“As a team, we have won every domestic trophy and so it’s only natural that we have the hunger for the European Cup.” Essien said to the Daily Star.

“That is not to say we don’t care about the Premier League, FA Cup or Carling Cup.

“We want to win every competition we enter this season – and we will do all we can to win them all.”

While the likes of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole left the club over the summer, the squad as a whole has come together and started the season in blistering form. They have already resumed their spot at the top of the Premier League, and most pundits have already tipped them to defend their Premiership crown.

Chelsea is the only club to maintain a perfect record after the opening three rounds of fixtures, and play resumes on the 11th of September with a close trip to Upton Park to play West Ham.

Another transfer season is officially in the books. That’s right, it’s also finally over for those slow computer servers that were struggling to complete the filing of last-minute documentation of newly acquired players with the Premier League.

Now we can sit back and enjoy the Euro 2012 qualification that is coming our way. Or some of us, including myself, can choose the far more entertaining option of dissecting the transfer business and shed some light on those who won big this summer.

Manchester City surely set the tone for the rest but in the final few days before the transfer window closed, many of their rivals kept busy playing catch-up. The outcome? When all was said and done (and also properly filed with the designated authorities), the promise of the most competitive season in English football appeared to be fulfilled.

Without delaying it any further, allow me to hand report cards to all the clubs that competed successfully with the Citizens in unveiling impressive new faces to bolster their ambitions.

Stoke City (B-)

The Potters have made it very clear that they are legitimate contenders to finish in the first half of the table. They finished just outside the top 10 in their first year back in the top flight last season but Tony Pulis is not the type to rest on the past laurels. 

Retaining his ambitions to keep this Stoke side moving forward consistently, Pulis did well to strengthen the squad. But rather than simply jumping into the market with an open wallet, he first trimmed his squad by letting go of those who were surplus to requirements at the Britannia Stadium.

The list of outgoing players included forwards James Beattie and Dave Kitson while a host of other names were loaned out. Pulis knew what he was doing all along, though. He has no interest in creating the kind of drama that is simply geared towards increasing the anxiety levels of supporters.

He means business and that is precisely why he spent the last day of business sealing deals for extremely adequate replacements. The arrival of Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland was followed with the signings of former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and midfielder Marc Wilson from Monaco and Portsmouth, respectively.

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant was also brought back to English football on loan from La Liga side Real Zaragoza and if he rediscovers the touch that allowed him to gain prominence in the initial stages of his career, he can certainly prove to be a successful experiment for Pulis.

On the whole, it looks like Stoke City did some good business in the transfer market this summer. Perhaps it wasn’t excellent or extra-ordinary, but as far as I am concerned, their dealings certainly ended up belonging to the top five variety.

Arsenal (B)

In essence, the Gunners got what they needed most: a much improved defense as well as a striker with good presence up front.

In Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, Arsene Wenger found more than just replacements for the aging trio of William Gallas, Sol Campbell, and Mikael Silvestre.

The French duo is poised to form a defensive masterclass with fan favorite Thomas Vermaelen and judging by the sound of that, it doesn’t seem to me that Arsenal are even remotively as fragile as they were in the back last season.

Of course, there will be that inevitable argument about Wenger’s failure to bring an established goalkeeper to the Emirates but I am convinced that Manuel Almunia and his deputies should be able to last the course, at least until January.

So far, the Spaniard has done well to redeem himself and if his tendency to concede howlers returns between now and the winter, the Gunners can finally bring a trustworthy replacement. For now, I am convinced that giving Almunia another chance is a far better alternative to rushing a deal for Mark Schwarzer, who is clearly way past his prime.

Last, but not least, let’s return to the point I briefly introduced when I mentioned the arrival of a new striker at Arsenal. In Marouane Chamakh, Wenger’s side has truly gained a new dimension as the Moroccan international has an uncanny ability to react very well to the style of football his new teammates are accustomed to.

Now that Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner are out injured, Chamakh should be able to sieze the opportunity and create an enviable partnership with the in-form Theo Walcott. The prospect of that alone convinces me that overall, this has been a successful transfer market for last season’s third-place finishers.

Liverpool FC (B+)

They have lost a lot of players this summer and in particular, it must have been quite frustrating to finally bring an end to the long-drawn transfer saga of midfield maestro Javier Mascherano.

But despite his failure to convince arguably the most important player of the club to stay at Anfield, Roy Hodsgon has done extremely well in his continued efforts to convert Liverpool into title contenders once again.

