The Tiny Totts v Arsenal. As it happened, and indeed as it didn’t. And stuff like that.

By Tony Attwood

As you will know if you are a regular Untolder, Walter normally does a post match report, generally within about 15 seconds of the match ending.

But Walter is today becoming a TV star, being called upon to work for Belgium TV, so what with me not being at the game in the High Road I’ve got the job of doing the post match whatnot, for the first time.  I doubt that I can get up to anything like Walter’s level of insight and expertise, but I might be able to pick up something or other.

In England the game is on BT Sprout, which is not promising.  Also odd is that Arsenal.com put up the wrong team having Gibbs both on the beach and in the team.  He turned out to be in the team.  Giroud is clearly being saved for Hull so we have Danny playing number 9, with Ramsey, Ozil and Alexis behind him, and a defensive midfield of Elneny and Coquelin backing them up.

BT Sprout launched the afternoon endlessly chattering about how there never has been a north London derby that matters as much as this one, making utter tossers of themselves by having absolutely no knowledge of the final game of 1970/71 season.  For that game no one could move across north London from about 9am as Arsenal needed to win to win the league.  BT Sprout execs might care to read about the build up to the match and the game itself on the Arsenal History Society’s “Arsenal in the 70s” series, episode 3.

These days the ground on Tottenham High Road is very small, as befits a club that last won the league 55 years ago.   But it has been hype hype hype… I mean I work in an advertising agency but really even I don’t to hype like this when writing adverts.  BT Sprout ought to be reported to the Advertising Standars Authority.

In the old days they used to say you didn’t need the ball for the first half hour of a game against the Tiny Totts.    These days it’s a bit less, particularly because of the terrible state of the Tiny pitch at the edges, just mud, mud and then some.  Not that the all-Tiny match commentary team noticed.

But it started off really frenetic with the ball ping ponging up and down and around until on 15 minutes within the space of about 90 seconds the game changed.  The crowd was quieter (no stamina in N15, that’s the problem).   The game slowed down.   So on 20 mins we get an Arsenal attack.  But Ramsey is too relaxed and nearly lets the Tinies in.   But it is now a different game.

It is more scrappy with the BT commentators calling it “very enjoyable” to try and cover the fact that with the Tinies free-flowing football is not an option.

However on 22 mins we find some open spaces for the first time and on 23 mins we hear Arsenal fans singing which is a surprise given how few seats we are given these days.

Desperation in the Sprout studio as this is not going as predicted so the commentary team declare on 24 mins that the Arsenal players are lazy.

25 min Brilliant save by Ooooospina.   Card for Bellerin after ball had clearly gone out for throw in.  27min Lamela card for holding  29 min Coquelin card for handball – silly thing to do.  Arsenal not got the passing but have taken the steam out of the Tinies.   Alexis finding it very hard to get into the game against such a hearty bunch of roughs and playing on mud on the left side.

31 mins gone and it all sounds very quiet on TV, but commentators say there is more confidence in the Totti team as Ozil tries to score from inside his own half after a header by the Tiny keeper.

So now we have Arsenal getting the ball more but they can’t hold on to it long enough, with the Totties  pressing quickly all the way.  The tackle from behind is now being seen as ok by the ref who is starting to look out of his depth.

On 36min Gabriel starts revealing how much English he has learned through close ups of him shouting.  Game is getting very scrappy.  Crowd is getting very quiet.

And then, oh my oh my, Ramsey does another of those back flicks he has been practising without luck all season and scores a brilliant goal.   Welbeck gets clear, Bellerin to Ramsey, Ramsey back flip.  First back flip on target from Arsenal

40 minutes gone and it is a very quiet ground.   Another great break Alexis and Ozil on their way but Alexis was off side.  Crowd utterly quiet except for the Arsenal fans who are doing a magnificent job.

Elneny in particular is looking great, as we get a brilliant chance on 41 minutes and it is a close thing.  Three on two and it looks like Wenger has a decent gameplan here.  Chances coming Arsenal’s way, another chance for Welbeck but the header is too weak.

Elneny is indeed looking terrific – what a bargain for a few million quid.   43 minutes and the Ooooospina shout heard really clearly.   Totty support is desperately quiet.  Totties starting to throw the fouls away.  Poor old BT commentators who have been talking up the Tinies don’t quite know what to make of it.

1 min added on time.  Tottie players calling every throw in as their’s even when clearly kicking out –  clutching at straws comes to mind.

Everything depends on how AFC prepare over the half time.

Arsenal kick off the second half with a very quiet ground.  A litte “Cum on you Spuds” from the crowd, but it is very feeble.   Ramsey doing a very solid bit of midfield clearing, and it is all Arsenal.

