with the resources at his disposal. Clearly, there is no disputing that logic given it has spent almost £300m since Rodgers arrived from Swansea City alone, and its investment required penalties to see off Carlisle United of League Two in the Capital One Cup. Rodgers’ squad has been lacking cohesion and direction for several months. That it also lacks quality in the absence of Luis Suárez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling, however, is the result of FSG’s transfer committee and the framework the owners have in place for recruitment at Anfield. Accepting and reassessing their part in Rodgers’ downfall may be necessary to entice managers of the calibre of Jürgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelotti to Anfield. Andy Hunter

2) Arsenal flip from impotence to excellence again

Arsenal have scored 10 goals in a week, in the process thrashing two top-five teams to go second in the table while also (hang on …) losing woefully 3-2 at home to Olympiakos and all-but going out of the Champions League at the first hurdle. Louis van Gaal, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Anthony Martial: we’ve got this covered. But put a team in front them with a 35-year-old half-speed Esteban Cambiasso and a striker who looked overwhelmed at West 

Brom and Arsenal played like frightened kittens. There are some reasons you might offer as to why they were so much better against United. Petr Cech was back for David Ospina and produced the game’s outstanding save as opposed to the game’s outstanding howler.Manchester United were weirdly subdued, failing, for example, to press the obvious advantage Martial had over Per Mertesacker one on one. Plus Arsenal always look better with Aaron Ramsey in the starting XI, if only for the bite and energy. Really though, the suspicion is that Arsenal’s ability to be sublime and utterly limp with more or less the same personnel goes back to the uniquely fixed-gear nature of this team. Against United Arsenal’s goals were the goals of a team whose component parts are thrumming together in perfect synchronicity, goals that require three, four, five players to make exactly the right decision. Teams however are funny things. They will not always function like this. At times, as against Olympiakos, it might help to win other ways, to win disappointingly, without grace or style or rhythm. In their defence it is worth remembering Arsenal are essentially just a first XI right now, with no real depth to change the way the team play, no Danny Welbeck for some muscle and speed or Jack Wilshere for midfield drive. But they have a run now of eight winnable league matches that opens up the chance of another of those surges before they play Manchester City just before Christmas. The evidence of the bad days seems conclusive enough. Arsenal do not look like Premier League title winners. And yet in between – tantalisingly – on days like these, they really do. Barney Ronay

3) Saints savour deadly duo

It was perhaps inevitable that Ronald Koeman would be asked about Sadio Mané after Southampton’s 3-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday and if the superb display the 23-year-old delivered had increased the likelihood of him becoming the next player to leave St Mary’s for a more high-profile club. “You know in our situation that kind of player, if they play like today there will come a lot of interest,” replied Koeman in the manner of someone resigned to the inevitable. Privately, however, the Southampton manager may be pleased that the focus on Mané has turned many eyes away from Graziano Pellè, who was also excellent at Stamford Bridge. The Italian led the visitors front line fantastically, pinning back Gary Cahill at will, keeping possession when required and, most notably, scoring Southampton’s third goal with a crisp strike. That goal was also Pellè’s seventh of the season and having got 16 during the last campaign, his first for Southampton, there is little doubt this is player who has well and truly adjusted to life in the Premier League. The task for Southampton is to now keep hold of him and Mané, with the pair shaping up to be the most dynamic and deadly strike partnership in the country.Sachin Nakrani

4) De Bruyne can be Sterling’s inspiration

Midfielder

Kevin De Bruyne

Appearances

4

Goals

3

Shots

12

Shots on target

50%

Offsides

0

Raheem Sterling was taken off at half-time of Manchester City’s 6-1 rout ofNewcastle United on Saturday. At that stage the score was 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium and Sterling was struggling. The 20-year-old said afterwards he had a back problem, so this was why Jesús Navas replaced him. While Sterling added he should be fine for England’s upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers, he is currently out of form. From 1-1 City went on to score five more, the same tally the outstanding Sergio Agüero registered. This was hardly due just to the introduction of Navas, though he did create Kevin De Bruyne’s swoosh of a volleyed finish on 53 minutes. Yet before being taken off Sterling had been running into trouble, mis-controlling possession, and passing to no one. His finishing also continues to be an issue. De Bruyne looks the finished article that Sterling is yet to be. There are three and a half years between them and De Bruyne has elevated his game since an unsuccessful spell at Chelsea, so the Belgian can, and should, offer inspiration to Sterling. Jamie Jackson

5) Sunderland’s stock is slipping

When Reading’s Steve Clarke was asked about speculation linking him to the Sunderland vacancy created by Dick Advocaat’s resignation he dismissed it in jocular fashion. “My wife would kill me,” he said, suggesting that life at the Championship club is more attractive than taking charge of a struggling Premier League side who command at least 40,000 for every home game and would regularly fill their stadium to near 50,000 capacity were mid-table consistency to be achieved. Now either the north-south divide really is becoming a very big problem in England or have Sunderland turned into such a poisoned chalice only desperate men would consider taking charge at the Stadium of Light? After all stints on Wearside hardly enhanced the reputations of Steve Bruce, Martin O’Neill, Paolo Di Canio and Gus Poyet. Louise Taylor