Arsenal

[SantiSuk]

Are you seeing anyone yet for your Ozil obsession, Carmine?

[carmine]

Carmine, are you seeing anyone yet for your obsession with Ozil?

Nah, i just love it the way you bite everytime!!!

[Chicog]

Carmine, are you seeing anyone yet for your obsession with Ozil?

Nah, i just love it the way you bite everytime!!!

It does seem to be a bit of an Ozil lovefest carmine.

Do you have a secret crush on him?

[carmine]

Carmine, are you seeing anyone yet for your obsession with Ozil?

Nah, i just love it the way you bite everytime!!!

It does seem to be a bit of an Ozil lovefest carmine.

Do you have a secret crush on him?

No but i love the 42.5m you spent on him. If you sell him you might have to take a hit for 40m

[Chicog]

Carmine, are you seeing anyone yet for your obsession with Ozil?

Nah, i just love it the way you bite everytime!!!

It does seem to be a bit of an Ozil lovefest carmine.

Do you have a secret crush on him?

No but i love the 42.5m you spent on him. If you sell him you might have to take a hit for 40m

Methink thou doth protest too much.

Admit it, this gives you a semi.

[carmine]

What the hells a picture of naked male torso doing in your photo gallery. And my mind wanders back with dread to that other one on Wenger on the beach in his pink trunks!

[Chicog]

Come to think of it you got quite excited about the Bale one too.

[SantiSuk]

Back to the football!

Ospina

Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny (thank god), Monreal

Ox, Flamini, Ramsey, Cazorla, Sanchez

Giroud

[SantiSuk]

Meant Coquelin, not Flamini.

[SantiSuk]

Great start. No doubt about that as a penalty.

[MrRed]

City have not had a shot yet

[SantiSuk]

City have too much talent on the pitch to be confident we can get something out of the game, but that was the most mature half I've seen Arsenal play for a good long time.

[SantiSuk]

Wayhey.

Good job I'm no betting man!

[Chicog]

Santo edged man of the match from an ever maturing Coquelin for me.

[jellydog]

[mrbojangles]

Congrats

[Chicog]

Congrats

Cheers. T'was a good game.

But I think Marseille are going to fark up my nine way accy.

[carmine]

Credit where credits due. That was a fine performance.

[StevieH]

best i've seen arsenal play in a very long time, particularly away to a big opponent. great win for chelsea mind.

[oldgit]

It was interesting to see an Arsenal team selected to nullify City rather than go toe to toe. This was a group of 'willing runners', ready to close down players all over the pitch and concede most of the possession. Is this the magical Plan B that the studio judges have been going on about?

[Chicog]

In fairness I was chuffed to bits when I realised Toure was off at the Crap of African Nations.

And Marseille won with 10 men.

Results all round!

[Chicog]

I've just found Cazorla's heat map for the game.

[SantiSuk]

Cazorla (was gonna say Santi but could then be accused in bathing in reflected glory!) has actually been pretty d_mn effective for the last 3 or 4 games.

On to Brighton - potential banana skin at the best of times and even more so after a memorable win. Chance for the likes of returnees Walcott and Ozil to show their mettle maybe.

[Chicog]

Santi's got moves....

https://vine.co/v/OjIvah0mFYe

[SantiSuk]

If no other central defender is available at normal prices (is anyone normally priced in January?) then surely Arsene has to suck hard and pay the asking over-price for West Ham's Reid?

Reportedly not worth 8mil but what price a continued top 4 place? About 35 mil isn't it and that's just the hard cash. Can anyone imagine Sanchez desperate to play in Novibabloodycold on Spursday nights?

No doubt everything will be down to last minute who-blinks negotiations on this or any other prospect.

[Chicog]

It seems Paulista is on his way with Campbell going in the other direction on loan.

Medical and Work Permit to be negotiated however.

[SantiSuk]

So none of the top 12 in the Premier League have got through yet and 7 of those are OUT, 2 could only draw (both against lower league opposition) and 3 play tonight.

Proof that the smaller giant-killing teams are getting better? Nah - I smell a rat. No-one cares a toss for the FA Cup these days - it's not where the money is. Shame but there we are in a footballing world the competition has become a financial one

It does say something however about the quality of back up in the top clubs.

Unlike all the other top 6 clubs that have already gone out it is probably Arsenal's last chance of having something to show for the season (discounting the UCL qualification trophyless award). For that reason I don't believe we will fall foul of the same trip wires tonight.

.... famous last words.

[Chicog]

So none of the top 12 in the Premier League have got through yet and 7 of those are OUT, 2 could only draw (both against lower league opposition) and 3 play tonight.

Proof that the smaller giant-killing teams are getting better? Nah - I smell a rat. No-one cares a toss for the FA Cup these days - it's not where the money is. Shame but there we are in a footballing world the competition has become a financial one

It does say something however about the quality of back up in the top clubs.

Unlike all the other top 6 clubs that have already gone out it is probably Arsenal's last chance of having something to show for the season (discounting the UCL qualification trophyless award). For that reason I don't believe we will fall foul of the same trip wires tonight.

.... famous last words.

If it shows anything, it's that the players underestimated the opposition (or in Citeh's case, they shouldn't have come back so late from a pointless midweek Scabby Dhabi jamboree - they looked knackered).

This Chelsea side should have been good enough to annihalate Bradford, and it was also an opportunity to stake a claim in the regular starting XI for some of them. Just arrogance I think.

Chelsea

• 01 Cech
• 31 Christensen
• 05 Zouma
• 24 Cahill
• 28 Azpilicueta
• 07 Ramires
• 08 Oscar
• 12 Mikel (Fàbregas - 70' )
• 17 Salah (Willian - 70' )
• 11 Drogba
• 18 Remy (Hazard - 76' )

Substitutes

• 04 Fàbregas
• 06 Aké
• 10 Hazard
• 13 Courtois
• 22 Willian
• 26 Terry
• 36 Loftus-Cheek

[SantiSuk]

first half hour gone. Brighton don't look the part of giantkillers so far.

Good to see Walcott and Ozil start a game at last.

[Chicog]

Their ground is too big for them I think.