Two decades is a long time to go without a domestic championship and with another unconvincing start to the new season, the Reds may be looking at another season that is not meant to be theirs. Hodgson, though, appears to have the same level of faith in his team as he did the day he arrived at Merseyside.

As soon as he personally made contact with Steven Gerrard, all media speculation surrounding the future of the club’s skipper vanished quickly. Soon after, Fernando Torres was prompted to declare Liverpool the biggest club in England and as soon as the Spaniard committed, a host of new names joined.

Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic were the first two major signings but it was the arrival of Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles that truly allowed Hodgson to send a message. Neither player is exactly as impactful as Masch but then again, there is a great chance that neither will be as ineffective as Alberto Aquilani.

With veteran Paul Konchesky also arriving at Anfield in a last-minute switch and crafty Brazilian Fabio Aurelio committing his future to the club, the Reds should be able to provide adequate support to Glen Johnson on the flanks. Let’s not forget, capturing Scottish youngster Danny Wilson also appears to be an extremely promising investment for the future.

Tottenham Hotspur (A-)

When Liverpool failed to land Carlton Cole from West Ham, Roy Hodgson decided to keep Ryan Babel as well. That was, no doubt, in the best interest of Tottenham.

The Champions League newboys were about to offload the potent Robbie Keane, only to make way for the unproven Dutchman. Fortunately for the Spurs, Harry Redknapp didn’t look too deep into the transfer and instead, was able to strike an extremely late (now that’s an understatement) deal for Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.

The cut-price nature of van der Vaart’s transfer makes this that much more of a success story for the White Hart Lane outfit and with Crotia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa also joining the North Londoners on the final day, their ambitions were on display for all to see.

No doubt, it is heart-breaking to see them lose a defender of Jonathan Woodgate’s calibre to a long-term injury but even on the defensive front, Redknapp was able to bring in an experienced reinforcement in the form of former Arsenal captain William Gallas.

Manchester City (A)

This was quite predictable, wasn’t it? Well, not exactly. My report cards have clearly factored in the cost-effectiveness of a deal into the grade assignment, which means that Roberto Mancini must have done quite well to break the bank and still earn the best possible report card.

I can’t help but say that Mancini has been a good student after all. Not too long ago, he was facing a mini-crisis to trim his squad only for the purpose of meeting the 25-player limit, let alone worrying about the acquisition of new players.

To his credit, the former Inter Milan boss remained calmn as he went about his business. Granted, he made a couple of mistakes here and there; making Yaya Toure the highest paid player in the league is ridiculous and so is offloading a genuinely committed player like Craig Bellamy.

However, on the positive front, how about signing a homegrown player such as James Milner? Or how about the high profile signing of youngster Mario Balotelli, which allows Mancini to pick the former Nerazzuri striker without even counting him as one of his senior players.

That was quite the smart move and so was keeping hold of Shay Given; who knows whether Joe Hart will be able to survive England’s goalkeeper curse. In my opinion, though, the signings of David Silva and Aleksander Kolarov earn distinction points.

While the former brings an amazing level of energy to the Eastlands outfit, bringing the latter to the City of Manchester Stadium forced Jose Mourinho – ‘The Special One’ himself – to declare City as the club to beat in the transfer market. Can you believe that coming from the Real Madrid manager? Nicely done, City.

Or maybe I am jumping to conclusions too early. So far, Manchester City and the rest of this group has only managed to lay down a foundation for the coming season.

How well they can utilize this foundation very much remains to be seen. You can count on one thing, though: the report cards will be handed out once again when it’s time to measure how well the transfer business translated to on-field performances.

Wait a minute, didn’t that introduction of Casillas as merely a goalkeeper sound incomplete? Isn’t he also the skipper of both his national team and the club side? Well, similarly, Ms. Carbonero is not just a WAG; she has a lot more going on in her life!

Age: 26

Occupation: Sara is a Spanish TV presenter for Telecinco.

Hobbies: Besides looking worth a million bucks and allegedly distracting her boyfriend (and safe to say, quite a few others too), Carbonero is passionate about sports journalism. While studying at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, she earned a degree in journalism as well.

Memorable moment: There are quite a few of these associated with this beautiful lady. Remember when she was mysteriously accused of being responsible for Spain’s only World Cup defeat to Switzerland?

Oh, and what about a few weeks after that loss to the Swiss when the Spaniards were ultimately celebrating their first ever World Cup triumph? After all, Casillas kissed more than just the World Cup trophy as the entire world watched on that occasion.

Nevertheless, if we have to pick her greatest moment, it would have to be her selection as The Sexiest Reporter in the World by the readers of FHM USA. Beat that!

