JoshVilla

Fantastic start. Not only did we come back from 1-0 down, but once we settled we looked threatening. There's still issues that need to be sorted out defensively but to keep Arsenal down to 1 goal at the Emirates on the first day is impressive. Guzan MOTM for me but I think Clark actually did rather well when he came on. I thought that 3 points from the first 3 games would be a good start, but now I think we could get more, maybe not from Chelsea but from Liverpool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tITOs-NA_o

Mixed feelings after the first half. Ref is absolutely atrocious. Szczesny should have been off for the penalty, didn't even get a finger to the ball before he took Gabby out. Ridiculous decision to book Luna aswell. I wonder if that's the first time a player has been booked for tackling another player with his b*llocks? I can feel the tension in that stadium from here, and I think it's gonna really kick off IF, and a big IF, Villa grab the next one.

I would've thought that Okore would start, to add a bit of pace in the back 4. Still, that's pretty much the lineup we all expected.

Subs: Steer, Okore, Clark, Bacuna, Helenius, Bowery, Tonev.

I do fancy us to win this. There's a big feeling of confidence/general drive to do well in our players and fans, whereas Arsenal fans are very edgy at the moment due to the lack of signings and injury concerns. I imagine they'll want to play it safe to try not to pick up any more injuries for Wednesday. Arsenal have an entire season to put it right if they lose the first game, but they can't afford to cock it up Wednesday. A win is gonna do a world of good for our confidence, but even if we lose, as long as we give it a real good go and make it difficult for Arsenal, then that'll put us in a good frame of mind. UTV

We came quite close to getting something at the Emirates last season. With Benteke in fine form and some confidence taken from the first half of the Malaga game (shows what we're capable of), it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could nick a point or three from this.

We've got a very, very special player on our hands here. Regardless of what happens to him after this season or whenever, I feel honoured to have had him play at this football club. True class

It's still hard to tell what really happened in the second half. For all we know, they could have been told to take it easy for the last 45 just to try to maintain the lead and make sure we don't pick up any knocks. That said, since it's the last friendly before Arsenal, it probably would make sense to play at least one game at full pace for 90 minutes for preparation, but I guess we'll never know. Plenty of positive though, the first half was an absolute joy to watch and I'd be more than happy if we continued that into next week.

Unlucky, but nevertheless, this looks very encouraging. Hope we continue this into the second half and grab a couple more

That's how we should be taking corners!

That article is lazy, bored journalism at it's finest. There's no quotes or citations to suggest that there's still interest in Benteke, and has about as much credibility as, say, a bloke down the pub saying "well I reckon they'll go back in for him now Bale could be going". On top of the fact that this is obviously b*llocks, Lambert spoke to Benteke and convinced him that staying at Villa would be the best thing for his career, so why would he all of a sudden just change his mind just because Bale has gone and now they have a bit more cash? The title of the article should really just be changed to "We reckon edit: apologies, may be selling Bale

I don't know if I'd say I 'support' other teams in the traditional sense of the word, but there's a few sides that I enjoy watching. I'm at Uni in Chester at the moment, spending a few months at a time up there, so I like to see how Chester FC are doing (they just had a cracker of a season). Other than that, watching Barca & Bayern is always good entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuRKRFjm-HA Luna said he'd keep growing it for us. Maybe in a few years time.......

Nice confidence boost. High scoring, kept a clean sheet, new signings settling well, Luna's beard looking fantastic. Plenty of positives today

Weimann was back long before we expected, so maybe there's a slight chance that Okore and/or Tonev could be back for this. I'd really like to see Okore becoming a solid piece in the back 4. Predicting a win, but I'm not too sure about a clean sheet yet.

For me, just like a couple of other players, his mistakes outweight his good moments. I remember him having a great game against West Ham (although, really, he mainly just did what a defender is supposed to do), but those kind of games are few and far between with him. Small mistakes are fine and only natural, but when they cost us goals, then they really need to be ironed out. Unless he does this soon, then he'll always be a 3rd/4th choice CB for me...

I'm not too worried, we haven't played anything close to what we expect our starting XI to be this season, we're missing some of our most prolific players. I just hope we can get Okore back a.s.a.p so we can try to sort out a decent combination of CBs. I'd like to see Lowton, Vlaar, Okore and Luna to start playing together at the back to work on a good understanding between the 4. That said, it'd be nice to start winning some of these friendlies.

Don't worry folks, 3 minutes of highlights is bound to make everything better again..........

Mid table and a decent cup run would suit me fine. As great as it'd be to see a sudden rise to top 8, I think it'll be a slow process. We already improved last season from the season before so the new signings should keep us rising steadily..

Just got back from holiday at 2 in the morning, checked the BBC site so I could read the article about Lowton renewing and found this also, fantastic news! I know there's nothing to say that he won't leave next summer instead, but it's great to have him here for another season with the potential to boost our asking price for him should he go in 2014. Very much looking forward to the season!

That article is written as though we're trying to sell him. Waiting until the end of the window and then coming in with a cheaper offer as though we've been trying to sell him throughout the summer but failed. Awfully written piece of journalism.

Since we consistently have to put up with all of this b*llocks spewing from London journalists, wouldn't it be hilarious if the Birmingham Mail retaliated. "Spurs offer £25 million plus Gareth Bale in cash + player deal" It'd be fantastic to see how quickly twitter becomes flooded with angry Spurs fans and journalists.

The link to Wiki on a Google search says that he's signed. Seems someone has already eaten up the twitter rumours. I can see this being the same as the Belhanda situation was...really hope this works out though!

Brilliant band. Anyone who likes Math Rock/Prog of the slightly more indie variety should give these a go.