Beren

Didn't realise we play these lot again for the return leg fairly soon! Hopefully Tiote will be back and they'll still be shite-ish.

Recoba's goal was great. The drama was great. Materazzi was a twat

They'll avoid FA action for crowding the lino, no doubt.

Would definitely start with Obertan and HBA out wide. There's a lot of joy to be had from width in midfield against a naturally very narrow Chelsea side. Sammy would be a fantastic impact sub too (when Ivanovic/Bosingwa/Cole) begin to tire.

C'mon Swansea and Citeh! [/bit early]

Aston Villa? Nee chance!

That'd be one congested motherfucking midfield man. They have no great width in midfield. Mainly up top. Think it's important we use the space out there. Obertan needs to play IMO.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15905086.stm Still on course for Europe? Smiling away. I almost feel sorry for their fans.

9 goals in 12 games (League) is astounding goalscoring form.

42 points off Mata, Adebayor, Ba and Ben Arfa mainly. Decision to buck the trend and captain HBA over RVP worked. Everyone in my league has RVP as captain

Full time. Arsenal gain no more points on us, this day. Bit too cheeky of Wenger to try and rest Gervinho and get away with it.

not really happy about Man City either, their fans have just turned into clones of the Man U ones Yeah, but it's like a two-party political stranglehold. You need to switch them over every now and again, even though they're both pretty shite. Wouldn't mind seeing Man Utd fan suffers for about four years in Man City's shadow. Then they can switch back over. Maybe a bit longer than four years, actually.

Forgot Ba's first-time volley and Raylor's woeful left-footed scuff when going through our first half chances. Singling out a single alleged refereeing decision as costing them in a previous season is stupid too. As if there weren't at least five or six that gained his side points this season. Implying the lino ought never to get a game again as well. Classless as surrounding the ref. So glad they're in the shadows of their rivals. Hope they twat them again at Eastlands.

The first (and not just because I like animals).

Got 10 Arse-Fulham draw, will put ten on Arsenal win once the odds break evens

3 in the league, don't know about CC.

What did Mike say?

Fuck you, Lawro!

You forgot the 'vs', too! I don't make the formatting rules - I just enforce them.

Should have renamed it 'The Battle for Fourth'

Annoying-asfucking-ly.

Krul 9 - Fantastic. Kicking still dodgy, and didn't command aerially like he has previously. Both of these are clearly overshadowed by his bread and butter -- shot-stopping. MOTM Simpson 8 - Way to prove what they're missing, man. Often beaten on their left wing, but kept at it and showed some good composure and experience when others lost their heads. And, of course, -that- goal line clearance. Top marks. Good form lately. Saylor 7.5 - Warrior in the box, a little rash on a couple of occasions. Needs to work on his concentration. Colo 8 - Raylor 5 - I might be being generous here because I quite like him. Justifiably targeted. Jonas 6 - Really disappointed. Froze on the big stage. Appreciate the commitment, but really poor on the ball. Cabaye 7 - Solid, great first half, got stuck in second. Guthrie 7 - Much the same as Cabaye, hope he can work on his fitness. Great squad player to have. Obertan 7 - Good running first half, and one particularly outrageous pass, but didn't capitalise as well as he could have done. Definitely growing though. Winning me over, slowly. Ben Arfa 7.5 - A mixed bag performance again, and I can see it from both sides. Looks like we've found a new player to divide opinions. Great creativity, won a penalty, kept Man Utd on the backfoot at times. Decision-making at times not fantastic. Goes for the final ball a little early in some instances when he should be using players around him to help us advance the ball up the field. Almost a jarring imbalance on the team at times. Interesting talking points from him, as ever! Ba 7.5 - Good penalty, mixed bag of hustle - but it was tough up top alone and he did well. Some headers (even early on) he seemed to compete for only in gesture. Similar to Obertan. Not sure how well he works with Ben Arfa off him, and you could see some heat/tension between them. FINAL THOUGHT Delighted the penalty was dubious (well, let's face it wrong). The gall of their players/fans though. They have Nani, Evra, Young and Hernandez diving left, right and centre. Each could compete for a spot in the top 20 divers in the league ffs. Then you have their thugs and the ref-crowding. Twats. Oh, and Rooney trying to hack Colo to death. Wanker. Suck it, bitches.

Not much more to say on this point, really. Being strong enough to make a change we need before it costs us more points is a strength Pardew doesn't seem to have.

Agree. Ba was a sulky fuck today, like

Just play Sammy left wing man. I actually thought we played better last week at city. We did. Controversial (perhaps?) but I thought we started the second half completely gutlessly. We were brave and defending like lions at the end, mind you.