Why we love her: Carbonero hasn’t done much wrong ever since her emergence as one of the prettiest faces in global sports media. Despite her mesmerizing good looks and an ultra-glamorous image, she has always remained focused on her job regardless of the folks who choose to get ‘distracted’ by her.

The best part is, this girl seems to have a decent sense of humor as well; ask all those press reporters who failed to frustrate her with their baseless accusations of her presence in South Africa as a detriment to the Spanish national team.

In the end, Casillas and his teammates won the World Cup anyway. As for Sara, she adds to her growing list of accolades with our richly deserved Weekly WAG award!

However, what earns Chelsea additional distinction for a thoroughly dominant start to their title defense is the fact that they have lost far more notable players than they have brought in this summer.

It is simple mathematics: the departures of Michael Ballack, Deco, Joe Cole, Juliano Belletti, Ricardo Carvalho and Franco Di Santo have only been compensated for with the additions of Yossi Benayoun and young Brazilian Ramires.

Therefore, in theory, one would expect that the roster Carlo Ancelotti submitted to the Premier League yesterday certainly meets the newly enforced requirements as per the homegrown rules but in doing so, weakens Chelsea’s squad compared to last season.

In reality, the opposite is true, thanks in large to the exponentially improved form of the individuals that remain at Stamford Bridge.

Unlike the big-spending Manchester City, who modeled their recent reconstruction after Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich revolution from a few years ago, the Blues now look like an immensely strong unit of players who are committed to putting the best foot forward for each other.

The 19 senior players the West Londoners can boast of include the likes of Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka, and Alex, all of whom appear to be in the form of their lives. Then, there’s also the presence of the ever-reliable Michael Essien, who struggled with injuries throughout last season.

Factoring the English contingent of Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, and skipper John Terry into the mix suggests that the Blues never really needed to add more new faces to their ranks this summer.

Last season’s Golden Boot winner Didier Drogba only multiplies the intimidation factor and in case his teammates are having that rare tough day finishing off their chances, they can count on perhaps the best goalkeeper in the league – Petr Cech – to come to their rescue.

Some argue that Chelsea’s squad appears to be stronger than it actually is due to the fact tha the Blues have enjoyed a far easier schedule, compared to their competitiors, to kick off the new season.

That is certainly not a poor rationale for the detractors to comfort themselves but then again, there doesn’t seem to be a good enough rationale out there to write off a side that goes from strength to strength even in the face of a growing list of departures.

Chelsea senior squad: Petr Cech, Henrique Hilario, Ross Turnbull, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa, Paulo Ferreira, Yuri Zhirkov, John Terry, Alex, Michael Essien, Ramires, John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard, Yossi Benayoun, Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba.

Young players exempt from homegrown requirements: Patrick van Aanholt, Josh McEachran, Gael Kakuta, Daniel Sturridge, Fabio Borini, and Jeffrey Bruma.

The 21-year old was left with a bitter taste in his mouth as he went into the summer trophyless with the Gunners while also missing out on Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad.

In a bid to put such nightmarish memories well behind him, Walcott has followed an excellent pre-season with extra training sessions on the field as well as in the gym. As a result, not only has he discovered arguably the best form of his life, but he also finds himself as an integral piece of Capello’s Euro 2012 qualification plans.

Ahead of England’s opening fixture at home to Bulgaria tomorrow evening, the young forward has confirmed that scoring four goals in two Premier League starts thus far has required investing additional time on his part. In order to continue his impressive development, though, Theo feels ready to keep going.

“It has gone very well so far for club and country. I had a very good pre-season, no injuries, I had a nice break over the summer and everything is going well so far,” Walcott told Arsenal’s official website.

“I stay behind to improve on things like the final ball, the end product, stuff like that. I practice crossing and finishing and penalties. I’m not the best at penalties. Vito Mannone goes in goal and I work with Bacary Sagna on the right, working on that combination and putting crosses in for the strikers.

“We get Marouane Chamakh in there, too, so he can get used to where the crosses are going to go. Hopefully it pays off in the games. If you get your body and your brain used to it, it happens.

“Sometimes I still like to come inside, and, hopefully, I’ll get on the scoresheet again this season. But as a winger you also want to get wide and provide assists. You want to keep the width, especially for the fantastic players in the middle.

“Arsène Wenger talks to me about being aggressive, running at players. So far this season I’ve been doing that,” he asserted zealously.

The Spanish midfielder, who was linked heavily with a move to his native Barcelona throughout the summer, has struggled to overcome the fatigue from a successful World Cup campaign ever since returning from South Africa.

