Happy new year 2025 – lets start with a bang

Marc

Never a penalty. The same old incompetent, biased cunt, Anthony Taylor.

Ambarish

It wasn’t even one where you can say “I’ve seen them given” just poor refereeing.

Guys it’s in the penalty area and just like a mistimes tackle this was a missed header and Saliba clips Jao pedros head. it’s a foul inside the area. It’s a penalty not a stone walled but one that is as per the letter of the law.

My simple theory is that if Arsenal as a football club really believes that they are not treated fairly by the ref, then they should grow a pair and register a complaint officially. If not we should accept that it’s part of the game and just move on. You talk to any fan they will always complain that the club get wrong decision the most.

Madhu

You find a similar penalty in a top flight division and I’ll agree with you. If it’s a reasonable decision there should be dozens if not hundreds of them.

Effectively 11 points off Liverpool at just past the halfway point of the season – with the injuries we’ve got and squad limitations that’s us out of the PL race.

Marc how long will we keep complaining and bitching about refs. We either do something about it as a club else shut up and move on. If we are a big club then we should have the power to influence. You talk to a Wolves fan and they will bitch but then throw their hands and say that they are a small club so nobody cares. This discussion on refs have gone on for decades. Either something should be done else suck it up like grow ups. That’s life

Really poor second half. Passing and movement terrible. We were never going to see score a second goal. Shit.

Madhu

I think we did last season, and PGMOL accepted the mistake. But what did it do for us? We didn’t get back the lost points, and we didn’t get a rematch.

Martinelli got 2 yellow in the same playing, no one has seen that in past, and it won’t be seen again. Today’s penalty is just another of those decisions.

Madhu

I don’t moan about every decision given against us – there are times when its bad luck, naivety, you’re just plain wrong etc but you won’t see that decision given again.

My complaint as always is lack of quality and consistency with refs.

If you want to see some incisive attacking football check this from today’s County win against Briton (not Brighton!) Ferry.

There’s even some bonus footage of Kroenkephobe getting wet in the second half.

https://youtu.be/AzdhfEu0QjY?si=LikFrsFaAjaYRyfN

We looked toothless, leggy and if the players had picked up the wrong size boots.

We’ve got 7 matches between now and the end of the month and a limited squad to be able to rotate.

Ambarish – yes and if after complaint nothing has happened then there are only two possibilities. Suck it up as it’s same with everybody else unless you can come up with evidence that Arsenal suffer the most or go back again and register a stronger complaint. Get together with other clubs and lobby for what you think are improvements to be done. The problem is that the issue with refs are mentioned by virtually everyone.
Since I am avid Test cricket watcher and played at a decent club cricket level I can tell you this narrative is there at every game. But whatever you say about ICCI the cricket governing body has solved the umpire issues once and for al. Earlier the sub continent umpires were derided and accused of being completely based against the visiting sides. ICCI then introduced neutral umpires then that issue disappeared. Then with technology they bought in referral model and the wrong decision narrative is completely removed from the narrative. Now it Arsenal and other clubs should lobby and suggest how referring can be improved in PL. If the clubs put pressure and threaten non cooperation I wonder why PL governing body not make improvements
It’s a as much a competency, setup and organisation issue than a biased or corrupt referees.

Good morning all
When I heard what our midfield was going to be, I went to bed. The Spud’s game had been entertaining enough, where I just knew we’d struggle, and looks like we would have lost had Ethan not netted.

Your commentary above tells me sleep was far more interesting than watching us labour through 100 minutes of artic football.

Penalty or not I’m in Madhu’s camp where things even out in the end.

KP
Cracked me up you complaining about others complaining. lol I sent you a song that might be appropriate now.

I had a feeling after consulting Pumpkin, who’s sadly leaving today and who I’ll never see again the than pics when we leave, and got my inspiration for one or zero points from the BHA game.

Were or are you watching country this weekend? Or has the snow cut you off? Looks a bad one so thinking for you and the family and not losing essential power.

Marc
MA is just being true to form or his form. We’ve got away with some decisions, especially fouls on opponents keepers’ for set pieces. I see it as dangerous play being the letter of the law. Refs have been good to us lately.