A Tiny shot reaches row 15 and the commentators are doing excuses for the Tinies as they are the youngest team in the PL and have no experience of being this high up the league.  Any minute now they will have the smallest ground, and the muddiest as if that excuses their performance.  “Everyone expected Tottenham to run all over Arsenal…” they say but the truth is Sprout expected the Tinies to run all over Arsenal.

49 mins and  Elneny again show great ability.   The Tiny dirge is sung, but even for a dirge it is dull and prompts Ozil to come into the game a little more.  Not every pass perfect but he’s getting going.   The tinies try and attack but two Tottenham players are so off side they are practically in Wood Green.

The commentators start listing Tiny players who are being described as “not at their best” but…

54 mins Coquelin sent off – really his fault.  Commentators slobbering  with delight.  Pathetic Tiny fans only come to life as a result.  Where were they in the rest of the game?   And as a result on 59 minutes Lamela gets a goal from a corner 1-1.

Two minutes on 61 Kane scores; the goal didn’t come as a result of Coquelin not being there, but the psychological impact on Totties of playing ten men has picked them up.   But the development of Elneny has maybe shown Coquelin that he really needs to control himself.  Untold has championed Coquelin’s cause since he was 17, but by now he should be able to stop the cards.

65 mins we are 2-1 down and the Ref gives card to Alexis for reasons that are not at all clear.  He pushed Lamela after being pushed himself.  Typically Lamela is not cautioned.  Had he been he would have been off.

So now we’re holding on but psychologically the game has swung the Tinies way, apart from the fact that they have 9% more players than we do.  As a result Tiny players are fouling at will and Dyer looks surprised at getting a yellow for putting his arms everywhere and anywhere.

73 minutes and Giroud coming on for Elneny – an interesting and indeed a blod change, if this works Wenger should be the hero – it could go horribly wrong.  A view that we might as well have a bash and amazingly…

Alexis chooses this moment to stop messing about and score.  I’m amazned beyond amazement.  The whole Totty team is pushing out  Bellerin to Alexis, he watches the ball throughout and doesn’t look up and its 2-2.   First goal since mid October.  Now everyone has to hold on.

76 mins, and Ground very quiet.  Can we bring Elneny back on for Giroud?  Tinies engaging in horrible fouls – Walker does one.. but suddenly Arsenal confident and Tinies look nervous.   Dyer dreadful, dreadful foul on Giroud and ref fails to give yellow.  Even Sprout commentators are amazed as this horrific bit of bias and ineptness by the ref which could completely turn the game.  Exactly the sort of incident that makes me think that either the PL has inept refs or they are bent.  One or the other.

80 mins and the teams are playing like it is equal numbers; Tinies looking uncertain.  I’ve drunk too much red wine and don’t know if I can finish this off.

Dembele off Son on. Ref showing no sign of being aware of his cock up and then very close for Welbeck, but then comes off and Flamini comes on.  That means the silly little chappie who said on Twatter that he will support Leicester if Flamini plays again will be leaving us.   Ahhhh.  Brilliant save by Ospina.

85 mins, it is still 2-2 but we are still a man down.    Gibbs is playing centre forward.  Ludicrous Tiny foul leads to a free kick just right of centre Alexis lines up with Ozil, Alexis on target, keeper saves with a punch out.

87 mins and this is getting worrying.  Gabriel miskick almost leads to an own goal.  Co-commentator in studio laughs his head off.  Kane then shoots about 20 yards over the goal from 10 yards out, no laughter.  Humour bias?  I guess so.

Joel Campbell coming on for Ozil.   Crowd is very quiet, and Arsenal attacking, looks very much like handball in the Tiny penalty area but the ref won’t give anything Arsenal’s way.   There are four minutes added.

All Tiny pressure now and…

the picture is lost.  BT Sprout puts up a message saying we are sorry.  I have no TV to watch.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Try to find my portable radio.  But it’s not there.  Go to the radio in the sitting room that is permanently on Radio 4.  How to re-tune?

BT sport comes back on but no commentary and no score and no indication of time. Have I missed a goal?

No, BT Sprout blame the local power supply, and apparently it is all over.  Still trying to see if it was 2-2.

Yes it was.

God I need a drink but can’t as I’m going out this evening to a dance and need to sober up.

Anniversaries

5 March 1892: After many clubs dropped out of the attempt to form a Southern League the remainder (but without Arsenal) moved towards forming The Southern Alliance, a league that lasted just one season.

5 March 1897: The Kentish Mercury reported that 54 people had applied for the job of Arsenal manager, showing that the fame of the first League club in the south had clearly grown.

