Arsenal are supposed to be going to Il Duomo this afternoon, so I'll be rushing there soon to see if I can catch them.

Arsenal fans have been out in the top tiers on the South End of the San Siro, and with my ticket in hand, I'm looking forward to game and the atmosphere.

The big team news is that Van Persie is in the squad, but obviously won't be close to starting fitness, expect to see him if we are in desperate need of a goal, an injury situation, a great counter-attacking situation, or if we are winning 6-0 and want to give him a bit of a run out. Hmmmm.

It would have been nice to have Rosicky back for this game, but he's injured (as usual).

Arsenal really need to do well here to give themselves a pick-me-up. They're still top of the league by a point, but the form has been badly patchy. It's like their November has come in February, and it's included the 0-0 from the first leg, 2-2 with Brum, 1-1 with Villa, 0-4 to Man United and the 1-5 Carling Cup debacle with Spurs. Wins are required now, and tonight is the perfect occasion for the boys to show what they're made of.

As for Milan, they have all their players fit, although there's a doubt over Clarence Seedorf. They will be more attacking tonight, giving Arsenal a bit more space perhaps, but also posing a lot more questions for the Gunners' defence, something which they almost entirely failed to do in the first leg.

So that's that then, more updates from after the game, and hopefully some pictures, but keep your fingers crossed!

Well what a Milan Derby it was. AC Milan losing 4-3 at "home" to Internazionale. Inter went 3-0 up with goals from Crespo, Stankovic and Ibrahimovic, before Seedorf pulled one back. Materazzi then scored to make it 4-1, before Gilardino narrowed the gap to 2 with 15 minutes left to play, and then Kaka scored at the death to make it a tense finish. But Inter prevailed, and they deserved their victory. In a moment of controversy, Materazzi was sent off for a second bookable offence for "over-celebrating his goal". Now although Materazzi is one of the dirtier characters around, and has done enough in his career to be sent off a million times, giving him a second yellow card for this was very harsh. He didn't even take his shirt fully off, and you'd expect the referee to shown a little bit of understanding considering that it was such a big event.

On a side note, it's very disappointing that the guilty Italian sides have had their penalties reduced. Especially Juve, who have been cheating for years. They've only got caught recently, but they've been at it for very very long, and who knows how much of that success of theirs is legitimate. No backbone or courage has been shown in dealing with these teams, and it's an absolute let down. They should have been banned from Europe as well, but I think we all know now that FIFA and UEFA and everyone else is more interested in just worrying about the money and maintaining the status quo.

Teams like Inter and Roma have suffered for years, and I hope they really do well this season, because who knows what it will be like next year with Juve (probably) back in Serie A. Italian fans are amongst the most passionate in the world, and surely they should be creating more opposition to the spinelessness of the Italian FA and their pathetic attempts at dealing with match fixers. On the one hand we have billionaires like Roman Abramovich destroying the game by throwing money at everything, but you still hope that on any given day, the magic of football will prevail, and that anything could happen (and all the other cliches), because it's stil eleven versus eleven in a fair contest. But if you can't even guarantee the opposition being given a fair chance, then what is the point of it all?

Sigh. Well on a more upbeat note, we've enjoyed a very positive response to our first day or two of being up and running. Lots of visitors, and we hope there's lots more to come. If you're visting, Join up or leave us suggestions or comments. We'd love to have people on board and blogging with us, and getting involved in our community. AND, don't forget to enter our contest for you to go blog in Tokyo, it's a great opportunity to get involved with our organisation, and get involved with the world of football.

Or something like that.

Well what a day it is... I'm another year older and wiser (I wish), and the site has finally launched! Congratulations to everyone who put so much work in, and we hope this is the start of something very special. We're hoping to bring you unmatched features and content, and to really go a few levels above what the mainstream football sites have on offer, and we'd love to have your support and enthusiasm as the site builds and unfolds. And don't forget about our contest that gives 2 bloggers the chance to go to Tokyo, Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup this December. It's the first time that football bloggers will have the chance to be elevated to full press status for an event like this, and it's something that we're all very excited about, and we hope you are too. Just click the contest banner above this entry.

