What a big win, and a big loss! Conceding the goal in that manner added another chapter to the special Arsenal edition of 101 Extraordinary Ways To Concede A Goal. While the remarkable comeback in extremely trying circumstances completely countered the impact of that goal in the short term, the injury to Mertesacker will make the future games all the more challenging.

The big win over Blackburn was immensely enjoyable and has lifted the mood in the Gooner camp to a great extent after an eminently forgettable January. A lot has already been said about the match and I don't want to revisit it in detail but there were two goals in that game that caught my eye.

Both the goals started from the back but were scored in a markedly different manner, each a delight in its own way.

Well, we kind of had an idea that Arsenal were playing well but not getting the results. It was a matter of details according to Arteta, Wenger, and others. It all came good in this one as Blackburn were the hapless victims of a rampant Arsenal side.

Chance conversion was another issue which was put to bed, at least temporarily, with 7 out of 8 shot on target registering on the scoreboard.

All the talk was about the thrilling 3-3 draw between Chelsea and Manchester United. The Red Devils' powers of recovery were once again apparent when they had looked down and out following a four-minute blitz by Chelsea.
Everyone remarked that only Manchester United is capable of coming back and clinching a draw from the jaws of defeat.

Arsenal have travelled from one disastrous pitch to another this week losing two centre-backs in the process, albeit to entirely different injuries and are now back at the scene of that inspirational win last Saturday that has been washed away from most Gooner minds by the midweek mayhem in Milan.

To say the Gunners were woeful in defence against Milan will be an understatement. It was a shocking performance. The 8-2 debacle at United earlier in the season didn't occur completely by accident either and we can be fairly certain this isn't the last time Wenger's side have crumbled defensively.

Given the way Arsenal were playing in recent games, Spurs were always going to score a couple of goals. The first half-hour or so was ominously miserable for the Gunners but the script had a twist! To be fair and honest, the best I expected was a 2-2 draw but Wenger and his players have put me over the moon.

Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the resilience of his Manchester United team after admitting they had been second best to Norwich for large parts of their 2-1 victory at Carrow Road, where Ryan Giggs netted a stoppage-time winner on his 900th appearance.
After falling behind to a close-range header from Paul Scholes on seven minutes, the Canaries rallied and forced David de Gea into a string of fine saves.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is extremely impressed with Swansea City's home record and suggests that the toughness of the Welsh outfit at Liberty Stadium should ensure survival in the Barclays Premier League.

Following last night's 1-1 draw with the Blues, the Swans are now nine points clear of the relegation zone with a little over a third of the season left to go.

Chelsea continue to hemorrhage money after announcing a loss of £67.7million for the financial year ending June 30, 2011.

That is only a slight drop decrease from the loss of £70.9million in 2010, as Chelsea struggles to fall in line with UEFA's new financial fair play rules.

Since Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea, the blues have now lost a combined £620million.

In the preview I wrote, "there will be goals in this game for sure". I don't know how, but both sides managed to keep the ball out of their opponents' nets when scoring would have seemed like the easier option. Arsenal had a lot of chances, very good ones. And they missed them all.

Twitter went mad after the game, as it usually does after a disappointing result I guess.

Chelsea-Manchester United is live on Fox at 7:30 a.m. A preview is here. The "game before the game" marks the second live Barclays Premier League game in two weeks on Fox. On Jan. 22, Fox drew 1.3 million viewers nationwide for Arsenal's 1-2 loss to Manchester United, making it the

Clearly, every game is a very tough one for Arsenal on current form. Will the team get its first League win of 2012? Doesn't seem like it if we look at the manner in which Arsenal have dropped points in recent games, or the way Blackburn came from behind to win at home earlier this season, or the fact that Steve Kean is yet to lose against Wenger or Ferguson in the Premiership (2W, 2D)!

Why Fernando Frequently Fails to Fire - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Useless. Flop. Goddamn waste of money. Adjectives are not too hard to come by when Fernando Torres is the topic of discussion. Few footballers have fallen as far and as fast as the former Liverpool hit man has in the past 2 seasons.

El Manchester United borró una diferencia de 0-3 para lograr hoy un dramático empate a tres goles, todo como visitante del Chelsea en partido de la jornada 24 de la liga inglesa de fútbol. El puntero Manchester City aventaja solo por dos puntos a los red devils.

Los futbolistas del cuarto lugar de la clasificación de la Premier League el millonario Chelsea, abrieron el marcador por autogol del norirlandés Jonny Evans, cuando el reloj marcaba el minuto 36.

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- Five Years Ago Today: The "China Brawl"
- On This Day in Football: February 7.

