Of course they had to play with purpose, they were playing at home in front of their disappointed fans after a miserable season not forgetting that they didn't win. Let's wait for their away matches.

The league has just started yet we're already giving predictions on how it will end. The truth is both Chelsea and Man Utd played very weak opponents....the L'pool vs Arsenal game was a fairly contested match..the gunners controlled the first half while fools had the second, but its still too early to comment on the play...Fabregas, Song and Van Persie are yet to play. Transfer's are still open!

Winston...Chamahk has physical and aerial presence. He will not be the replacement...bendtner will be the impact player with Carlos Vela. Don't also forget that Arsenal didn't have a striker at some point last season yet we were the top scorers then.

Like i said earlier right now we can only give our predictions based on club loyalty and how the league ended last season....if we were to analyse each squad then Man City would be the team to watch. At their best they can THRASH any team in the EPL not that they haven't done it before.

@Taz, please note I said that if I was asked to give a prediction now, after the first games, that's what I would put - those factors I listed afterwards will all have a huge impact on how things stand.

I also mentioned that Chelsea gave good displays even if we were not to consider the opposition - we'll have a better picture when they meet each other or any of the big teams.

I don't think Mancini's outfit will have gelled by the end of the season, with or without Balotelli and Milner, their performance against Spurs spoke volumes about lack of co-ordination.

All that said, the marathon has just begun. Come January, most of the wheat will have been separated from the chaff - then we can start making informed predictions (or not! )

Mario Balotelli has joined Man City.

Smano....As an Arsenal fan i would rather we play Man City early in the season because the new players are still unsettled. When Abram. bought Chelsea we all dismissed them.."they can't buy success"...well they did. Man City's bench is stronger than most teams in the EPL.

As for Man Utd...Rooney needs to regain his form this season or else they'll be in the market for a striker come January. Berbatov is one of the most inconsistent player in the EPL. I always compare him to Bendtner....on a good day he can get a hatrick but that's once in a long time.