Arsenal and Barca in for Southampton's Alex Chamberlain

Arsenal and Barcelona will lock horns once again, this time off the pitch as they battle to sign Southampton's hot prospect Alex Chamberlain.

The England U21 international has made a big impact in the south coast and has been likened to his predecessor Theo Walcott. Chamberlain also made his Southampton debut aged just 16 and has the pace and technique to cope in the Premier League

This week saw Barcelona president Sandro Rosell accuse Arsene Wenger's policy on 'stealing' talented youngsters from smaller clubs but Mr Wenger defended himself by pointing to the fact the Barcelona have been doing the same thing for many years, take Lionel Messi for example.

My question is, which club do you think would be best for Alex Chamberlain to join, in order to fulfill his full potential?

Chelsea vs Man Utd Highlights

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Extended Highlights

Birmingham city Oba the moon!

 

A comedic defensive error by Laurent Kolscielny meant that Obafemi Martins had an easy tap in to prolong Arsenals 5 year quest to win a trophy. As you can see in this highlight the french international, who had a torrid time dealing with Zigic all game, makes Titus Bramble look like Allesandro Nesta. 

szólj hozzá: Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham

Arsenal looked poor throughout the game however the half chances they were able to create were stifled by the excellent Ben Foster. Once again Arsenal were unable to live with the physical presence of a Birmingham side who fully deserved this victory.

In an entertaining encounter Birmingham were able to contain the favourites and if it were not for a moment of inspiration by the technically gifted Van Persie then Birmingham would have had a half time lead.

An obvious penalty and sending off for Arsenal keeper Szczesny was denied early on by a ridiculous offside decision. Zigic had a clear opportunity to make it 2-0 but his toe poke was saved by the Arsenal keeper.

With two minutes left Ben Foster hoofed a free kick up the field and what seemed to be an easy clearance for Kolscielny turned into a laughable fresh air kick, which inturn meant that Martins had the easiest tasks of putting the ball into the empty net, O dear!

Before the match all the talk was about how many more trophy's Arsenal can win this season, however, the question now is, Do Arsenal have the resilience to win any trophies at all this year? Vote now.

Goals of the Week

Are Barcelona the Greatest team ever?

Quite simply yes, Barcelona are by far the greatest team the world has ever seen. The fact that Arsenal fans were chanting this about their own team on Wednesday night is almost laughable because yes, Barcelona are more than a club, they are the equivalent of diarrhea, fluid, deadly and hard to contain.

  As a neutral you almost take pity on the opposition, it's like watching a cheatah chase after a baby gazelle, you want the gazelle to get away and survive but the cheatah is the fastest animal on earth, it has little to no chance. 

Granted they are not unbeatable and credit is due to Hercules and Arsenal for managing victories over the Catalans this season but as everyone knows those gazelle's were fortunate that the cheatah stumbled on a rock or something on those particular occasions.

If anyone has seen Barcelona live this season they'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Their build up play is slow, they entice the opposition and lull them into a false sense of security before BANG, before you know Xavi has made an incredible pass to Dani Alvez, he passes it into the box and Messi or Villa is there to tap the ball home.

Here are highlights from last night's game that proves my point exactly

All this proves that British clubs are wasting vasts sums of money on the transfer market. The path to developing a great team isn't by spending £35 million on some lanky horse looking type player, its spending £35 million pound on a youth development system that gives talented youngsters a chance to progress in the world of professional football.

Real Madrid Vs Levante highlights

Real Madrid continued their persuit of table toppers Barcelona but the real question is...

Cheik Tiote, Featured Midfielder of the Week

Newcastle United's Cheik Tiote is quickly establishing himself as one of the best Central Midfielders in the Premier League. From his humble roots growing up in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, Tiote only received his first pair of football boots at the age of 15. He joined his local football club Bibo and as they say the rest is history.

Chris Houghton snapped up the Ivory Coast International from Dutch team FC Twente for what is a snippet  £3.5 million pounds. His debut could not of gone any better as the Magpies achieved an away win at Everton with Tiote completing all of his 64 passes and not conceding possession at all

His style and technique on and off the ball is a breath of fresh air to the Premier League. Alan Pardew has compared him with Essien and personally I would say that Tiote is a much better player with the ball, he is as stubborn with his dictatorship of the game as Hosni Mubarak was with Egypt.

