It was inevitable that somebody would shoot down the Michael Essien to Arsenal rumors, and alas, we have John Cross. Here's the tweet in question:

#afc Essien is NOT joining Arsenal. It's not something they've been pursuing today. #cfc

— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) August 31, 2012

So we've had the BBC reporting that there is interest, and the Mirror reporting that those discussions just aren't happening. I just don't know who to believe. Oh wait, it's the Mirror and the BBC? Nevermind then, I guess that's not all that tough a decision to make.

In the end, I'd guess that both sources are actually somewhat correct despite having some fun with the wonderful reputation that the Mirror has established. Arsenal really do seem to have legitimate interest in Essien, and it makes a lot of sense from their point of view. Chelsea would appear to have next to no reason to agree a loan to Arsenal unless they either sign an upgrade or receive a fairly ridiculous loan fee. I'm sure Arsenal are asking (especially with the sources we've seen reporting it), but I'd also be fairly certain that nothing is going to happen here. We'll keep watching, but I wouldn't count on seeing Essien in red at this point.