With every passing day, though, Wenger is becoming increasingly confident of the midfielder’s mental and physical recovery.

Another international break is looming over us but as far as Le Professeur is concerned, the 23-year old should be able to effortlessly assume his responsibilities in the heart of the Arsenal midfield as soon as he returns from his country’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Liechtenstein.

“He will be the player he was before without any problem and he will be stronger. And of course I think he will, once he is fit again, be involved mentally in the team,” the 60-year old told the club’s official website.

“He is our leader, he is the leader of our team and he has a massive responsibility. I am convinced he will stand up for it,” added the Frenchman.

The Gunners are currently enjoying an unbeaten campaign in the Premier League, trailing only defending champions Chelsea in the standings after the first three round of fixtures.

However, another injury to forward Robin van Persie means that they once again need Fabregas to play a talismanic role the way he had been doing for the North Londoners before this summer began.

They fixed that problem on transfer deadline day with the signing of Asamoah Gyan. The Ghanaian striker, who joins from French club Rennes, is ready to make a huge impact up front for Sunderland.

Gyan garnered lots of interest from club teams after he played extremely well in the World Cup for Ghana. The striker scored three goals, one each against Serbia, Australia, and the United States.

The goals against Serbia and the U.S. proved to be the match-winners, further establishing his worth to his country and earning him worldwide acclaim from football fans and the media alike.

The last minute signing of Gyan shattered Sunderland’s previous transfer fee record. The Black Cats doled out £13 million for his services, which is three million in excess of the £10 million they paid to take Darren Bent away from Tottenham last summer.

Gyan should be ready to help shoulder the scoring load that Bent primarily bears. The England international will be happy to have a helping hand because Sunderland will need all the help they can get to move as far up the table as possible. Sunderland will look to improve upon their 13th place finish last season.

The 24-year-old striker still has a long international and club career ahead of him. Not even the best of World Cup tips could have predicted the success of Asamoah Gyan this past summer. However, four years from now, when the world’s biggest tournament is back on the big stage, a lot of World Cup betting will be done on Gyan’s behalf.

Here’s hoping that Gyan can back up his play for Sunderland in the Premier League this season.

For now, we congratulate Asamoah for becoming this week’s Premiership Talk Wednesday Wonder! Let’s get ready to see some more performances like the ones we all witnessed in South Africa this summer!

Runners-up: Darren Bent, Hugo Rodallega

What do you think about this week’s choice for the Wednesday Wonder? Did anybody else deserve to make the list? Have your say below!

The project of the bianconeri was beginning to take shape: Luigi Delneri as the coach along with Beppe Marotta as the sporting director, some smart signings and qualification into the Europa League. But all of this seemed useless when they were torn apart by Bari the opening day of the Serie A, meaning it’s evident that a project which started in July isn’t working very well.

Juve’s project can be broken down into two different areas: the transfer market, and the results. Right now, it seems like both of the areas are are “work in progress”.

The transfer market has been an interesting one for Juventus; there has been plenty of movement with players coming in and going out. But the buying campaign seems that of a midtable team, not a team which wants to challenge for the title. The biggest names which came in would have to be Krasic, Bonucci, and Quagliarella: good players, but certainly not world class players.

Now that Juventus have sold Diego, who was their most talented player, they’re left with injury-prone Aquilani and Quagliarella from Napoli. Neither of these two are proper replacements for the Brazilian who scored on his debut for his new club Wolfsburg.

For another reinforcement in the offensive sector, Juventus were looking at AC Milan reject Marco Borriello (who eventually joined Roma on loan) and Sampdoria striker Pazzini. Instead of looking at those two Italian players, Juventus should have been monitoring the likes of Fernando Torres, or Edin Dzeko, truly world class players who can truly make a difference..

Perhaps that explains why the results aren’t as rosy as the chairman Andrea Agnelli would like them to be. There’s a correlation between the players you buy and the results you get, and while a certain manager can get more from certain players, in the end if you have a weak squad of players, you’ll have trouble finding results.

In the last five matches Juventus have managed four wins and a loss, but those four wins have been against Shamrock Rovers, and the relatively unknown Sturm Graz. Their first decent opponent, Bari, dismantled Juventus with quick movement and attacking play.

Delneri’s side was static, with no pressure against the opponent as they sat back in their half, letting Bari attack them. And when Juventus had the ball, they didn’t maintain possession, and too often the winger would lose the ball because the team didn’t support him. While Delneri should take some of the blame, it’s mostly thanks to the players, who seemed clueless, that Juventus’s first day loss should be attributed to.

