Well, it’s the North London Derby time. One of the best teams in the world is going to get into sh*t and hope to come out clean. September is a tough month for us, we already have dropped points against Brighton – thanks to the referees, and we are going to play Tottenham away next Saturday with City coming up next. With a bit of dent in our confidence, we need the win. I will go into the matchday details in a later post and let me use this one to vent out my frustration.
Declan Rice received 2 yellows and is suspended for the Tottenham game. Why? Because a ref decided to fuck up. I am not getting into the discussion of whether it was right or wrong call. If it was right, Joao Pedro did the same and should have been sent off as well and the game should have continued 10v10.
First off, Veltman appeared to quickly take the free kick but the ball was still moving, which makes it illegal. Ref should have had a talk with both players and should have said play on. If you are hell bent on giving a card, because it’s an Arsenal player, you miss (or ignore, choose your words) the illegality of that free kick that was about to be taken. And why was no card given to Pedro when he kicked the ball halfway through?
At this stage, we don’t even want the referees to be RIGHT. We just want them to be CONSISTENT in their POOR REFEREEING.
Saka had to say this to BBC Sport :
I thought it was a bit harsh for us. We just want some consistency. Joao Pedro booted the ball halfway across the pitch in the first half and got nothing for it, and Dec got the slightest touch and was sent off. It is what it is; I don’t want to put the whole game on the referee as we still had chances to win it. It has been a good start. Today is a disappointment, but it is a long season.
source : bbc sports
Mikel Arteta On Declan Rice’s red card…
I was amazed. Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there were two incidents and nothing happened. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan, he turns around, doesn’t see the player coming and touches the ball. By law, he can make that call, but by law then he needs to make the next call which is a red card. So we play 10 against 11. This amazed me, at this level.
source:Arsenal.com
It’s such a shame that nothing has changed yet again this season. The ref was from Manchester and I don’t need to guess if it can affect your decisions on the field. It’s high time for neutral European referees who don’t care if you are playing in blue or red. The PGMOL is a circus that needs disbanding.
Right, that was on the ref. The next one is on Mikel.
We haven’t heard from Mikel yet but there were injury concerns for Odegaard and Timber. Declan Rice is out for sure because of the 2 yellows. It’s okay that we have Thomas Partey but we have seen drop in performance after the 60min mark. Against Tottenham, it’s going to be a high intensity game which require a very high level of concentration. Can Thomas do that for 90min? I doubt that. Jorginho, the same thing. So, we haven’t got a DM that can play 90 with the same intensity, our only RCM could be ruled out for the game and for LCM, we would be playing Merino – his first game in Arsenal color.
You see why I was worried when we sold ESR and loaned Vieira? Odegaard. If our captain picks up an injury, no one is their to do half his job. ESR was the closest, Vieira could have still covered but there’s no one else to cover that position. Declan Rice / Thomas Partey / Jorginho / Merino – fight for the other two positions.
Third – we needed a CF. We missed chances in the Brighton half. A proper CF would have converted atleast one. A scoreline of 1-1 with 10 minutes sounds like the best thing, but we could still have won had we converted.
Right, I was gone for a week celebrating my birthday in Jaipur, the pink city and a lot had happened before transfer window closed. We brought Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea. A move I would have hated if he was to be our first choice but everyone and their dog know that he is going to play those 20 min when Saka needs the rest. Mikel Merino finally made it, Calafiori was done deal long back, the deal for that Spanish goalkeeper collapsed so we loaned Neto for a season. Reiss Nelson left, Nketiah is gone, Vieira sent on loan and Aaron Ramsdale joined Southampton on a permanent deal.
A good clean up but I am not satisfied with the incoming. I don’t know we may have to start a fundraise to bring a CF to the club. That’s it for the day, I will be okay by next weekend and I’m sure we are going to enjoy a beautiful win against our arch rivals.
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For once a ref who is an Arsenal fan 😀😀
Hoopah
Do I really need to tell you how stupid it is to tempt fate when dealing with a ref?
0:0 at half time is probably a fair reflection of the game. Had Spuds been more direct their attacks would have worked Rays vs more.
2nd half hard to call
Will Sterling save the day and win the points for us.
Tony
Yeah lots of huff and puff but lacking in quality far too often.
Could easily come down to that one odd moment where someone keeps their head.
Not sure encouraging our players to have a little nap at half time is a great idea – especially if you forget to set an alarm.