To be fair it was a 50/50, but if it adds a nail to MA’s coffin, then, I’m there front and center with a FBH (fcuking big hammer).

We are a real mess and will continue to be with MA’s usual chaotic tactics because MA can’t win using bench players because he bought badly.

We are a 13 man team. Leicester needed a 15 man squad for their PL trophy win.

LIR
Slot will be itching to get at Manure as will his players be licking their collective lips, I still see pool winning by more than 3 goals.

We’ve got a tough run in and as was said earlier 7 games to play with injuries and a clueless manager in charge of the TW.

What could possibly go wrong?

Over to you TRVL can’t wait to read your thoughts on this weekend…..

To be fair I think both managers got their selections wrong…the very fact that Mitoma didn’t get the start, especially knowing that Timber was unavailable, was simply baffling…speaking of which, can you imagine any team with top 6/European aspirations being so reliant upon Danny Welbeck that their form drops off a cliff with his absence…Hurzeler is really starting to feel the weight of the task at hand, he’s a bit like an Arteta in the headlights nowadays…yet somehow they still managed to finagle a point

as to the manner in which they ultimately tied things up, I simply refuse to engage in any further ref conspiratorial nonsense until something inexplicable occurs…this was not that…I must say, I seen something very similar called on numerous occasions, but more often than not, that hasn’t been the case…the fact that it wasn’t overturned by VAR suggests that it was well within the letter of the law, although maybe not so much so when it comes to the spirit

as for MA, he was somewhat limited, from a selection standpoint, due to some sort of illness, as Havertz wasn’t available again and Ode was apparently on a minutes restriction…not sure I’m buying the whole Ode illness narrative…it seems to me if you really wanted to rid yourself of whatever malady that was going around, you would simply isolate anyone who was under the weather…I guess it’s possible that the medical staff felt he wasn’t endangering others, so he could dress, but he wasn’t fit enough to start…on the other hand, it just might have been another greasy maneuver on MA’s part to explain away an absence in a manner that would draw the least amount of criticism, even if it had far more to do with his preferred bully-ball tactics or load management…it certainly wouldn’t be the first time MA has used the “unfit to play” card, only for it to be subsequently debunked (Auba, Willian, Marts, ESR etc…)

sometimes I feel as if MA has purposely never shown all our cards, so if things go awry he can always sell the notion of a better future…how else could one possibly explain why we’ve never seen all 3 of our most creative players, Saka, Ethan and Ode, on the pitch to start a match…but I digress

as for yesterday’s match, maybe Ethan took a knock in the first half(wink, wink) and that’s why MA felt it best to replace him with a wrong-footed Marts, but if that didn’t occur, he should have never taken off the player most likely to score a second goal at the midway mark…to me this decision was all about two decidely problematic issues that continue to plague our club, MA’s overtly defensive inklings and his desire to cater to Rice’s preferred positional script

as to the former, he clearly didn’t like Ethan’s play inside our own end, which I agree wasn’t the best, but I think it’s important to note that he was sewered by some bad service on a couple of occasions…regardless, this alone shouldn’t have warranted his exit, as all teams sacrifice some defensive zone coverage if the offensive up-side justifies the risk…if that wasn’t the case Tross would likely never see the fucking pitch…why not instead have Marts come in on his best side, keep Ethan on the right, so as to stretch their backline, which would have in turn provided Ode with more space in which to work…even if MA was determined to give Tross a go against his former club (“revenge game”), put Marts on the right, to shore up things defensively a bit, then move Ethan over to the 8 and simply sub Merino, who was only playing in order to help with corners/set pieces and provide some defensive coverage help for Jorginho and Cala so that Rice could functionally replace Ode…WTF

this brings me to my second point, the Declan Rice dilemma…what are we doing here?? so let me get this straight, we sit the slow-footed Jorginho deep, so that our 100+M DM can be deployed as.our final third pivot…no wonder we gave up the ball so cheaply a fucking gazillion times in their end and why they found it to easy to navigate through our midfield at times…it’s like we’re handcuffing ourselves on fucking purpose…winning with bullying tactics or set piece dark arts might be fine for those with a limited budget and/or exceedingly lowered expectations, like Everton or Dyche’s former club Burnley, but why the fuck are we engaging in this sort of fine margins football…the whole thing is fucking embarassing considering the length of MA’s tenure and the monies spent…I wonder if MA’s tune about the January window will take a decided shift after dropping more points??? Cheers

