7 Truths: Rooney, Zlatan and the Ghost of Steven Gerrard

It’s easy to say Wayne Rooney was the problem that precipitated Manchester United’s stodgy and slow start to the season. Especially after they won 4-1 against Leicester, the reigning champions, with him starting on the bench. In reality, he was only part of it. A big part, admittedly, but he should still not shoulder the full burden of responsibility. Indeed, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has also been a complication because he shares a crucial flaw with Rooney: a lack of pace.

This, presumably, is why manager Jose Mourinho opted to play Rooney up front on his own in the EFL Cup against Northampton in midweek, as he realised United’s attacks were too one-dimensional and wanted to see if the 30-year-old could still lead the line well enough. It is probably also why the club captain had been dropping deeper and deeper into midfield in previous games as he desperately tried to make an impact.

Without any genuine speed, neither forward is able to pose a problem with runs in behind opposition defences, so the inclusion of Marcus Rashford has become a necessity in recent games. United can get by with one talented yet slow forward acting as a pivot for others, but there is not room for two. And with Zlatan having performed this role brilliantly for his whole career, and showing signs that he will carry on doing so, the future for Rooney does indeed look bleak.

Leicester seemed to fall apart at Old Trafford. As soon as the second goal went in, their focus disappeared, they leaked two more goals before half-time and they knew the game was up. As if to confirm that his side had given in, manager Claudio Ranieri withdrew Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy – the two outstanding players for the Foxes last season – at the break.

It is incredible how quickly the champions' winning formula has been unravelled this season. They have already lost three games in the league and conceded 11 goals.

Much of the problem is letting in sloppy efforts, like they did against Jose Mourinho's men. Last term, however, they had the third meanest defence in the league - only a goal behind only Tottenham and United - and built their counter-attacking strategy on it: don't concede, keep the game tight, hit the opposition on the break with searing pace.

The problem is, if they lose goals early, having to chase the game is not their strength. So it's starting to look like a dodgy defence in more ways than one...

Manchester City won their 10th match of the season, against Swansea, to keep their 100 per cent win record alive, and after the match one big factor in their success so far became abundantly clear. Despite winning 3-1 with goals from Sergio Aguero (2) and Raheem Sterling, manager Pep Guardiola was still not happy. "We didn’t create a lot of clear chances – we created a lot of ‘almost’ chances but our final pass wasn’t good enough today," the City manager lamented.

The Spaniard could easily have smiled and batted away questions, happy in the knowledge that his team sits top of the table by four points. But to criticise his team publicly after what, in the end, was a straightforward victory, reveals a lot.

This mentality, this relentless pursuit of perfection is clearly a big factor driving City forwards - and setting opponents a daunting benchmark in attacking excellence. Guardiola will not be resting on his laurels, that is for certain, which means City, incredibly, could get even better.

Not only did Jurgen Klopp buy smartly over the summer, he’s also greatly improved the options that Liverpool already had in forward positions. Sadio Mane - a purchase from Southampton - scored against Hull while Adam Lallana, showing a sharp improvement under the manager, also notched his fourth goal of the season for club and country.

Add to the mix Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi and all of a sudden Liverpool, who have plundered 16 goals this season, have a menacing look to them.

For a side that so long relied on Steven Gerrard for his goals and creativity in the final third, they finally have several good options going forward. And they don’t even need him for the penalties any more – with James Milner (4) and the departed Christian Benteke (1) scoring all of the attempts from the spot since his departure.

Before arriving at Chelsea, Antonio Conte, would you believe, had reputation for building secure, solid defences as the foundation for his successful teams. He did it with Juventus on the way to three consecutive Serie A titles, and again with Italy as his country exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. But on Saturday the 47-year-old watched as his defence was torn apart time and again by Arsenal at the Emirates after he was forced to play David Luiz and Gary Cahill as his centre-back pairing in the absence of John Terry.

However, an injury to his captain should not disguise the fact that Conte is in the midst of a problem of his own making. He should not have to rely on a 35-year-old veteran to marshal his defence. In fact, he clearly knew his ageing rearguard was a problem over the summer as he looked for reinforcements.

Yet instead of bringing in a no-nonsense defender he could rely on, Luiz – the man once dismissed as a 'Playstation footballer' by Gary Neville – was bought back from Paris Saint-Germain for £32 million. The plan might well be to switch to a 3-5-2 formation, something Conte used brilliantly in his past two roles, when Terry is back.

But in the mean time his back four is haemorrhaging goals. Chelsea have conceded nine in the last four games, and Conte is running out of excuses.

There were concerns last season that Tottenham had become over-reliant on Harry Kane. The England striker was consistently excellent as he fired his club to third before heading to Euro 2016. But his run of 71 league matches in a row for Mauricio Pochettino’s side came to an end ahead of the match against Middlesbrough on Saturday, leaving a huge hole to fill.

Fortunately, Son Heung-min stepped up to notch a brace and continue his fine start to the season. And although Vincent Janssen, a summer recruit from AZ Alkmaar, did not get on the scoresheet, the form of the remainder of the Spurs squad – particularly Christian Eriksen and Son – looks good enough to maintain a decent return of goals in the absence of their star striker.

Everton had a brilliant start to the season, picking up 13 out of a possible 15 points in their first five league games. The expectation was growing, fans were already whispering about a possible European place, and Ronald Koeman looked to have completely turned around the side after replacing Roberto Martinez.

But then they got beaten at Bournemouth.

It will have come as a shock to many, but a closer inspection of the Toffees' results shows that they haven't truly been tested so far this season. Wins against West Brom, Stoke, Sunderland and Middlesbrough would be expected by most top-half teams and their only match against superior opposition – Tottenham – ended in a draw.

That's not to say they are not on an upward curve – clearly they seem to be harder to beat, with more purpose going forward under Koeman. But with matches against Crystal Palace, who will be buoyed by three successive league wins, and leaders Manchester City in their next two games, the true test of their improvement is yet to come.