Don’t like the way this half has started
Spurs look to be instructed to get into the face tackling. Incidentally they seem to have got a way to get the ball off Martinelli by going horizontal.
But Spurs still not moving to take a pass and waiting for the the ball. So there is hope
White has been very average this season. Needs changing up. Jorginho is a passenger. Martinelli is having no joy so Sterling to replace to work with Trossard who has been decent.
Exactly why having a righted RB at LB isn’t going to work.
Not sure where the goals are going to come from without making changes, Hoopsh?
Spuds look more likely to score right now.
Finally big Gabs puts us in front from a set piece
We needed a set piece as open play we were poor
Dreams can come true…by Gabriel(le)
What will Ange do to change things?
Nice finish by Gabs but fuck me the defending was non existent.
Cheer up Postecoglou
Oh what can it mean
To a fat Aussie BASTARD and a shit football team
what a fortunate turn of events considering how poor we’ve been in the second half…we’re kind of lucky that Kulusevski is playing today, as he’s killed many of their countering efforts with his back foot passing out wide….it’s like he’s auditioning for a our manager, who loves himself a negative pass even when the match calls for a much more direct approach
so far this has gone how I had predicted…slowish and scrappy, yet somehow we’ve faced considerably less attention from the ref, minus the whole Timber gig…I wonder how that will be made to fit into the usual conspiratorial narrative surrounding the officiating
the goal should really work in our favour, as the Spurs don’t really have the players to cut through a more bus sitting operation…it will be interesting to see how much leeway MA will give Sterling et al when it comes to attacking on the counter, given our still fragile lead
that’s what the Chelsea version of Sterling did far too often…wasteful and sloppy footwork
Saka was vitally important today and not because of his offensive output, which was rather pedestrian, aside from the corner kick assist, but due to the fact that his presence made it diffcult for Porro to me more adventurous, which was absolutely crucial on this day
We used to be called boring under Graham – I don’t even know the word for how we’re playing at the moment, which is even more negative than Arteta’s norm.
not great out there, but I’ll gladly take the full 3 against this particular side any day of the week
Test
Don’t know which commentary you’re watching but this is the first time we’ve won three league games on the bounce at shite hart lane.
Marc—surely you knew that was coming considering our midfield options today…MA’s negative enough when his best 11 are available, so one can only imagine his defensive mindset on a day when some of his most important players were missing…that said, we’ve yet to put in a full 90 performance of any quality this season…of course, it’s still early days
I always think that if you beat the scum, the quality of the performance is secondary.
KP—I might agree if that was a one-off, but that’s clearly not the case…not sure these types of performances get it done against Atalanta and/or City
Hi Lads, so a set piece saved our blushes and outs us in the mix again with Liverpool dropping 3 yesterday. Spuds were woeful in our final third; no cohesion or pace now Kane has gone.
2 things stood out to me.
Watching Sterling try to run back from their penalty box edge was painful. It was like he was running in grease so slow.
If Timber can be calmer as he was later in the 2nd half he is a really good defender.
Really happy for the 3 points and now Atlanta mid week then City Sunday…… Can El be do the unimaginable?
Tony—Timber has played as a CB, so he should be defensively sound…that said, he might have some lingering mental concerns following his season long injury, as that has a nasty habit of making players think too much about their movement instead of doing what should come naturally to them…on a side note, let’s hope whatever led to Saka’s departure isn’t something that might keep him sidelined considering our upcoming fixture list
Hi Vieira
I see what you mean but the only time I ever apply that caveat is when we defeat the cockerel jockeys.
Don’t know which commentary you’re watching but this is the first time we’ve won three league games on the bounce at shite hart lane.
Since the late 80s I meant to add.
Player of the match – Raya (sorry)
Defender otm Timber
Midfielder otm Tross
Attacker otm Havertz
Biggest spurs wanker otm Song (who else?). But special mentions for Romero and their GK.
Most annoying Arteta-ism – Reaching into the pitch to pick up a loose ball in the first half. He was lucky the ref blew for a foul
Ref watch A plague on both houses. Yellow-cardtastic. I thought we were going to equal the record from the game between Chelsea and Bmouth at one point . Quite surprising there were no red cards.