decidedly

TRVL – fabulous post. The Rice conundrum is barking to say the least. He is neither creative nor has a reliable shot from distance. He made his name as a central defensive mid and we paid 100M for that position I presume. Why then MA at the slightest available opportunity will deploy Rice in ana advanced position. My assessment is that MA wants to play with 2 pivots but deploys the second one as left 8. He wants 2 defensive minded midfielders to presumable gain more control with Ode as creative hub. He will not play to save his life with Rice as center and two creative players flanking him. It has to be either Merino or Rice or Partey for 2 positions in the midfield. He will even play Kai to break up plays than any creative players along with Ode. Iam not sure he doesn’t just deploy a 2 pivots and just allow Ode to roam around with 2 players protecting him behind. This charade of 433 is not serving our purpose it’s better suited for. 4213 setup.
We will never be more creative I think with MA. It’s strange that he doesn’t have confidence in his defence to stop counters. With 4 seasons of playing together I would presume Saliba-Gab and one of the full backs are good enough protection. It’s bizarrely conservative setup for a team hoping to win the league. Even for bottom half teams he is loathe to setup in a attacking way. Brighton yesterday was by far performed worst in all the games that I have watched them. They have lost so many players like enciso, welbeck, sonny marsch, can’t remember an young center mid without these players Brighton was very conservative, yet we couldn’t break them. With better finishing Brighton may have snatched a victory. We are boring to watch and the lack of thrust / energy in attack leaves us short inany matches.

As I was expecting from you both great posts TRVL & Madhu, some real truths for all to see that make brutal sense.

MA’s uttering today was that he’s never seen a penalty like that before. Maybe he should learn more about the game, just a suggestion…….

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mikel-arteta-arsenal-brighton-nwaneri-34420149

The S.o.B appears to be gloating at Ethan injury like it was another God sent excuse for ESR treatment.
We would have lost yesterday if not for Nwari goal

Great game at Fulham with a sublime outside of the boot 30 yard curve to the RWcwho earns a pen that’s converted for 2:2 in the 89 th minute.

Fulham pushing for a winner.

Game of 3 penalties all right calls with VAR doing its job

Liverpool ManU could be seen as the game that effectively decided the PL and it could happen on the 5th January.

ManU one up – absolutely lashed in.

Madhu—great follow-up post, especially your commentary regarding MA’s lack of confidence in our ability to defend against the counter, which makes it even more confounding that our 100+M DM isn’t being deployed in his best position…let’s not forget that Rice actually played as a CB before moving into the midfield, so why wouldn’t you simply have your best 3 defenders, Saliba, Rice and Gabs, acting in that capacity, then have everyone else in play in more advanced positions…this simply further confirms my suspicions about the assurances that were given to the former Hammer captain upon signing, which is why I was so infuriated by MA’s claims the other day about him not needing to convince anybody to come here…when he says such disingenuous shit it reminds me of Wenger, during his latter term, when he was so fucking disrespectful to the fanbase…what makes it doubly disturbing is that not only did Rice get what he wanted from a positional perspective, even though it didn’t make footballing sense, he likewise didn’t help us whatsoever when it came to getting his deal over the line, which cost us a sizeable chunk of change…in my estimation, the whole transaction was a cake and eat it too fuckfest

it seems to me that MA simply came to the realization that he can’t compete with the best managers in the final third, tactically-speaking, so this is why he dumbed-down our tactics…think about it, why would it take 5 fucking years and 4+ phases to achieve such rudimentary ends…if this was what was in store why not hire the best set piece guru in the business day one, then buy every 6+foot fuck you could find…this looks far more like the start of something not the finished product…maybe MA’s dyslexic, but too proud to admit it!?!