After nine matches away, El Pistolero was back in the Liverpool line up. The Uruguayan had been watching in the stands as the mighty Reds gained excellent results against Manchester City and Manchester United without him. Suarez came on as a substitute and could not inspire Liverpool against a weakened Spurs team.

We have seen how Liverpool suffered this season without any pace and creativity from midfield. Dalglish's preferred midfield foursome of Downing, Adam, Gerrard and Lucas will pass the ball to death but neither is comfortable to run with the ball.
Against teams that park the bus, especially teams that come to Anfield, the lack of unpredictability in the Liverpool play has caused the mighty Reds dearly.

Barclays Premier League

Saturday 11th February 3pm

Sunderland AFC v Arsenal

Founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers AFC, Sunderland joined the Football League in 1890 and went on to win the League the following season.

A trip to Goodison Park is just the tonic needed following our recent troubles, namely a bizarre, referee-induced three-goal collapse at home against Manchester United.

Wait, what? We rarely win at Everton? Shit.

Mean muggin'

We have actually won at Goodison this season, a 2-1 victory in extra time in the League Cup.

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- On This Day in Football: February 14: QPR Crush Spurs Away.

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- On This Day in Football: February 14: QPR Crush Spurs Away.

Lille playmaker Eden Hazard has admitted that in addition to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal remain one of his desired destinations in the Barclays Premier League.

Former Gunner Emmanuel Petit, however, does not think the Belgian alone can make a difference at the Emirates.

Hazard, one of the most highly coveted players in the world at the moment, has made it clear that playing English football next season is a high priority for him.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech wants his teammates to revive their deteriorating campaign by winning at home to Birmingham City in the FA Cup tomorrow a feat that he realizes won't be easy to accomplish.

Birmingham suffered relegation last year but the Championship outfit has managed to become somewhat of a cup specialist, claiming the Carling Cup at Arsenal's expense at Wembley 12 months ago and now looking to send another London club packing out of the FA Cup.

Sunderland midfielder James McClean has been called into Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland squad for the friendly at Lansdowne Road on 29 February.
McClean tweeted after hearing the news of his international call-up: "Absolutely buzzin and honoured to be called up to represent my country.

Arsenal FC's out-of-favour attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin is on the radar of his former club Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian club's officials have confirmed.

Coach Arsene Wenger signed Arshavin from his hometown club in January 2009 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £15 million.

Arsenal FC's out-of-favour attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin is on the radar of his former club Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian club's officials have confirmed.

Coach Arsene Wenger signed Arshavin from his hometown club in January 2009 for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £15 million.

Rafael Benitez's agent has reiterated his desire to return to work in England but stressed there had been no contact from Chelsea.

There have been several reports today that Chelsea had approached Benitez with a view to him replacing Andre Villas-Boas at Stamford Bridge. But Manuel Garcia Quilon told journalists that Chelsea had not been in touch.

We're still trudging through Mordor aren't we? Gary Cahill takes over as Frodo on this day, as he welcomes his former employer to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

We kind of need a win here. Yeah, we definitely need a win here.

What to say? We've been shit for some time now, and it really doesn't look like getting better soon.

Tottenham's latest visit to the Emirates has to potential to be an uplifting and revitalizing game but it can also, just as easily, pile on the pressure.

Wenger can pick a strong side for this one as the players have had a week to recover from the previous fixture. Koscielny and Gibbs will be given fitness tests and I have a feeling both will get into the starting line-up even if they're on the edge.

It was a sure thing that the millions of Pounds pumped into Manchester City would play a huge role in their attempt to challenge for the Premier League title, but no one could have predicted how successful they would be in such little time.

With the arrival of Roberto Mancini came big money signings, Champions League football and an FA Cup ; all in the space of two years.

In this interview given just before the game with Tottenham H Freddie spoke at the launch of the Barclays Global Fans Survey – a survey by Barclays to find out the views of Barclays Premier League fans around the world. The interview appeared in the New Paper, Singapore. It is transcribed by Guo Sheng, to [.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny has hailed skipper Robin van Persie as the best player in the Barclays Premier League, explaining that the Gunners have gotten used to the Dutchman netting multiple goals in almost every match.

Van Persie's goal in the 5-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur may have been the best, and also the most important goal in the match, but Szczesny joked that it was surprising to see the league's leading scorer score only once for a change.

Ducky's Note: The following is a Guest post contributed by Ray on behalf of Wonga – the payday loans alternative. Take a look at their Facebook page for a competition to win season tickets as well as their fantasy football league.

Both Arsenal and Chelsea have seen a dip in form lately and both are a full 17 points behind league leaders Manchester City.