Today’s bench…
Murara Neto
9
Fernando Gabriel Jesus (s 80′)
15
Jakub Kiwior
30
Raheem Sterling (s 80′)
49
Myles Lewis-Skelly
53
Ethan Nwaneri (s 86′)
47
Maldini Kacurri
46
Ismeal Kabia
76
Ayden Heaven
Rice and Ode aside, have we got some kind of injury crisis? I’m glad I didn’t check the bench pre game otherwise my arse would have been squeaking…
Just answered my own question by looking at our squad. Yes, we have got a massive early season injury crisis of wengerian proportionx.
Morning all
All I can say about yesterday is thankfully Spuds were dire in our final 3rd. That said we were not much better in their final 3rd either.
The good news is we got the 3 points we desperately needed. The bad news is the manner in which we won. A luck set piece that Gabs got after a 2-handed push on Romero.
The stats gave us 36% possession., which when you consider El B’s tactical game is founded on keeping possession and getting through our lines quickly, although nearly always down our right side.I agree with KP Raya was our MOTM again.
He’s turning out to be Emi’s level if he can keep to his current form.
Yesterday showed that Trossard is a better 8 than Rice, not that El B will have noticed. Tross has been deployed there before but the play still went right centric. Yesterday Trossard was more in the attacking mix as he also fitted into the false 9 slot from the left.
Looks like another right fit El B has stumbled across and found because we didn’t have Ode yesterday dictating our attack. Trossard works at 8/false 9 if the attacks are evenly spread across our front 3.
White is regressing with 30 passes completed at 85%; he lost possession twice and only made 2 tackle as our right back because Spuds went round him for fun and thus showing While is not a RB – he is an average aerially challenged RCB. It’s funny seeing White rendered useless at corners now he can’t get to their keepers. He was pissed with being blocked off yesterday.
Sell white long before Saliba is my belief.
I’ll reiterate I can’t believe how slow Sterling its now. Jorginho is a race horse compared to our pop bellied, rhino like excuse os a PL player. What him running back from their 18 yard box. I wish I could unsee it.
The points are on the board so that’s all that matters this morning. The same shit different day is our cross to bear.
Onto all things City:
Obviously, City are going to want to play things down as much as they can, so their season doesn’t unravel. Now the charges are going to be heard, I hope every PL club’s supporters really go to town on City at games.
The fans at each ground can make a difference is there is enough vitriol against City. The TV cameras and press will love it and City get a trial by press and public opinion at each game.
Incessant chants of “GUILTY AS CHARGED CHEATING ( insert your word choice)”………….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rtof6uJPCY
Shameless cnuts…………..
“Manchester City bosses told stars that they have ‘NOTHING to worry about’ as the club’s trial over 115 charges of financial misconduct begins TODAY
Man City execs told their players the club would not lose ‘the trial of the century’
Ex-City star Laporte said they were reassured there was nothing to worry about”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13853405/Manchester-City-bosses-reassure-stars-worry-clubs-trial-115-charges-financial-misconduct-begins-Monday.html
Looking forward to hearing what the Arsenal faithful sing next Sunday at the Etihad….
Apparently, pundits are saying El B had us playing against the Spuds like a Jose Mourinho side. Bet Pedro loved hat.
It would explain winning by a lucky set piece that could easily been disallowed for the 2-handed push by Gabs on Romero. We got lucky with the VAR and ref where seasons even themselves out over a season but the fanboys & tin foil hat brigade fail to understand. With their IQs it’s easy to understand.
In other news Jorginho is reportedly explaining how we are going to stop the Haarland goal machine Sunday. Bet Pep is all ears.
Shearer thinks we’ll win the league, so that’s the kiss of death then…..
One piece of good news is that Sake’s knock is minor with Saka being fit for Sunday.
Next up Atlanta Thursday evening. Why Thursday for CL football?
An analysis of how likely Jover manipulated the lone Arsenal set -piece goal
https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news/genius-ben-white-arsenal-set-29949892
Not buying that one, Hoopah.
There was a clear 2-handed push in the back of Romero that cleared the space. I noticed White trying to to get to the keeper at corners and angled free kicks, so not really a tactic.
We were lucky with the push, as it seems many pros are divided on it, and I’m thankful we got away with it, but let’s not invent Walter Mitty tactics here.
White’s been poor all season and Timber should be playing RB. It’s not as if we’re short for LBs. That would mean the off form White and top pet would be benched.
Never going to happen
Just more spin, Hoopah.