Mwenza.....The reason why our Midfielders are scoring more goals than the strikers is because of the formation used not the strikers conversion rate. From last season Arsenal have been playing with one striker at the front because of the injury situation at the club....4-5-1 is the most diffcult formation for a forward player.

Chamakh is a very good player but only as a second striker and same goes for Bendtner. The only players we need at the moment are Fabregas, Van Persie, Walcott & Vermaelen...right now we seem to be using the subs more than the first team players.

The Birmingham game will not be tough, as for Man City they are not there yet. I know they beat Chelsea but to me these two teams play the same kind of football the only difference is that the blues have very good defensive players.

@mwenza...got that. Just thought you were throwing a jibe at arsenal.

@smano...Agreed. My fears for arsenal are definately amplified by this De Jong fellow after "Ben Arfa suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula of his left leg in a challenge by Nigel de Jong in Sunday's 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Manchester City" ...even before we forget his world cup.

I applaude the Dutch Coach for dropping De Jong...i agree with the coach it was an unnecessary tackle. Thats what the EPL is all about nowadays, tackles and physical ability...skill is no longer important.

Did anyone see the Essien tackle on Diaby...i was so convinced he would be out for at least six weeks. His ankle twisted really badly!

Totally agree with @Njunge'e and @TAZ...The Dutch Coach deserves a pat on the back. Even as Mancini remains rather quiet on it. Shame on him. And the referee didnt as much as give a foul for it. Shame on him too.

While football is a contact sport it is not a war.

Now that the international break is over...lets swing back to the EPL.

Again Man-u 'seem' to have an easy home tie with West brom. Three points in the bag if one Rooney decides to wake-up. But after the arsenal suffering at the hands of West Brom...SAF should not send out that Owen-macheda-bebe-chicarito forward line-up!

Arsenal also welcome another 'physical' team - Birmingham. With Cesc, Bendtner expected to return. On the back of the De Jong tackle, the referee may not want to let the game get physical. Arsenal may well pick up the points.

Chelsea travel to Aston Villa. A side they thrashed 7-1, 3-0 last term. But also lost 2-1 same fixture last term and were also held to a 4-4 draw the previous term. Villa will have agbonlahor and heskey to terrorise the chelsea defence. Chelsea are hoping alex and terry recover from their injuries. If they dont then the defence will be in for a battering. Chelsea nonetheless should take the points.

And ofcourse the liverpool fans will hope their derby with everton doesnt reflect their takeover fiasco. Hard to see liverpool taking all the points from this one.