The only place to be

He's in that very special place where he just finishes without thinking about it. Very direct, very hard-working and strong. Needs to cut out the diving but he's performed very well.

Arsenal took Miyaichi to Munich.....turns out he's ineligible. Hence only six subs. Joke of a club.

Recovery time is 6-9 months so he's certainly at the shorter end of the recovery timeline which you'd expect in a young man who has the best facilities at his disposal. How well he does from now is entirely up to his work ethic but generally it's agreed that 12 months is how long it takes people to get back to where they were. But then there are cases where it's sooner and the poster boy for that is Adrian Peterson who was back training in four months and went on to have the second greatest season a running back in the NFL has ever had. At the other end of the scale is Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls who waited 12 months until he was fully healed and psychologically comfortable....then he injured his other knee. There's no rush for him to come back for us. It'd be nice but it's unlikely he's the difference between us winning and losing the title. The big thing for him might be the Dutch World Cup squad. Personally I'd like to see him rehab slowly and be ready for the new season but it's down to him.

The difference between someone like Didier and Zlatan is that I think Didier makes the players around him better, and steps up when it's important. Ibrahimovic for all his qualities has spent ONE season in one of the top two leagues in Europe. Yes he has a fine record in Italy (not including the seasons spent playing for a corrupt old slag) and was top scorer twice....as was Antonio Di Natale, a player who could be mocked by Arsenal fans for his lack of silverware. In his last 5 years, he was deemed unnecessary by Barcelona and sold for the same price as Andre Schurrle, knocked out of the Champions League by Spurs and then went off to Paris where his reputation seems to have grown as he became the biggest kid in the schoolyard. As for his image, I'm talking about that one defining image of him that you put on a poster. What is it? Maybe it's my bias against people who refer to themselves in the third-person but I simply think he's overrated in the pantheon of modern striking greats like Drogba, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Messi, Henry etc.

Mata can have a medal if he wants one, but do people really want to tempt the mockers gods with talk about such menial shit? If we win the title I couldn't give a fuck if a player who is eligible for one gets a medal or not. On another note the goal difference between us and City is down to just 8 goals in their favour. Adds another dimension to the run in.

We could grab a win with Kalas in for JT, Baker in for Matic and Salah in the Hazard. It's just less likely if we do that, and no-one plays percentages quite like Jose. There's no reason to rest Hazard, especially when we have an away-goal advantage over Galatasaray in a competition which is below the league in our priorities. Now is not the time for complacency especially when goal difference might play a part this season and we're just 8 goals behind Man City. I'd be utterly amazed if Hazard didn't start, which leaves two spots up for grabs between Oscar, Schurrle and Willian.

Chelsea haven't played the same style for the last 20 years. When Stein was banging them in he was playing up front with John Spencer. Flo played with Zola, Jimmy played with Eidur, even Kerry Dixon had a partner (off the top of my head Kevin Wilson and his tache) so to say our 'style' doesn't suit strikers is just weird. Over the last decade our most consistent striker has been a midfielder though so that will have an effect, but I honestly don't think there's a gypsy curse on the Stamford Bridge pitch that robs strikers of their ability to score.

Weren't his league titles with Juve struck off because they were corrupt? Tony Yeboah scored great goals. I'm not saying he's not talented but what exactly is the defining image of Zlatan? Is it the towering header and penalty in a CL final like Didier? Is it a header in a CL final like Ronaldo? Or is it four goals in a friendly against an England team that included the likes of Ryan Shawcross and Steven Caulker? Again, I'm not saying he isn't a great player but just that he's become a little overrated in the last couple of years playing in the French league. That would be Messi who has won 3 Champions League titles, scoring in 2 of the finals?

Well Messi and Ronaldo have Champions League medals, Hazard LEFT France because he was too good for it and Aguero....well Aguero probably should be player of the season but he's had a tough season with injuries. I think I'm being harsh on him, but it's all this dare to Zlatan shit that just got me wondering....what does 'dare to Zlatan' actually mean? Put yourself first? Get in fights with teammates? Test yourself at the very highest level possible?

International football isn't exactly the greatest barometer for quality anymore in my opinion. The World Cup is a couple of levels below the Champions League in my opinion. He may well be, but he's rarely sought out the toughest tests in my opinion. He lasted one season in Barcelona before starting shit with Guardiola (not the first time either....he doesn't exactly seem like the type of player you want in a dressing room in the tough times) and spent the rest of his career in Italy (for a corrupt Juve team and a Milan team who were some way past their continental heyday), Holland and France. What they fuck is a guy of his quality doing in La Liga, except for bumping up his career scoring ratio and enhancing his reputation against the likes of Guingamp?

Thierry Henry or Messi surely? Drogba is a better big game player too. I'm not saying Ibrahimovic isn't a great striker, but just that he's slightly overrated when you consider the competitions he's played in. No Champions League medal, one season in Spain which is largely (if unfairly) seen as a bit of a flop and spent the prime of his career in Italy and France.

It all arose because of a story about him having a release clause.

Overrated? Spent one season in a top league, the rest in Italy, Holland and France. Even during his time in Italy he spent half of it with a bent team. Not saying he's a bad player by any means, but what exactly does #daretozlatan actually mean?

The thing about Matic is that he can push forward as well as do his defensive duties. That to me is the modern midfielder, and I'm not entirely sure if Kroos can do that. Maybe we don't need that but it's certainly something to be considered if we're spending this much on a player.

Boro fans seem to like him http://www.fansonline.net/middlesbrough/mb/view.php?id=3934155

Hate to see him go to United but could he actually do what would be required of him in our midfield? We need an engine in that midfield, probably someone in the mould of De Rossi who can put in a shift and find a pass. Van Ginkel has shown flashes of being able to do that and he'll get all summer to rehab that knee and get into shape. Then there's the younger guys like Baker, Chalobah and Loftus-Cheek who are probably a couple of seasons away from being ready (Nat is the closest and I'm always inclined to throw his name in there). Kroos is attractive because he's potentially available, but I'm not entirely convinced he's the right guy for us. Sure Matic can do a lot of the defensive work but he can also roam forward and pick a pass so why not get someone who can do the same to have a dynamic pivot?

Probably moreso away from home where his pace and power would fit our counter-attacking style. It remains to be seen how he does in games where teams defend deeper, although he's got a knack for finding space in crowded penalty areas and taking chances well.

It would cost us more to replace him. It's as simple as that. Draxler would cost £37 million and isn't proven in this league in the slightest.

The difference between us and them is the coach. Pellegrini doesn't change his style according to the players available whereas Mourinho will actually try and cover his team's deficiencies. Anyway I'm sure their fans aren't bothered about losing to Wigan because they show such flair in their other games.

So we sell a player who has the potential to be better than all of these and has experience of the Premier League, and then pay more to replace him. Do the magic beans come with the £40 million?

Oscar can be better than him.

The drop-off from Fernandinho and Toure to anyone else in their squad is vast. Demichelis is a joke too, and even Dzeko is unreliable. They have a great first XI (apart from CB) but beyond that they're shaky. Pellegrini can't make changes without the system suffering.

Great idea....and replace him with who exactly?

You're on your own there mate. Oscar ain't going anywhere and that's good for us because he can go on to become one of the best in the world.

Asier Del NotShaw. /thread.