Mr_President

Fuck.you.international.friendlies. If he is even slightly injured he should be rested for Spurs.

Said it a while ago and I'll say it again, he would be great for us. Ignore the fact he is a twat. I bet if he wasn't there wouldn't be half the debate there is now. I haven't seen stories about racism/biting opponents (maybe he has done this but I haven't noticed...) so he is nothing we cannot tolerate as fans, especially if he brings goals/victories. As - I think it was - ProudLyon said in a very good post, we don't need a 30+ goal a season striker. We need a guy that can be an 'all round' CF, finish the chances that we do create and bully/harass defenders. Now, from watching the Madrid derby, where he wasn't at his best this season (but still should have had a peno or two), one can quite easily tell what a royal pain in the arse he will be for defences. This is just what we need, with more dangerous players upfront the defending team's defenders are focused on more people, creating more space for the likes of Hazard to work their magic. And then the question is, if not Costa, who? Falcao is older, injured, owned by cash rich Monaco and has only recently moved. Cavani is the same minus the injury and age. Lewandowski has gone to Bayern. Rooney is staying at United. Do we trust Lukaku to lead the line? I'm sure the club will explore all possible avenues before signing Costa, but it strikes me that he is the best we can get and would be bloody good for us.

Decent result but by god was that a lethargic game. Looked like we were playing in sand.

Hope the travelling Chelsea fans stay safe. Have been to Istanbul for the F1 a few years ago and it's a beautiful city but some of this nonsense from the Gala fans is going way too far. Football should be about football, not which fans can terrorise others etc.

If those comments he made about our strikers are real then I have mixed feelings about it. Pretty harsh criticism which we fans know is true but I hope this spurs our strikers on rather than sinks their confidence etc. At least we know Mourinho recognises the striker position as a considerable issue, so much so that he has made comments like this. Here's to hoping that, along with his other recent comments regarding the same issue, the summer will bring us a capable goal scorer. This team isn't that far off being really strong, just a few final (expensive) ingredients.

Not a good game from us. Delighted with the win, this is a massive 3 points, but it was really not good. Good thing our defence is so tight at the moment, they are keeping us at the top. We need Oscar back to his best.

Actually want United to win this, we wouldn't want Moyses sacked so early.

L plate = learner plate. Jaguar = sports car. Man City = Sports car Chelsea = learner drivers

Hope his injury doesn't turn out to be serious and he's back soon. His partnership with GC will help us drive towards the title.

Pretty sure they have, but Pellegrini did say last decade. Hardly fair to compare our spending vs theirs over a 10 year period considering they were complete nobodies until whenever the sheik rolled up (City were the very definition of mediocrity). So, the 5 years prior to the sheik coming in, of course they hardly spent anything compared to Chelsea; this was just Pellegrini responding to the bait and making a stupid and irrelevant point.

Yeah, I did consider this. ____ I do rate him very highly but to be honest, I just wanted to have a whinge given I had to wake up at 5.30 and saw on twitter people posting about Kompany as if he were Baresi!

Firstly, I should point out that I over-exagerrated 'many' flaws, but this is the unpopular oninion thread. I am just bemused by people picking him for the World XIs etc based on this season so far. I suppose that is my reaction to people building him up to this infallible titan at the back of the City defence. I think he is a defensive liability at times, whilst he has games where he looks imperious at the back (as Luiz does), I think he gets carried away, though not as badly as Luiz. I have watched a lot of him this season and I think he rushes out too much. No doubt, he is probably the most talented CB in the league but I have always been of the opinion that especially for defensive players consistency>talent ceiling. Same reason why I'd be happy to accept any 35m+ offer for Luiz (unless, somehow, Jose could get him to play consistently well @ CB/DM). This is not a Luiz thread so I will stop my digression there. I am judging him by high standards because he is a top player and I see some people putting him in their 'World XIs' which is just wrong based on this season. I am not American and nor do I have the time, so I will not reel off a wave of stats of questionable veracity and utility about tackles or whatever else people use to prove players' credentials. I am just making my observations about how he plays, and he's not all that, in my - granted - unpopular opinion.

Kompany is a very good player but is made to look better by the overall dearth of quality CBs. He is not good enough to be called a 'great' CB and has many flaws to his game.

Spot on, again. The 'mighty' City that everyone has been shitting themselves about .... just out classed (admittedly missing 2 key players).

cahill, hazard, matic, cech, ivan, azpi --- take a bow, beautiful people. Jose, though, just the boss.

Pretty much this but if I wanted to be really picky and 'spoiled' then I would say that I'm still concerned about our CM position.. the much talked about 'pivot' - a word I have come to loathe after reading this site for 3 years or so. I think Matic will be a top player for us in that role, despite some wayward passes in his last couple of games. My concern is with Ramires, who would presumably partner him... He is great for us but IMO is one of the most limited players I have ever watched from a technical point of view. His moment of brilliance at the Camp Nou aside. I just feel that to be a really top team, ie serious CL contenders, we need someone who can dictate the play and control the ball a lot better in the centre of the park. I am in no way advocating the selling of Ramires and he has been fantastic for us in the last few seasons, but certain game situations require a bit more composure on the ball and a little less 'just run your arse off'. Again, I am probably doing Ramires a disservice here because he has a great 'engine' and does a lot of dirty work for the team, but then so do players like Oscar, WIllian and Hazard.. yet they can keep control of the ball a lot better. It is just something that grates me whilst watching Chelsea matches. Not sure if Eto'o will stick around either.

No, he hasn't given up or resigned to City winning it. He's putting all the pressure on them and consequently taking it off himself and the team by saying we effectively shouldn't be winning it this season given the squad we have compared to theirs.

So, it is not entirely unrealistic that he would want to stay in Spain permanently. If that is a possibility, does anyone know how much he would be worth to Valencia? I'm not suggesting we do sell him but, if we did, what could we expect?

Hardly think Bayern are 'Short on CMs', especially given Guardiaola's inclination to play Lahm as a holding midfielder lol. Then they have Martinez, Shweinsteiger and Thiago for orthodox CM positions, whilst somehow fitting in: Robben, Ribery, Gotze, and Lewandowski next year. I think it is fair to say they are not short on CMs given they won't be playing with more than 2 of them. Kroos is too good for the bench and would be welcome here if he is surplus to requirements at Bayern.

Are they short on CMs? Schweinsteiger, Thiago, Gotze (although he's playing a more advanced position), Muller, Javi Martinez... seems like they're stacked.

Kroos-Matic? Would mean the end of Ramires as a definite starter I think, he doesn't have the passing quality of the above two. Can't see us getting this guy though, despite how great it could be. He would be awesome for United though, the kind of player that they need more than Mata IMO.

Going to this one after work, hope we batter them.

Next 14 games for Arsenal: Southampton (a), Palace (h), Liverpool (a), Man United (h), Liverpool (h) FA cup, Bayern (CL) (h), Sunderland (h), Stoke (a), Swansea (h), Bayern (CL) (a), Tottenham (a), Chelsea (a), City (h), Everton (a). Ouchie

It's good. Facing the best teams is always a good test. I think we can do them at the Etihad anyway.

City away. Awesome.