TVRL- the kicker is the time hen we were buying rice Pool were buying Gravenberch and MacAllister for combined price of less than 100 M. Yet rice is being played in a position where he hasn’t made his name. I can’t understand the penchant to for square pegs in round holes.

it appears like Ethan has some sort of muscular injury, so at least MA’s halftime subbing wasn’t utter stupidity on his part…maybe he should have given him some more minutes throughout the season so he wasn’t so susceptible to injury during this more problematic period…anyways, it’s too bad for the kid,, hopefully it’s nothing serious and he’ll be back on the bench in no time…see what I did there?

there’s little doubt now that we’re going to have to consider bringing in a reinforcement or two…just worried about how MA will deal with that situation, especially with the kind of players I’m seeing rumours about in the last day or so…there’s a belief that none of MA’s supposed preferred options up top are available in this window, even though I’m not still not convinced that he’s looking for one, so it’s likely going to be a nothing burger move or a loan…all I can say is if it’s the latter, it better not include an obligation to buy!!

Madhu—at that time, I spoke at length about our all eggs in one basket approach, considering the dollars involved and what Pool had done…of course, no one would ever argue against the notion that we got by far the best player of the bunch, but that wouldn’t be the case if we had known all along that Declan was coming here to rewrite his positional script…knowing what we know now, he might have the lowest ceiling of the bunch, as all 3 of Pool’s midfield buys are younger and being deployed appropriately…the last thing we need is players emulating MA’s “prove everybody wrong” MO or even my “hail mary” hope of us winning in spite of the manager, if we were to acquire a few readymade finishers, will never come to fruition

Morning all
Watching the Manure/Pool first half I wasn’t surprised to see Manure finally back to playing as a team again. Until now, it’s been too many solo efforts where they lost possession to give away silly goals, and far too many of them.

The conditions made it a typical UK winter night of freezing rain where mistakes were easily come by that wouldn’t be made normally.

It was Like United have just woken from a long slumber, and it took playing their most hated rivals to wake the beast up again.

If I were MA, I’d be very worried playing MU in our current state, and where March 8th away at Old Trafford will be a must win for both sides. I don’t see Saka being ready for that, do you TRVL? You have better knowledge of injuries and recovery times, than I. Michael Owen, the hammy tear king, says he can’t see Saka playing in March after going under the knife.

Watching the game last night we would not have beaten either side, as their energy alone was far higher that us against BHA, where both sides stifled each other with insane pressing. We would have crumbled or got a red card.

This weekend has shown that City and United can push on from their respective wins. The Chavs, too, can get a run together, so, also in the mix to take points, but not win the league.

What we have going for us is we are home for the next 5 games:

Newcastle & Manure in the lesser cups.

Spuds & Villa in the PL

Dinamo Zagreb in the CL.

With home advantage all winnable with the right selections and tactics.

It really is all down to MA in the current TW, and then, getting everything right, which is akin to asking Stevie Wonder to play in goal asking for a clan sheet.

TRVL
As soon as you mentioned Ethan having a musical niggle earlier I immediately thought he hasn’t had enough minutes prior and last season to build muscle game strength and durability.

Nope! MA has just gone all last-resort, as is his way and thrown Ethan in the deep end wanting him to be the next Phelps. Had MA introduced Ethan to the shallow end and progressed from there, Ethan would be pulling up Fabregas type trees now, and making us tick in MF while scoring goals.

Has MA realized Ethan has more PL goals than Ode with only 2 PL starts?

Now, Ethan is laid up WITH MA frothing at the mouth to play him, so expect more Artetarization for poor Nwaneri.

We lost a good chance to gain ground on Slot this weekend, and blew it. I don’t see Slot dropping more points than us to the end of the season, do you?

All I can see going forward are disjointed and unbalanced teams being put out by MA.

What are your views guys?

Tony – the narrative after yesterday’s game is that league is back on from Arteta lovers blog. Apparently pool fluffed thier lines yesterday. The weather was horrific and yet we were served a very entertaining end to end game.
I really don’t know what MA is going to do in TW or setup the team like. I think it’s safe to assume that he will go conservative and setup like Brighton game and look to be tight at the back and win 1-0. In the two PL games both spurs and villa are not at thier best. So it may work out that we will beat both of them but 1-0 may be a doubt. Both sides are capable of scoring goals but I suspect Emery will setup a low block and look to counter us. Spurs I have no clue what they will serve up but if I were Ange I would look at it as a opportunity to get one over Arsenal. We are not at our best and surely will have player availability issues. It’s going to be interesting though