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

(1) Zinchenko must balance risk and reward

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s mixed bag of a performance showed the full-back’s qualities in attack but once more highlighted his defensive deficiencies.

While Zinchenko was instrumental in the brilliant team goal scored by Martin Ødegaard that gave Arsenal a 2-0 lead over Wolves, a series of errors culminated with him giving the ball away cheaply to allow Matheus Cunha’s late strike that threatened what could have been a comfortable victory for the league leaders.

While Mikel Arteta brushed aside concerns about the 26-year-old, he did admit that “in those areas it’s a big no to play, especially after certain things in the previous phase”.

With Kieran Tierney reportedly to be sold in January, Zinchenko appears to be vying with the versatile Takehiro Tomiyasu to start at left-back.

Arsenal fans will hope his mistakes do not end up costing them dear. Ed Aarons

(2) Character lacking in Ten Hag’s side

Erik ten Hag has still to choreograph an away league win against a club occupying the division’s top eight places. Tellingly, Manchester United’s last such victory arrived more than two years ago in October 2021.

If only the visitors had demonstrated a fraction of an injury-ravaged Newcastle’s indomitable determination, things might not have been quite so one-sided on a snowy, icy Tyneside.

A game decided by the excellent Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute winner threatened to redefine the term “1-0 thrashing” and it spoke volumes about Manchester United’s lack of character that Ten Hag’s sidekick, Steve McClaren, stood in the tunnel at the final whistle, struggling to shepherd visiting players back on to the pitch to applaud their fans.

With, among several stellar home performances, the