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Southampton pushed Man City all the way at the Etihad Stadium

Alan Curbishley was in the Sky Sports News studio to deliver his verdict on a thrilling opening day of the Premier League season.

"We often say that economic conditions don't affect football because the clubs keep going out and spending the money but in the Euro zone at the moment they are struggling and there are some bargains to be had."
Alan Curbishley Quotes of the week

The former Charlton boss picked out the performances of plucky Southampton and Chelsea's Eden Hazard for particular praise but predicted a tough times for Brendan Rodgers as well as Arsenal in coming weeks.

He also expects plenty more transfer activity with clubs looking to sneak through some bargains from the Eurozone countries before the window slams shut.

Saints alive

"It was a surprise and I think most people thought Man City would just roll Southampton over. It just shows once again the strength of the Premier League because Southampton put up a great effort and caused a load of problems but Man City in the end found a way.

"They may have been a little complacent to start with but they got the result and are up and running."

Unknown Hazard

"When he gets the ball in the final third he comes alive. He has great pace, quick feet and also he is an unknown quantity at the moment so defenders are not too sure how to handle him. He looks like an exciting prospect. I'm not too sure how they are going to fit him in but he is that sort of player who can play in any position."

Striking issue for Chelsea

"The only little worry for Chelsea is the forward line. Apart from Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, who is out at the moment, where is the other striker? They have let Drogba and Anelka go so they may be in line to do a bit of business before the transfer window closes."

Gooner, Gooner, gone

"With Van Persie people can understand that he had one year left on his contract and he was not going to sign a new one so you cash in. But there are more people leaving than coming in. When you see players leaving on a regular basis it is very difficult to for the players that are left there. They start to think, "We are a selling club here".

"The people in charge of Arsenal are not coming out and saying anything. They are leaving it up to Arsene Wenger to take the brick-bats and try to explain what is going on. To the Arsenal fans, they have lost two of their best players once again. I think someone needs to start telling the fans what is actually going on there."

In at the deep-end

"Out of all the managerial changes, I think Brendan Rodgers had the most difficult task this summer. The international players came back late and he has had to play to qualifying games in the Europa League - how much training time has he had to install what he wants.

"Rodgers has not only got to educate the players in what he is trying to do but he also has to educate the fans, so it is going to take a bit of time. It was a poor start for Liverpool and they have a really tough start as well with the next three or four games being tough."

Cashing in on Euro crisis

"The talk is that there are quite a lot of bargains in the Eurozone at the moment because of the financial problems. There are some opportunities out there to take some good players in and there are some bargains to be had.

"We often say that economic conditions don't affect football because the clubs keep going out and spending the money but in the Eurozone at the moment they are struggling and there are some bargains to be had. I think we may see some more players coming in before the window closes."