Chelsea played well and what I admired most was their transition from attack to defence and vice versa. They did this to perfection. When they lost the ball, they were quick to arrange bodies behind it. Anytime anyone of Arsenal’s “dangerous” players had the ball, he was surrounded by three Chelsea players, and everyone else was in position behind the ball. Seriously, without the ball Chelsea always looked like they had at least 30% more players on the pitch. Fantastic defensive organization.

As for our Arsenal, they always start brightly and when it doesn’t yield dividends we get somewhat frustrated. Eduardo isn’t sharp yet, his first touch is treacherous, he waits too long before he dispatches his shots, oh and he is small (not his fault, but sending him balls in the air is pointless).

I keep wondering if Wenger should have used different personnel. Tough one given the personnel. I would have preferred Vela to get more time for his undoubted pace, width and general nuisance factor he presents. I think bringing on Eboue rather than Walcott might have been a better choice as I think Eboue is a smarter/more experienced.

At the start of the season when Arsenal couldn’t stop scoring, they were attempting a lot more shots from outside the box, just inside the box, 12 yards, that sort of thing. No need to revert to looking to walk it into net. e-kicking dedication? That would be nice.

Other than the lack of clinical ruthlessness in front of goal, I don’t actually think Arsenal played that bad and even though I don’t feel they responded intelligently to Chelsea’s organization, they certainly weren’t outplayed. If they were defensively well organized as a unit (and this is where we missed Robin Van Persie, the lad has learnt to defend from the front), this would have been an entertaining 0-0 draw.

Please leave your comments below.

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Sunday transfer rumours never disappoint do they?

The first one that caught my eye today was a rumour that has been doing the rounds for months and months and month. Manchester United are apparently preparing a massive January transfer window bid for Valencia striker David Villa.

The Spanish international has been linked with a move to the Premier League for years now, but for whatever reasons he remains in La Liga. Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be in the market for a new frontman after failing to replace you know who last summer. Villa, 27, in my view would be an outstanding addition, however I must admit I would be surprised if a move were to go through.

Meanwhile, Villa’s fellow countryman Fernando Torres has also been linked with a January move today. The Liverpool striker is reportedly a £50 million target for the world’s richest club Manchester City. Torres, 25, has spent just over two years at Anfield, however there has been a lot of talk recently that the Merseyside club may have to offload their star striker to ease the club’s financial problems.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez claimed last week that he would leave the club if he was forced to sell Torres, so taking that into account, a move to Eastlands looks very unlikely. It would be interesting to see if City made a massive bid, how Liverpool would react.

And finally, Barcelona are keeping tabs on Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe with a view to a possible summer bid. The England international has been in cracking form this season and is currently the Premier League’s top scorer after last week’s five goals against Wigan. Defoe, 27, only returned to White Hart Lane during last January’s transfer window after spending a year at Fratton Park with Portsmouth.

I would be gutted to see Defoe leave England because he without doubt one of the finest strikers in Europe. It would be intriguing to see how Defoe would handle life at the very top at such a massive club like Barca, with all due respect to Tottenham.

Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to leave your comments below.

Well that was impressive to say the least.

No matter who you support, you would have to admit that Chelsea are looking outstanding this season. Today’s 3-0 win over rivals Arsenal epitimised everything good about Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea.

The partnership of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba has got better and better by the week. Many so called experts claimed that the pair simply couldn’t play together, however whatever Ancelotti has done, it really has worked.

Ashley C0le was without doubt my man of the match today. His deliveries for the first two goals today were top drawer. The former Arsenal defender has received a lot of stick over the past few years (for too many below par performances and for cheating on poor Cheryl) but this season he has begun to show us what a fantastic player he is.

I could go on all night but long story short, they have all been great. The majority of bookmakers have Chelsea at 1/2 to win their first Premier League title in four years and if you ask me, that is cracking value.

I’m keen to hear what Arsenal and Manchester United fans, and indeed Chelsea fans, have to say on this one. Should the trophy be handed to John Terry right now? Comments below please.

We are now just over a month away until the January transfer window opens and boy do we have some tasty rumours to get through today.

Firstly, Tottenham have already begun negotiations with Italian giants Inter Milan regarding the possible signing of midfielder Patrick Vieira. The former Arsenal man is desperate to secure a move back to England as soon as possible and it looks as though White Hart Lane may be his destination.

The 33-year old left the Premier League over four years ago after spending nearly a decade with Tottenham’s biggest rivals, Arsenal. This move is bound to cause a stir amongst the Arsenal faithful and indeed the Tottenham faithful, if it does actually go through of course.

There has also been talk that Liverpool may make a move for Vieira, but in my book, that seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, another player who is attracting the interests of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan. The Uruguayan international has previously admitted that a move back to England would be of interest to him after spending two unsuccessful years at Manchester United.

