Juan Mata Begins Chelsea Career By Trolling Arsenal, Spurs

Shortly after Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp opted to slam Juan Mata for signing with Chelsea rather than Spurs, claiming that the 23-year-old winger had made the move to Stamford Bridge because they had offered more money, the man himself decided to clarify his reasons for leaving Valencia to join the Blues. And good old Harry won't like them one bit.

I want to come to England to win trophies - and that's why I accepted Chelsea's offer. It was also a question of sporting achievement, not money. Arsenal and Tottenham were both interested in me but they did not compare with the Blues. I want the Premier League title and this is possible at Chelsea.

Fernando Torres helped influence my decision but speaking directly with Villas-Boas was the decisive factor. He explained how his style will be based on 4-3-3 and how important I will be to his plans.

-Juan Mata. Source: The Sun.

I can't imagine Arsenal or Spurs fans could really disagree that Chelsea have been a more successful team than they have in the past few years - Mata's decision to go to Chelsea for a better chance of winning trophies makes total sense in that regard, especially considering the relatively low wages the Blues are paying him. But it's funny to see him come out and start trolling our two rival London sides before even putting on a blue shirt.

That's not the only interesting thing to come out of that quote, however. Far more important is that we have a good idea of how Andre Villas-Boas is planning on using him: Frequently and in  4-3-3, which presumably means Mata will be on the left wing. That's a good place for him - his runs inside will help supply Torres and provide a gap into which Ashley Cole can run, but it also means that the midfield situation still hasn't been addressed. However, if Chelsea do decide to keep their 4-3-3 as currently constructed (a 1-2 with a single holding player), suspected taget Luka Modric might not be the best fit.

All very interesting.