Michael Oliver, a good referee, and why it's time to call time on the time-wasters.

Ten things from the weekend...

1.Clock end. Plenty of angst and column inches about time-wasting but how to stop it? Officials are understandably minded to give seemingly stricken players the benefit of the doubt, stopping the game so they can receive attention. But players are patently using it tactically, disrupting the opponents’ flow and also running down the clock as seen at the Etihad on Sunday. In rugby union, the game goes on around a player receiving attention. The two sports are different, and football moves more quickly over more of the field, but it could be worth trialling. Or just allowing referees like Michael Oliver to apply their years of experience and let play go on. That tends to focus the minds of those not really injured.

Michael Oliver. Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Karma certainly underpinned Arsenal conceding a goal in time added on for time-wasting. An outbreak of cramp seemed a problem, and David Raya, probably the man of the match with Gabriel, seemed so emotional at collecting the ball from a Manchester City cross that he decided to celebrate by spending time with it. Arsenal are hardly alone in their time-wasting. Other teams do the same when facing superior opponents or down to 10 as Arsenal were. The “dark arts” debate runs along tribal lines, as much in football, but City themselves have engaged in tactical fouls under Pep Guardiola.

Arsenal weren’t “dirty”, as depicted. They were cynical. Oliver, one of the Premier League’s few elite referees, could see what Arsenal were up to. Referees talk, and Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, is known for such “dark arts”. So Oliver probably saw it coming. He added on seven minutes, a fair number given the bookings, subs and Arsenal time-wasting by the likes of Declan Rice. During the seven extra minutes, Jurrien Timber went down and was replaced, Gabriel was booked for delaying a corner, so Oliver had every right to add further time during which Arsenal switched off at a corner and John Stones equalised. And he had every right to tell City to play on while an Arsenal player recovered from cramp.

2.Carroll on song. Andy Carroll played nine times for England, including at Euro 2012, went for £50m in transfers, played in Europe and scored in an FA Cup final. At 35, Carroll now turns out in the fourth tier of French football and it is one of the greatest things the Geordie’s ever done. He’s playing for Bordeaux, the club once graced by Giresse and Tigana, who were dropped two divisions for financial mismanagement, lost most of their players and now have a motley crew of lads and dads in their famous old colours. Carroll scored with a volley and header as they recovered to draw 2-2 with Voltigeurs de Chateaubriant, who sound like a steak cooked on an electric hub but hail from a region famous for the stone menhirs beloved by Obelix. Anyway, fair play to Carroll for carrying on playing, and bring goals and hope to a club trying to revive former glories.

3. Keeper plays for keeps? Caoimhin Kelleher showed against Bournemouth why he would start for most clubs. Standing in for the injured Alisson, the Liverpool understudy made three exceptional saves and was sound in his distribution. Alisson will doubtless return when he overcomes a slight muscular issue, is still at the top of his game, and is only 31. Liverpool have already started succession planning with the outstanding Georgian, Giorgi Mamardashvili, arriving next year. So where does that leave Kelleher? It’s sad, because Liverpool are a great club, but the 25-year-old probably does need to leave.

4.Jump stop. Lisandro Martinez’s ferocious appetite to win back possession has made him adored by Manchester United fans concerned over their side becoming soft. But his two-footed leap into a tackle with Daichi Kamada was dangerous. He had both feet off the ground, couldn’t have been in control and was applying excessive force. PGMOL deemed it only a yellow because he “made no contact with Kamada”. But Vincent Kompany was dismissed for flying into a challenge but making no contact with Nani in the Manchester Derby in 2012. You don’t want to see players sent off, but also you don’t want to see players stretchered off.

5. Jackson heights. Nicolas Jackson was rightly praised for his two goals and assist for Chelsea against West Ham. But it was also the intelligence behind that assist. As Cole Palmer hared past to his left, Jackson took the ball right, taking Max Kilman away from Palmer, making it impossible for the defender to get back at Palmer when he then received the pass from Jackson. Palmer then had the time and space to score.

6.When does holding become “sustained holding”. It’s like when does bread become toast? Is there a specific moment? Perhaps Howard Webb will explain on his next “Mic’d Up” show why Wesley Fofana’s clear holding of Crysencio Summerville at the London Stadium was “not sustained holding”. The Chelsea defender pulled the West Ham attacker off-balance, and somehow the officials didn’t award a penalty. It was as bemusing as Spurs keeper Vicario not being penalised for handling outside his area. Maybe it was “not sustained handling”.

7.Tyler more. Not since Charlie George was at Southampton have the club had a player so associated with socks rolled down. Tyler Dibling looks a throwback not only with his fashion sense but with the freedom with which he plays. The teenager’s goal against Ipswich Town was a gem, showing his fearlessness and two-footedness, and helped by a great pass from Adam Lallana. A lovely moment for the Saints academy, too. If any ref tells him to pull his socks up, Dibling can point to his work ethic.

8.Hale End the beginning. More academy praise. Fulham owe a debt of gratitude to Arsenal’s development centre at Hale End. Emile Smith Rowe (AFC academy 2010-18) got Fulham’s second from an Alex Iwobi (2004-15) assist before Reiss Nelson (2008-17) struck their third. Former Gunners on target.

9.Royals in trouble. The extraordinary events at Reading become even more complex by the day with more and more claims being made about the unpopular owner Dai Yongge. At the very least, the EFL and FA need to look into allegations of Chinese state involvement in English clubs at a time when it was believed Chinese interest had waned.

10.Consistency over delaying restarts. Final word on reffing (for now). Jeremy Doku also kicked the ball away at the Etihad, triggering plenty of whataboutery from Arsenal following Leandro Trossard’s deserved second yellow. Plenty of nonsense flowed online about Michael Oliver being too soft on City when the reality is he’s human, and humans make mistakes, and he also failed to allow Kyle Walker to get back into position after summoning City’s captain to the middle. But Arsenal were right to be frustrated over Doku’s escape: the laws need to be applied consistently.