Ever since Chamakh signed for Arsenal there has been a question, how will the Moroccan play with Van Persie in the same team. Arsene has in the past mentioned that he will look at various options including a change in formation, something that many fans have been demanding.

Intriguingly enough, we saw Van Persie in a deeper role against Wigan in the Carling Cup.

I'm finding it a bit difficult to make up my mind for this game. I can see Arsenal scoring three goals and I can also imagine us conceding three or four. Goes without saying that anything in between also seems quite possible. We could get a tight win, an exciting draw, or another in the string of bad losses against United.

Rafa Benitez is a very good manager. He's won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, La Liga, FA Cup, and probably a number of other less significant titles. If my memory serves me right the Spaniard also had the upper hand in his battles with the Dark Lord of Anti-Football when the Portuguese was at Chelsea.

We are mere weeks away from the January transfer window and without doubt, a few of the league's managers will be champing at the bit to get some business done to save both their jobs and the club's aspirations or in some cases, reputation. Among these managers is, unsurprisingly, Roy Hodgson.

Although much criticised this season, Hodgson is adamant that he is not fearful of getting the sack.

Samir Nasri take a bow. Whaddaplaya!

I normally don't go hyper over one player after a game but this match belongs to Nasri. More on this in the course of the write-up.

Top of the League. And a goal that deserves to be first. I almost had three heart attacks in this game but I'm loving it!

Arsenal must break this habit of losing two in a row. I realize that it doesn't happen all the time but we've seen successive losses far too often for any fan's liking. This time however, I do feel we should be able to bust the trend on Saturday.

Stoke. What can one say about the Potters? I fell asleep thinking about their game and then woke up with a start due to a nightmare in which another Arsenal player had been Shawcrossed or perhaps more generally, Stoked/Pulised; couldn't see the details as it was a hazy vision and thank God for that!

A few days back, during the course of some random web surfing, I came across a quote by former US president John F. Kennedy. It took a few moments to sink in but since then I haven't stopped admiring the wisdom captured in just a few words. Moreover, it's extremely relevant in the context of Arsenal FC.

While the postponement of the Stoke fixture has led to a rather boring week for fans, I feel it could just turn out to be the lucky break Arsenal needed.

In terms of personnel, Arsenal will probably have the best team available for the big one against Chelsea. I've not checked the details but it could be the first time in a long while that a full strength Gunners side will meet one of the rivals.

If you didn't understand Arsene Wenger's faith in this team, watch this game again and again.

If you didn't believe the earlier games between the sides were close and the first goal made a big difference, watch this game again.

I don't want to get too excited over one win. That's not in my nature.

It has been confirmed Liverpool paid a £5 million signing on fee to sign Joe Cole on a free transfer during the summer, a big percentage of which went to his agent.
And this is in addition to his reported £90,000 wages. Fans have not yet seen the best of the England international but he could be a bargain if he hits top form.

I used to like Fulham till last year. They were a decent side and played better than many other teams around them in the table. Hodgson was a good manager and tactically he knew how to trouble Arsenal.

Now it's impossible for me like them. And that is down to one man – Mark Hughes, who in my book falls in the same category as Pulis, Brown, et al.

When I was growing up we used to joke that the Indian Cricket team always provided the audience with value for money in terms of thrills and chills. In those days the Indian cricketers had the ability to turn the easiest of wins into nail-biting encounters. Seems to me, Wenger has been inspired by that lot.

I haven't had the chance to look at the United game again or to even study the chalkboards and there is plenty of chat on the internet about that, most of which is just zero-value noise, so I thought it's best to leave that game aside for a day or two. I do want to discuss how Manchester United have a much better organized collective defensive system (best in the League if not the best in the world) but it'll take some work.

With the Premier League serving up another heap of dull results that tell us nothing about the state of this fairly open league, there isn't a great deal to talk about in terms of title contenders and top four predictions that hasn't already been said.

An area of English football that is worthy of discussion however is the ever changing faces of the top flights managers, particularly in light of the recent shock sackings of Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton.

With the Premier League serving up another heap of dull results that tell us nothing about the state of this fairly open league, there isn't a great deal to talk about in terms of title contenders and top four predictions that hasn't already been said.

An area of English football that is worthy of discussion however is the ever changing faces of the top flights managers, particularly in light of the recent shock sackings of Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton.

I often find Player interviews on ATVO offer something interesting. An insight into a player's psyche, thoughts on the spirit within the dressing room, opinions on various issues, or even some personal tidbits; there is something in these that we don't get from regular media coverage. And after listening to his last few interviews, Wojciech Szczesny is fast becoming one of my favourite players.

Liverpool have reportedly set their transfer sights on Spanish international winger Santi Cazorla.
The 26-year-old Villarreal midfielder has made an impressive start to the season with the La Liga outfit, and now Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen to bring the player to Anfield in a bid to strengthen his attacking options.

Football365 | All The News | Football News | LAMPARD BOOST FOR STRUGGLING BLUESFrank Lampard looks set to start Chelsea's crunch Barclays Premier League game against Manchester United after coming through a practice match unscathed.England midfielder Lampard completed what was a 60-minute game at the club's Cobham training ground on Thursday, which involved players from the reserve and youth

I don't think anyone will argue against the fact that Arsenal are defensively weak down their left flank. And as far as mindless criticism goes, it's hardly surprising that Clichy has taken over from the goalkeepers.

Having watched the game again and after looking at the facts there is no doubt the game against United was quite close and could have gone either way.

The other day I read this article about Wilshere that had a few quotes. A couple of lines stood out.

You never get ahead of yourself, you just can't. Take the boss, for example. He won't say too much but he's never completely pleased.

