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| photo by Chris Makarsky | via PhotoRee |
It was jarring to see Mikel Arteta in an Arsenal shirt on Saturday. It's always strange the first time you see a player identified so strongly with one club suddenly wearing another team's kit. Likewise Niklas Bendtner at Sunderland -- although it was refreshing to see he's still useless, no matter which shirt he wears -- and maybe a little bit less so, Peter Crouch at Stoke.
o Fernando Torres didn't look very happy sitting on the Chelsea bench Saturday. Nor did Florent Malouda. I wonder what the atmosphere is like inside that locker room.... My sense is that it's probably closer to Manchester City's than it is to Manchester United's. At the latter, it's expected that you're going to spend some time on the bench -- that is, unless your name is Wayne Rooney or Nemanja Vidic. At the former, however, all of the players who signed there were originally lured in under the pretense that they'd not only be starting, they'd be leading the 'revolution.' It's a massive difference in mindset.
o Arsenal may have won Saturday, but they continued to look completely impotent in front of goal this season. No matter what personnel Arsene tries, his boys can't seem to find the back of the net. That is, unless the opposition goalie throws his clearance right at the feet of the closest defender, allowing the ball to settle nicely in front of Andrei Arshavin with the goal begging. If that's what it takes for Arsenal to score, though, it's going to be a very long season indeed at the Emirates.
o Liverpool found out on Saturday just how tough the away trip to Stoke is. I read somewhere on Twitter that the last three English champions (United, Chelsea, United) all won their away games at Stoke, but needed goals post the 80-minute mark to do so. I guess Liverpool won't be joining that club, but that'll only be a real surprise to their most ardent supporters.
