Kolo Toure has been surfing his way through the 500 television
channels that are piped into his Enfield home.
Lionel Messi is causing mayhem on one side, Francesco Totti is
tearing it up on the other.
Arsenal's king of cool, the unflappable defender with the
worldclass recovery tackle, is doing his homework on the cream of
Europe.
Tuning in, he calls it, while he prepares for the biggest game in
the Premier League so far this season.
"I don't watch movies, I just watch football," he said. "I watch
all the games. English games, Barcelona, Roma, Champions
League.
"I like Totti, I like what he does. Messi is doing well. It is
amazing to watch him play it is like watching Maradona."
Toure has been entranced by the Argentina striker, but Barcelona
and his brother YaYa are for another time.
Manchester United are next on the menu for the League leaders and
the Arsenal defender is picking his way around the most feared
forward line in Europe.
Nani, Anderson and Saha are all in the mix. The eyebrows are
raised, there is a knowing nod of the head and then Toure really
starts to take notice: Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Tevez are in the
starting line up.
"They are a brilliant team and they have so many attacking
players," he concedes. "Wow."
It is followed by a sharp intake of breath and then Toure,
Arsenal's most consistent player over the past three years, begins
to make some sense of it all.
"It is just one game in a season a game we must win but it is
really stressful for the players and the fans.
"We know that they are such a good team. In some Premier League
games, we go into them thinking 'Yeah, we're gonna win this', but
when you are playing Manchester United it is different.
"We are the two top teams at the moment. Whoever comes into the
game in form will win it. It is that simple.
"The way we play is amazing and we enjoy the way we play. It will
be a tight game, but it will be an attacking game."
He is convinced that neither team will sacrifice their attacking
principles today and why should they?
The two best teams in the Premier League have the perfect platform
a lunchtime kick-off satisfies the Asian TV market to showcase
their skills to the rest of the world.
Cesc Fabregas, Alexander Hleb, Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Adebayor
are Arsenal's potential match-winners, but Toure's tidy defensive
work can be just as impressive.
There was a time when Wenger wanted him to play in central midfield
and plough his way past the opposition, but Toure is more
disciplined when he plays in the middle of Arsenal's back
line.
He and Gallas have formed an almost impregnable partnership. "I can
play anywhere, but my best position is at the back," he
added.
"I have the experience there and I know exactly what can happen at
any moment.
"When we play well and we score, sometimes we look at the players
involved in the move and think 'that was amazing'.
"When I play in the centre of midfield, I try to play a bit too
much. At the back, I am more controlled."
He is certainly a man in control. The game has given him a good
life and he is well aware that the Premier League is a privileged
place.
Toure, 26, was one of four Arsenal players nominated to take part
in the Great African Journey at Holloway School this week, a
community project raising funds for educational and training
resources in African countries.
The Ivory Coast international was lapping it up.
Typically, there was no sign of nerves when he was asked to play
the bongo drums although Kolo does need to work on that side of
his game in front of 100 or so dewy-eyed schoolchildren involved
with the Link project.
At one point, as he attempted to memorise the words to one of the
charity's songs Poverty and HIV, Time to take Responsibility he
urged Emmanuel Adebayor to start dancing.
If only they had some rhythm, they might be on to something. "I am
lucky because I came from a normal background in the Ivory Coast,
but others are not quite as fortunate," he added.
"It's fantastic for the kids to get involved in a project like
this. They are the future and you have to do something for
them.
"There are some poor people in my country and being with children
again reminds me of being back at home."
Toure's attitude towards the event was an illustration of the
changing tides in the Premier League.
Arsenal's players take their responsibilities towards the community
very seriously and Toure made the most of the time he spent with
the children on Thursday.
He is doing his bit off the pitch, but Arsenal will need another
measured performance from the centre half this afternoon.
Others will need to be on their game, but Toure knows the man who
makes Arsenal tick. "Definitely Cesc Fabregas," he said without
hesitation.
"What he is doing for the club at the moment is great. He has
scored nine goals so far this season some big goals in important
games and he has been the difference.
"In terms of form, I don't see anyone else playing as well as him
in the rest of Europe."
What about Toure? "That's not for me to say." Maybe not. But
someone should.
look at toure's muscle
! I hope today toure will make looney and the
shrek feel tt they're not good partners. 
