Pride of London

4 Goals in the one game, fair play to Edin Dzeko... I thought he was pure cack last season but that was some performance. Looking at that we could do with a couple of signings all right, but Mata looks every bit as good as any of those new boys! These last two performances surely must show Modric that Spurs are going nowhere but down, hopefully he's allowed off the sinking ship to safety.

Hat trick for Dzeko. City look pretty good

I can imagine Roman sending the players near the ends of their contracts to a "Daiye Spa".... "Sheik Mansour ...baaad" "Martial Arts good" "Obey my Dog" etc. Wolves are looking like an improved outfit this time around wouldn't be a bad place to send one of the youngsters on loan if we were that way inclined.

I feel like Mugatu in Zoolander, how can the media not see that they have only one "look"... I hear Magnum will blow us all away though.

Brilliant for the League of Ireland, and of course a chance for your local boys to injure a few spurs lads and cause a few upsets in that group! Never thought as a Corkman, I'd have reason to cheer on Rovers, but now there is sure!

If we want to want to with the Champions League apparently we have to play to the style Uefa want. Firstly, tippy tappy nonsense, Secondly, just keep passing, Thirdly, when that doesn't work dive. It's the perfect formula for stylish play, rule 3 prevents players from getting touched due to ultra soft refereeing. Would I be very wrong in saying that Barcelona are like Arsenal only they've the money to keep the players they discover , and the academy to ensure they churn players who play a style to Uefa's liking. Maybe it's just that I'm mad, Maybe it's too many Birthday pints, but I think if the FA invested into recreating the youth system the Spanish and German league has, and allowed the big clubs have B, C and D clubs in the lower divisons there would be a bigger talent pool, and all of it would be consistently playing. Of Course it's utterly sh*te that B, C and D teams exist and they basically destroy the lower leagues, but Uefa don't care about that, they only care about their tippy tappy, flashy football and not about hard graft, tough tackles or anything else that make it a beautiful game.

I'd take him back in a heartbeat, great player on his day!

We've got one of the best midfielders from one of the best teams in one of the best leagues in the world, and he's only going to get better. The Mata purchase is ideal, Sneijder is at the height of his powers and though he'd be an immediate stopgap for any number of woes, he's not the ultimate solution. We've gone down the route of buying in players at their peak or beyond it with Ballack and Deco, both of whom were paid top wages and were criticized for lack of effort in some sphere, however wrongly. The point is, without spunking a ton of cash like city we've gotten easily one of the best buys of the summer and a proven performer. If even one of the younger lads turns into a world class talent this was a highly successful window for rebuilding the team. Sneijder is some player, a marque name and having him would immediately raise us up a level, but that comes at a cost. The more difficult route and the model I'd prefer us to follow is to buy players before they peak, or as raw talents and mould them into the plan the club wants to build arround, it's ultimately less of a risk than parachuting in a player and trying to build a team around them.

If he goes he'll face the Titan's of Europe... if he stays it's the Giants of the mighty Shamrock Rovers and PAOK that await. A tough call if ever there was one!

He also gave Irish team Shamrock Rovers their dues for qualifying for the Europa league. So he's in my good books ( as good books go for Arsenal players) ie. don't entirely hate the man. Agree in a sense with what Wilshere is saying, he should get more game time but Mata's natural position isn't the same as Josh's

It's one of those birth deformities GB, we don't like to draw attention to it ... shush!

Ah leave the Faroe's alone, they have enough trouble with Brian Kerr as their manager!

Maybe AVB is having problems with one of our current squad members adapting to the new formation and thinks Pereira will be a better fit or is overall better than whoever he would be replacing. That is if this story has any truth in it at all and doesn't come from the pick a random Porto player school of journalism

Tom Cruise would call him a tasty prospect so.

Exact opposite of my guess, Quit f**king Talking... I'm clearly not half as hip as I think!

The problem with Frankie Boyle and the likes of Family Guy, is that what the media purports to be "shocking, cutting edge" humour is only really offensive to people who by and large won't take an interest in the show in the first place. If something were really shocking it would challenge it's target audience's pre-conceptions not simply pander to them. I also think that after a situation like this is resolved in a good way these sort of jokes are far less emotive. Black humour like Blackadder is much more poignant anyway and will be remembered a lot longer for making the people who watch it experience emotions as opposed to targeting the Moral PC brigade, or Tories, or whatever group or race as objects to insult, you'll gain column inches, maybe notoriety, but when that all simmers down does the humour stand up?

GK: Hilario DEF: Ivanovic, Alex, JT, Cole MF: Ramires, McEachran, Lampard FWD: Mata, Torres , Malouda. I've Mata playing RW as I've heard he can play both wings and he would add extra attacking threat from the right side as Ivanovic is far stronger defensively than Bosingwa but he isn't as good attacking.

I think the fact we got Mata might be the reason the Modric deal is off after all. He mentioned making an offer for him, and now he's saying it's too late to get a replacement for Modric if he does go. We clearly snapped up Spurs plan B so their less willing to sell their plan A. To be honest in most places a good player is a good player anyway and it's pointless paying over the odds for Modric, when Moutinho or some other talent could fill the gap. I only thought Modric was good last season, didn't really rate him before. If he doesn't come lets see how he does with a Spurs side that looks much more brittle than in the last few years and if he performs well get him at a knock down price.

Brilliant news to hear, very happy that this has all turned out well! Amazing that he kept a cool head through all this, fair play to him.

I don't know though, maybe it'll make Redknapp change his tune because he is vital to the squad. I don't know what result will make the Modric move more likely to happen, but that's the one I want to happen!

I reckon if Harry suggests that they'll start him against Hearts it's a definite stroke to try and squeeze a better offer out of us.

Haha, at the very least he's consistent. Haha, if I were an Arsenal fan I'd be tearing my hair out .

To be fair rock and older heavy metal is my scene so I wouldn't take my word on r and b and rap as definitive by any means !

You aren't the only one that nearly feels sympathy for Arsene. He did great things for that football club but whether it's his own strict adherence to the tippy tippy game and creating their own talent , or it's orders from above not to spend it's looking like a shambles. To be honest Sunderland looked far more threatening all game against Liverpool. I always like to see the other top sides drawing when they play each other, it's sweeter seeing both teams drop points in my opinion! It would be some miracle for him to get a result when they play United. You'd have to wonder who they could get to replace him, like Ferguson and United the club's identity is defined as much by their manager as the other way around.