We hope that our blog network will cover the world (get in touch on the left hand panel if you'd like to blog for us), and that our European Super League fantasy game will really provide some of the best fantasy football entertainment on the web. And there's lots more to come, but we don't want to let out all of our secrets straight away though ;o)

As for this weekend's Premiership football, well the fixtures of note will be Liverpool v Aston Villa, Arsenal v Everton, and Bolton v Manchester United. I also think Charlton can cause an upset against Newcastle, and if West Ham mess up against Blackburn at home, changes could be underway.

Liverpool are struggling horribly, and with the quality (Alonso and Gerrard) they have, their struggle at the moment is inexplicable. Last season Arsenal struggled, but they had just lost Vieira and Edu, and only signed Hleb, and it took them a while to find their feet. But this season Liverpool have signed Kuyt, Bellamy, Pennant, Mark Gonzalez, Palletta, Agger and Fabio Aurelio, and not lose anyone of note, so their poor form really is a kick in the teeth to the management. I expect they'll find their way and manage to steer themselves into the top 4 much like Arsenal did last season, but really with them being the favourite to challenge Chelsea, their season is essentially already a disappointment.

As for Bolton v Manchester United, the Red Devils have always struggled against Bolton. They've lost twice at home to them, and drawn away on a few occasions, including when Solskjaer equalised in the last minute a few seasons ago. United's midfield, their traditional strength, have been poor this season, but Scholes and Carrick are slowly finding their form. However form books generally tend to go out the window as far as Bolton are concerned, because their no nonsense, kick-and-shove, long-ball approach often means that it's a battle more than a football match. It will be tough to score against Bolton, and if Anelka is up for it he could easily pinch a goal. Fat Sam and Sir Alex are good friends, and these games are generally good-natured encounters as a result.

Arsenal v Everton will be a tough game. Everton have finally showed some sort of consistency this season, and are very tough to breakdown, and quite physical. For Arsenal, this is a game in which Adebayor would be important to give them an option against Everton's direct approach, but he is injured for 3 weeks after going off early on in the Carling Cup. Forgotten man Jeremie Aliadiere should win a spot on the bench. Arsenal have been in good for home, and will be looking to continue it at home so they can turn Ashburton Grove into a real fortress. However, Everton games of late have shown quite polarised results - either they are on the end of a drubbing, or they pull of a 1-0 or 2-1 victory, but that is also due to their inconsistency which seems to have been eliminated this season. Theo Walcott is expect to make a start on the wings with the other attacking options of Ljungberg, Adebayor and Baptista still being injured. Everton are affected by the loss of David Weir for 3 weeks, but they have enough quality in Yobo and Lescott to make up for it. Fabregas will really have to take charge of what will be a very busy midfield, but with Rosicky and Hleb buzzing around him, expect a good midfield contest.

In Italy, the Milan derby will take on extra significance today. It's AC Milan v Inter Milan, and Inter really must win the Scudetto this year. AC Milan have been shamed, and very "lucky" to avoid relegation and larger points deduction, and Inter who've suffered so much over the years from dodgy refereeing decisions and not being one of the "big clubs" must really deliver a clear message with a convincing victory. Adriano's personal life is not helping anything, but with Crespo, Cruz, Ibrahimovic and company up front, they have arguably more quality than Gilardino, Inzaghi and Ricardo Oliveira.

The following day, Fiorentina take on Palermo at home in what should be an entertaining encounter. Luca Toni will come up against the club where he did so well, and both teams play positive football. Palermo will want to show their title credentials, and Fiorentina are still fighting to regain some credibility after their involvement in the match-fixing scandals. The Palermo chief rightly said that Serie A results were much more interesting now, and that it probably has a lot to do with Luciano Moggi no longer being able to handpick the referees, and Juventus rotting in Serie B.