But what will happen when Juventus meets AC Milan in the Serie A? The rossoneri demolished Lecce 4-0 with exciting attacking play in the opening play of the Serie A, with Pato scoring a double thanks to an inspired Ronaldinho. Some Juve players will also remember the 3-0 defeat they suffered the last day of last season, against a Milan side which was far worse than the current one.

So how can the bianconeri even think about challenging the for the title when Bari has little trouble defeating them?

There are plenty of questions which Delneri will have to answer, and there will be tons of pressure when his players return from international duty to play Sampdoria September 11th. And after meeting the blucerchiati, then Juventus will need to play Lech Poznan in the Europa League.

Delneri will need to get the most out of his players, re-create a winning mentality which drives the team towards victory, and get a couple of wins, or else Juventus will really struggle in the Serie A.

The Spaniard, who quietly masterminded this past weekend’s disciplined 1-0 win over Tottenham at White Hart Lane, added two late signings to his squad in the form of youngsters Tom Cleverley and Franco Di Santo.

A loan deal to snap up midfielder Cleverley from Manchester United appears to be particularly clever, no pun intended. The 21-year old has already impressed in previous loan spells at Leicester and more recently, Watford, where he was chosen as the team’s Player of the Season in May.

The versatile player, who can also play a defensive role, went on to score arguably the best goal of the summer in the MLS All Star game in Houston last month and ever since that wonder strike, he has convinced Martinez about the potential the Wigan boss has seen in him for quite a while.

“Tom is a very exciting young player and we are delighted he his coming to us. He can play in a number of positions and will provide us with some good new options, and add great competition to the squad,” Martinez told Wigan’s official website.

“We have been watching him for some time and feel he is the right sort of player to join our squad; young, hungry, desperate to play for the club in the Premier League and to grow with us,” he added about the England U-21 international.

As for Di Santo, the Argentine youngster struggled to hold down a place in the Chelsea squad ever since his arrival at Stamford Bridge two years ago. Furthermore, a somewhat impressive, yet overall inconsistent, loan spell at Blackburn last season couldn’t allow him to live up to his potential either.

With a switch to the DW Stadium, he will get another opportunity to prove himself and his new manager is extremely optimistic about his growth prospects with the Latics.

“We all feel that Franco can fulfil his potential at our football club and he’ll bring a completely different dimension to our squad with his presence, technical ability and hard-work,” Martinez remarked.

He elaborated: “We’ve been following Franco for a long time and from his point of view it’s clear that he is desperate to play for Wigan Athletic and his desire and commitment is exactly the right attitude for our club.”

Di Santo vowed to repay his gaffer’s faith as soon as he was unveiled as the latest addition to the Wigan roster following the additions of Ronnie Stam, Mauro Boselli, Ali Al-Habsi (loan), and Cleverley.

“I am just happy that my future has been sorted out now. I can’t wait to start training, meet all my new team mates and start fighting for my place in the team,” said Di Santo.

“Roberto Martinez has big ambitions for the club and he made it clear how much he wanted me to be here. When a manager is so positive about you, then it is an easy decision to make,” concluded the 21-year old.

Yet, Florent Malouda believes that the key to being in the form of his life is the struggle that started the moment he wore the Blue shirt for the first time three years ago.

The Frenchman could not score a single goal in his first six months at Stamford Bridge and his side also struggled to regain the Premier League crown from Manchester United until last year, when Ancelotti took charge of the club’s affairs.

Looking back at those moments, Malouda told Chelsea’s official website that he was always building something with his teammates and now that the Blues are dominating English football once again, he is determined to keep up the momentum.

“I played a lot of games before Guus Hiddink arrived and I was building something. Now I get the result of the hard work I did from the first day I signed for Chelsea. Maybe now people get to know me and they notice more of what I do,” said the 30-year old.

“I am building my confidence, trying to show game after game my quality but you have to stay calm and we shall see at the end of the season. The most important for me was to win the Premier League last year and now that I am a champion, I want to stay a champion,” he added.

Malouda also shed light on how his teammates have gone from pre-season strugglers to becoming the team to beat in England. There is hardly a better way to begin a title defense than scoring 14 goals without response in the opening three fixtures of the season and the Frenchman firmly believes that such a terrific form requires an extremely high level of teamwork.

Using his goal against Stoke this past weekend as an example, he said: “It was a good interception from John and I knew I had to time my run. I knew exactly where he would put the ball and after I knew about the movement of the goalie.

“That is what we worked on this week and when it happens in the game you have to apply that. We are working every day and every week on those movements,” asserted the league’s joint top scorer.