Forlan, 30, was linked with a move to Anfield last summer, however for whatever reasons nothing ever materialised. It is thought that Liverpool will have to bid somewhere near the £15 million mark if they want to get their hands of Forlan but with finances tight at the Merseyside club, that figure may just be a little too steep for them.

It will be fascinating to see how these two rumours pan out over the coming weeks. I’m keen to hear your views on both. Please leave your comments below.

Doesn’t time fly? We are already more than a third of the way through the Premiership season and whilst there is no surprise that Chelsea and Man Utd once again dominate the Premiership table, there have been some shocks so far.

Surely no one could have predicted how poorly Liverpool would perform this season. The bookmakers think there is a good chance that they will fail to even make it into the top four this season, they are around the same odds as Man City to finish in the Champions League places and they seem to have a 50:50 chance at the moment, although you would have to say Spurs are not without a chance as well.

Burnley have shocked many this season, they have obviously looked at Stoke last season, who stayed up because of a great home record, and they have turned Turf Moor into a similar fortress. With some very poor teams in the Premiership this season it is hard to see them going down and the bookies make Portsmouth, Hull and Wolves all more likely to suffer the drop than Burnley.

Normally by this stage in the season there have been several managerial casualties in the Premiership so it was a bit of a surprise it was late November by the time the first head rolled this season. It seemed Paul Hart had turned a corner with Portsmouth and the bookies agreed, they had Phil Brown as favourite to be Next Premiership Manager To Leave when the announcement came that Paul Hart had been relieved of his duties. Expect two or three more sackings before the Premiership season is over.

For more football betting chat visit the Football Betting Forum at OLBG. You can simply chat about your team’s chances at the weekend or debate the best bets. You could even take some winning tips off the more successful football tipsters.

Things don’t look great for Portsmouth, it must be said. Languishing bottom of the Premier League, Pompey have just given Paul Hart the boot and have now appointed Avram Grant, who may or may not be able to turn the club’s recent fortunes around. Looking at their upcoming fixtures, that seems unlikely. But never say never.

Before Paul Hart fades in our memories, let’s have a look at how he might have featured in the Premier League Fantasy Football.

In goal, David James comes in at a respectable 32. In defense, Kaboul, Wilson and Ben Haim together notch up a dreary looking 97. Four across the midfield gives us Boateng, O’Hara, Brown and Yebda. How do they fare? 112. Not great. Will the strikeforce fare any better? Dindane, Piquionne and Smith look terrible on the pitch. But if you look at their statistics… well, they’re terrible on paper as well. 73? Oh dear.

So, Paul Hart’s Blue Boys notch up a total of 314. Not very impressive at all, especially when you consider that I, a truly terrible Fantasy Football manager have 600, almost double Hart’s paltry 314, which leaves him below 2 million spot out of a possible 2.1 million. Oh no! Looks like Avram’s got a difficult job on his hands. You can go to any old sports website and find out if he manages to turn it round in the Premier League. But remember check back for exclusive coverage of Avram Grant’s progress in the Fantasy League.

A lot to get through today, so lets not waste any time.

Firstly, The Daily Star has today reported that Arsenal are preparing a £17 million January transfer window bid for Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The England international, 23, has emerged as one of the Premier League’s finest talents over the past three years  or so and Arsene Wenger now seems ready to test Villa’s resolve with a sizable offer.

Obviously Martin O’Neill will be desperate to hang onto one of his most prized assets, however, I have to admit, I would love to see Agbonlahor in an Arsenal jersey. There is no doubting his ability and personally, I think he has what it takes to play on the biggest stage of all, the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic may be on his way to Spain after it was claimed that he and his way can’t handle the English weather. The Serbian defender has previously been linked with a move to European Champions Barcelona, however the player himself denied that speculation, claiming that he wasn’t leaving Old Trafford anytime soon.

Vidic, 28, had this to say recently : “I want to play here well and for the fans and everyone to be happy with me, to see that I give the right effort, to give my best, to give 100 per cent. What is going to happen in the future, that no one knows.”

It would be a shame to see a player of Vidic’s ability leave the Premier League. I am sure Sir Alex Ferguson will do everything in his power to keep him at the club, however, we’ll have to wait and see what happens on that one. Staying with Manchester United. The current English Champions were beaten 1-0 at home to Besiktas this evening in their Champions League Group B match.

United have already qualified, so it doesn’t really matter, however they still need a point away to Wolfsburg in their last game of the group stage to guarantee top spot. And finally, back to the domestic scene and Everton were tonight beaten 3-2 away to Hull City to leave them languishing in 14th spot in the table with a third of the season already played. Elsewhere in the Premier League, Fulham hammered Blackburn 3-0 at Craven Cottage to climb into the top 10.

Have your say on any of the topics covered above by leaving a comment below.