Arsene Wenger called for the abolition of FA Cup replays after Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by dogged Blackburn. The stalemate on Saturday means the north Londoners must shoe-horn a fifth round replay, on February 28, into an already bloated fixture list, which includes seven matches in the next four weeks.

Ashley Cole has accused Arsenal of ”disrespecting” him in the wake of his controversial transfer to Chelsea. The England international completed his switch to Stamford Bridge last week after the Premiership champions agreed to give Arsenal £5-million and their French defender William Gallas in exchange.

Gilberto spared Arsenal a nightmare housewarming at their new Emirates Stadium on Saturday as his dramatic late goal secured a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in their English Premiership opener. Villa had seemed intent on marking the new arena’s competitive debut with a shock win.

Jose Mourinho admitted that Chelsea are ”almost there” in their quest for consecutive Premiership titles after they defeated Everton 3-0 on Monday. The Blues now need to avoid defeat in just one of their last three league matches to keep the championship trophy in the Stamford Bridge cabinet.

Robert Pires fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday but was then forced to publicly apologise after he squandered the opportunity to seal victory with his second penalty of the game. The France winger had already netted one second-half spot-kick, after Thierry Henry had been felled by David James, when Arsenal were awarded a second with 16 minutes remaining for a foul on Dennis Bergkamp.