1 Team In London

After reading this news, I went straight down to my local bookmakers and lumped a large amount of money on Arsenal winning the league. Reports from the Metro report that the north London club are ready to splash out on striker Diego Costa, who has scored 19 La Liga goals in 18 games. Here’s why I am so excited about the signing, despite the Atletico Madrid forward supposedly commanding a fee of up to £32m.

Think of the Chelsea backline and your mind will instantly flicker to John Terry who is the heart of the club. Alongside the stalwart this season has been Gary Cahill, who has been brilliant for the majority of it, and David Luiz who has played a bit-part cameo under Jose Mourinho. For me, though, there is one man who is the future of the Stamford Bridge outfit’s backline, and that’s Kurt Zouma.

Jose Mourinho is a man who knows what he’s doing. The Portuguese coach has won two Champions League trophies, five league titles and a host of other accolades, both as gaffer and individually. Like I said, he knows what he’s doing. However, I once won League Two with Havant and Waterlooville on Championship Manager in 2002 so I am here to give him my expert advice. After reading reports that Chelsea could be looking to sign Fredy Guarin from Inter, I would suggest to the bosses that they should forget about him and go in for this chap.

The Chelsea side is currently crammed with creative talent who can sit behind the striker. Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Frank Lampard, Kevin de Bruyne and Marco van Ginkel can all rotate in the attacking midfield areas, but there is one man who I would suggest is perfectly designed for the Blues side. That man is Hoffenheim’s Roberto Fermino.

We are quickly approaching the end of the year and with it comes the start of silly season. It’s as if names go into one hat, clubs go into another and the press pick them out and match them up at will in terms of transfer news. Sami Khedira is a name that keeps popping up and the Mirror are suggesting that he’s a target for either Manchester United or Arsenal, but here are three reasons why I think the Gunners should forget about it.

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen Chelsea have a few blips at the back. First they conceded three goals at Sunderland but were able to run out 4-3 winners, and then a matter of days later they lost  3-2 away at Stoke which is unlike any team that Jose Mourinho has ever managed – the Portuguese boss is renowned for his tight, counter-attacking football.

With Bacary Sagna’s Arsenal future looking uncertain, reports have naturally started appearing about who Arsene Wenger may potentially replace the right-back with. One man whose name has popped up – in an exclusive report from Sports Direct News – is Bayern Munich’s Rafinha, who has played in 13 of the Bavarian’s 14 Bundesliga games this season.

So, after all the talk of where Thomas Vermaelen was going to end up in January, it seems as though he will be staying put at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has told Sky Sports that the Belgium international is suffering from lack of playing time but is yet to see him above a move away from the club. For me, Wenger has struck it lucky, as the centre-back is surely one of the best ‘back up’ defenders in the entire Premier League.