Even if you've had a good game he'll always say, ‘You could have done this better'.

Our gift to you... all the Boxing Day team news in one convenient blog post package. After the jump. Young doubtful for Spurs clash - Yahoo! Eurosport: Ashley Young remains a doubt for Aston Villa's Barclays Premier League clash against Tottenham at Villa Park on Boxing Day... Neither he nor Luke Young (groin) have trained with the team this week so remain touch and go.

Arsenal can go up. Arsenal can go flat. Arsenal can go down. It's that time of the season and the League table is set up nicely. Come April and May we won't have five teams so close to each other at the top. One or two of the top teams are now going to push on, some will carry on with a stop-start season, and one or two will lag behind.

Arsene Wenger has come out and unequivocally stated that he doesn't see any room for January signings. I'm sure many fans are unhappy with this proclamation by Le Boss. If we make a sum total of the players Arsenal need to sign, based on various opinions on the internet, we need a GK, CB, LB, RB, DM, AM (to replace Fabregas because he is surely going!

David Beckham has insisted he will not be joining Everton on loan this winter and who can blame him. This was supposed to be the season Everton really pushed for the top 4, something which was heavily advocated in the summer by Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. But as other teams have improved, Everton seem to have gone backwards.

Liverpool have re-ignited their interest in former France international striker David Trezeguet but face competition from Inter Milan, according to reports.
Trezeguet's agent has admitted he has been approached by the reigning Italian champions but has insisted his client is happy to stay with current club Hercules of Spain.

The Premiership, probably at the moment, is the most open league for anyone to win since its introduction in 1992. The emergence of teams like Bolton and Sunderland is making them competitors worthy of testing the best in the league. The league in my mind has stretched across a different range altogether, watching a resurgent Newcastle United side under Chris Hughton and a spirited Blackpool side under Ian Holloway, who in their own way have silenced critics that wrote them off even before the season kicked off.

Newcastle's former manager Chris Hughton has tonight issued a statement through the League Manager's Association. Chris Hughton former Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton said tonight: "We have built on last season's momentum following promotion back up to the Barclays Premier League and have produced some excellent results to see us sitting midway in the [.

Liverpool's stand-in strikers shrugged off the absence of Fernando Torres to secure a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa and make it an unhappy return to Anfield for former Reds manager Gerard Houllier.
With Torres given the night off to be with his wife Olalla, who had gone into labour with their second child, David Ngog and Ryan Babel ensured he was not unduly missed with first-half goals.

One of Manchester United's Barclays Premier League pseudo rivals has parted ways with their manager, which should reaffirm the supporters they are very fortunate to have Sir Alex Ferguson as their boss.

Somewhat shockingly, Newcastle United's Chris Hughton became the second manager in England's top-flight to fall victim of the pressures to win-at-all-costs mentality that is bestowed on them unrealistic, off-base businessman owners.

All of last season and even at the end of the summer transfer window I was one of the few who maintained that Arsenal didn't need a new Keeper. Almost halfway through the season many fans have come to accept this while some still go on about a Keeper signing with complete disregard to facts and what actually happens on the pitch.

Roy Hodgson expects to see Fernando Torres back firing on all cylinders for Liverpool at St James' Park today.
The Spanish striker missed Monday's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa to attend the birth of his son.
However, the manager revealed Torres has looked sharp in training at Melwood in recent days and is desperate to add to his five-goal haul against Newcastle.

With all the reports about unrest within the Manchester City dressing room, what has almost been lost has been the teams performance recently. After beating West Ham 3-1 today, City moved into second place in the Barclays Premier League.

City were without the suspended Carlos Tevez's, but they still have David Silva who was brilliant again today.

With all the reports about unrest within the Manchester City dressing room, what has almost been lost has been the teams performance recently. After beating West Ham 3-1 today, City moved into second place in the Barclays Premier League.

City were without the suspended Carlos Tevez's, but they still have David Silva who was brilliant again today.

LONDON. England — Manchester City moved up to second place in the Premier League on Saturday with a 3-1 victory at West Ham as Newcastle beat Liverpool by the same score to get new manager Alan Pardew's reign off to a dream start. Strikes from Yaya Toure, Adam Johnson and a Robert Green own goal [.

Barclays Premier League game between Newcastle United 3-1 Liverpool held on December 11, 2010.

See the full highlights:

Barclays Premier League game between Tottenham and Chelsea held on December 12, 2010.

See the full highlights:

What a boring game of football.

Manchester United came with a functional defensive approach. Not a surprise there at all, it's something that's worked for them in the past and did so again. So one might safely say their's was an intelligent result oriented approach.

Arsenal clearly made some tactical changes but didn't get the balance right.

Fox Sports Media Group today announced that it has renewed its exclusive media rights in the United States and Caribbean to the UEFA Champions League for three additional seasons from 2012/13 through 2014/15.

The agreement with UEFA ensures comprehensive coverage of the tournament on multiple Fox properties including Fox Sports, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Deportes, Fox Sports Net (FSN) and FX, as well as online video streaming service FoxSoccer.

LOS ANGELES, Cal. FOX Sports Media Group today announced that it has renewed its exclusive media rights in the United States and Caribbean to the UEFA Champions League, the world's most prestigious annual club soccer competition, for three additional seasons from 2012/13 through 2014/15. The agreement with UEFA the governing body of soccer [.

The upcoming transfer window is so vitally important for clubs to bring in the right players that will change the fortunes of the club, whether that be for the final push towards winning the league such as in Chelsea's case or if it means to avoid relegation just like supporters of West Ham United, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers will be hoping.