He is an enigma, without the ball he is rugged and he is the most booked player in the Premier league. Who could forget his infamous tackle on Elano in the world cup which left the Brazilian crocked. On the ball he is as elegant as the dance of mating swans, his turns are as sharp as the moods of females and his left foot isn't bad either.

He is Human and he does have his weaknesses. Against Blackburn his self confidence backfired when he tried to dribble his way outside his own area and gave away possesion, which lead to a goal and a defeat for the Toon Army. That surely was a learning curve for the young man and perhaps it is inevitable that he will pick up many bookings because of the position he plays, but he has been instrumental in Newcastle relative succes this season and he could prove to be one of the buys of the season.

Passing: 8/10
Shooting: 7/10
Tackling: 7/10
Composure: 9/10
Intelligence: 8/10
Centre Midfield Grade: B+ 

For a modeste bloke he does have an incredibly large head. Put your funny comments that could go in the thought bubble, in the comment section below. Don't forget to click follow.

adiPURE IV TRX SG

A modern take on the classic 'Copa Mundials' the Adidas adiPURE's have a certain 'je ne sais quois' and inturn  this gives them a unique personality. This particular model looks rather suave with the red highlights on the blades and throughout the threading.

What it has in style it lacks in comfort. When I wore them they reminded me of the painful memories I have when I tried to wear Mecurial Vapours, any slight knock on the toe felt like someone was chiziling away at my foot with a hack saw.

The adiPURE's are the lightest Adidas boots of their generation, yet that is my main concern with them. I feel that they offer very little protection, ok they do allow you to have a better feel for the ball because of the super soft padding and Adidas claim that they take less water uptake than ever but they just don't feel right.

They are worn by the likes of Kaka, Frank Lampard and Xabi Alonso and bearing in mind that 2 of those 3 are having below par seasons and have been injured for a considerable amount of time doesn't bode well for promotion of these boots. If these boots were a movie they'd be any sequel you could name, they'll never be as good as the original classic, 'Copa Mundials'

RRP: £119.99
Style: 9/10
Comfort: 3/10
Passing: 6/10
Shooting: 7/10
Centre Midfield Grade: D

Nike CTR360 Maestri II FG

 

 With a degree of reluctance these boots have now become my favourite. It has front-foot dampening pads that provide outstanding first-touch ball control, a soft TPU receiving pad with 3D raised fins which helps reduce the ball’s bounce, creating a backspin effect for fast, accurate passing.

But aside from all that technical jargon these boots provide a sense of self confidence. Even if you have a touch of a partially sighted butcher then these boots honestly can help you out. They do not disappoint and they are perfect if you are the sort of midfielder who loves a short pass. 

Unlike the Predators however they do not evoke that same nostalgia nor do they look particularly impressive, these boots are for the primitive footballer who prefers practicality over style.

Again I cannot stress it enough, If you play for the Dog and Duck FC buy the cheaper version because they will not make you play like Cesc Fabregas as their adverts suggest.

RRP: £130.00

Style: 4/10

Comfort: 7/10

Passing: 9/10

Shooting: 6/10

Centre Midfield Grade: B+

Review: Adidas Predator X

 The Adidas predator represents everything that a technologically advanced football boot can be and for me it carries with it a high degree nostalgia. I still remember wearing my first pair as a 10 year old thinking that it would disguise my footballing inadequacies and make me hit the ball as precisely as David Beckham.

I'll admit when I bought the boots the other day it still gave me that same feeling as I had when I was younger and I imagined myself hitting that perfect free kick straight into the top corner.

 The reality though was a little different, I don't think I've ever been in so much pain.

Due to its 'Powerspine Technology' that allows greater shot power makes the experience of wearing the boot excruciating. Granted it actually did allow me to hit the ball harder but unless you have feet the width of paper and or you are a masochist then do not buy these boots.

If however you are a football romantic, don't mind a little initial discomfort until the boot moulds to the shape of your foot and you have £149 to spare then by all means buy these boots. They look fantastic and personally it gave me the confidence to attempt every difficult pass. Whether that is a good or bad thing is down to the footballer inside them, if you couldn't pass a parcel then don't bother purchasing them, play barefoot, it's more comfortable.

RRP: £149.99

Style: 9/10

Comfort: 2/10

Passing: 8/10

Shooting: 9/10

Curling: 10/10

Centre Midfield Grade: B-