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

Fulham were meek against Arsenal: they looked timid and small from the opening moments, the surprise entirely minimal when their visitors put the outcome beyond doubt so quickly. Their tilt at Europe is fizzling out although that should not diminish the excellent work Marco Silva has done in ensuring they do not yo-yo down to the Championship yet again. They badly missed the suspended João Palhinha: he has now missed four games in all competitions this season and Fulham have lost all four, conceding 12 times. Fulham played a blinder in landing him from Sporting and their drop-off without him is a reminder that it will take some time for them to amass the depth of quality that will mitigate such absences. On Sunday they lacked and were unable to get any grip in midfield. At least their next four league games are against relegation contenders: if Palhinha returns with the influence he wielded previously, they can still lever themselves back into the top-six conversation. Nick Ames

Match report: Fulham 0-3 Arsenal

It says something about the quality of the Premier League that Crystal Palace are somehow 12th. To some degree the same goes for Manchester City, who look transitional compared with previous iterations but still feel close to champions-in-waiting. There still was one note of A-grade quality here. After the match Pep Guardiola was asked to rank Rodri against the many top-notch holding midfielders he has coached. His response was instant: “The best.” This is high praise indeed (Alonso? Lahm? Mascherano?). But Rodri really is very good at this and he was excellent at Selhurst Park, using the ball cleverly, resisting Palace’s physicality and covering the counter attacks. Right now he is arguably the most