What we learnt from Saturday

Referees are not scared of Old Trafford:


Yesterday at Old Trafford something out of the ordinary happened; a harsh penalty was given against Manchester United. A shocking decision by the officiating staff for Rio Ferdinand's well timed tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa showed that the officials maybe are not scared of Old Trafford anymore. Ridiculous decisions and unnecessary amounts of injury time have almost become a trademark for United, and we always see one Fergie-favoured incident every year, normally in crucial games. Yesterday though showed that referees have maybe have lost the fear that's ever present at the 'Theatre of Dreams', either that or Fergie has stopped paying them before the game, one or the other.


Steve Bruce's blood pressure is not the only thing he has to worry about:


With the Sunderland managers face getting redder by the week most likely due to his growing blood pressure, the 'Bruce Out' banners at the Stadium of Light yesterday will not do wonders for his health situation. Wes Brown's comical error to allow Franco Di Santo to grab a late winner could have sent Bruce straight into A&E, but it also showed the Sunderland faithful that their team really are struggling. Things maybe looking good in the other part of Tyneside but its certainly different at the Stadium of Light as Steve Bruce is now fighting for his job and Sunderland are fighting for a place in the top half of the table.

Steven N'Zonzi likes to use his elbows:


Ryan Shawcross and Glen Whelan were both on the end of an elbow from the towering midfielder, and both were in the space of 3 minutes. Surely the FA will crack down on the clear use of violence by N'Zonzi, and this a long with the rest of the problems building up on Steve Kean is spelling more worrying times for Blackburn, as they fight for Premier League survival but now find themselves bottom of the table and really struggling for results. In the next couple of weeks we can expect to see a lot more 'Kean Out' banners, and more and more pressure on the Scotsman.

Mata and Sturridge are Chelsea's best players:


The English and Spanish forwards have been the two shining lights in an otherwise dismal downturn of form from Chelsea, and they have to be AVB's two most important players from now on as they both shined againts Wolves. The fact that Torres and Drogba are considered more than Sturridge for the central striker role is almost offensive, and without the Spanish flair and skill Mata gives them, Chelsea will struggle to create goals and succeed this season in all competitions.

Arsenal need more squad depth:


With Robin Van Persie in certain ways carrying the team, the need for rotation in the Arsenal squad became so much more evident yesterday against Fulham. With Song, Walcott and Ramsey also all carrying the Arsenal midfield, the lack of adequate replacements must play on Arsene Wengers mind. The decision to rotate Arshavin for Gervinho showed just how poor Arsenal's squad is getting and how heavy there reliance is on just 11 players. Arshavin's lazy and laidback performance against Fulham however could be a wake up call for Arsenal to give the talented Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain more of a chance.

And finally, the promoted teams are half decent:


Were used to newly promoted teams rooted to the bottom of the table at Christmas with half a point, but now QPR, Norwich and Swansea all seem capable of easily staying up. The 2-1 win for Norwich against QPR was in a way lucky but both teams showed their qualities, and i'm certain both Norwich and QPR will still be playing at the top level next season, as will Swansea.