And elsewhere…

  • 5 March 1841: “The Queen of Naples looks like a grocer’s wife overcome with age.  She has the irritated air of a benevolent curmudgeon.  The Queen of Spain is good natured and friendly, but horribly common.”  Stendhal on social life in Rome
  • The insult of the day (for the aaa)

    Thou has the most unsavoury similies (Henry IV Part 1)

 

98 Replies to “The Tiny Totts v Arsenal. As it happened, and indeed as it didn’t. And stuff like that.”

  1. The best and worst of arsenal. 5 minutes of madness and meltdown followed by a magnificent response of character.
    Beating Hull and then Watford next week would really then things around. Then we face the dilemma of what team to put out against Barcelona.

  2. I’d put our under 18 team out against Barcelona first as a celebration of them getting into the semi-finals of the Youth Cup and second as a sign of contempt for Barcelona and their treatment of children.

  3. Tony,

    I will repeat what I think about Lamela’s pushing. If Coquelin didn’t go for doing the same thing while on a yellow card against Leicester (pushing the player while the game was stopped), neither should Lamela. Lamela’s dive after Alexis’ push, however… Even Serbian commentator said someone should have said Lamela that Di Caprio had already won Oscar.

    Dier’s second bookable offence was blatant foul. I don’t know what was going through Oliver’s brain but I know he then left Bellerin off the hook for the second bookable offence on Alli at the same spot where Coquelin had fouled Kane.

    Also, I have to agree with the historical importance of this NLD because it meant a lot for BOTH clubs. From the Arsenal point of view, of course, 1970-71 meant more but this time both teams are in the battle for the title.

    It’s such a great thing that Alexis scored today even if Welbeck looked like our best forward today.

  4. Well, I think Walter was given a wonderful game to comment on, even though I only seen the last third (we had company last night). I seen the very beginning of the second half, and then went off to do some cooking. I come back to find that PGMO had tilted the table again. Why can’t the police at the game arrest the referee?

    I would have preferred the win.

    Tony, enjoy the dancing.

  5. there will be no Bellerin’s second bookable offence if ref give Dier a second yellow
    and “that” famous second bookable offence wasn’t that bookable at all

  6. Very good comments Josif. I agree on all points. And Tony let’s not forget 2004 also when we won the league at whl. That was a big game for spurs too as they were in danger of relegation.

  7. Very good comments Josif. I agree on all points. And Tony let’s not forget 2004 also when we won the league at whl. That was a big game for spurs too as they were in danger of relegation.

  8. Well done Tony. In the lead up to the totts second Alli was offside. The final chance that Ransey had should have been a pen as Wimmer didn’t touch the ball with his sliding challenge that took Ramsey down. Still a 14 v 10 game was drawn by Wengers quality team.

  9. Josif, I’d still go for 1971 because with that game Arsenal won the league with that last game of the season. No matter what the result today either side still had a chance to win the league.

    But on the other hand I was getting a bit worked up and carried away having to do Walter’s in-match commentary.

  10. Josif,

    Both Alexis and Lamela should have boon booked or neither should have been. Dire should definitely have had a second yellow card. Coquelin was fouled by two Tottenham players before his handball for his first yellow card so that was harsh. We should also have had a penalty for handball in the closing minutes. More points robbed by the PGMO.

    My prediction is for Spurs to win the title on the last day assisted by the ‘powers that be’.

  11. To be fair I did not watch the game as I had to take my son for his football and then guitar practice. Reading the reports, the boys showed great character, thats what we want. Now for the refs, what should we do about it?

  12. Too many corners to them instead of goals kicks to us given today. The odd one is ok – but when a gormless gob in a mask shoots 40 feet over without an opposition player in sight, that is pathetic officiating.

    Danny Welbeck quickly back on the horse, goals for Rambo and Alexis, and Mo looks like he has being playing for us for years.

    Onwards and Upwards 🙂

    The final piece of the PGMOL jig saw was placed today with the oh so obvious turning of the last, half decent referee.

  13. We may not win the league this time, but i have a very good feeling that we will be celebrating st.totteringham day again this year.

  14. @Andrew

    You could be right. I am not a referee so I will leave the real verdict to the reviewers. I just want to collect all facts before unleashing the righteous wrath on the PGMOB. 🙂 Like Ospina’s time-wasting (no yellow card even when he takes 35-40 seconds for a goal-kick). He started with it after that amazing save from the goal-line. I knew his injury wasn’t anything serious because he had done it many times last season, usually when we were a goal up.

  15. This game in my opinion should be seen as a victory considering the circumstances and the way our lads performed. In the long term, this might serve to give us a much needee boost of morale that we desperately need if we want the title to be ours’

  16. Well done to the lads, however, some of the idiots here Cry racism/sexism, yet verbally abuse others

  17. Very good result considering the circumstances. In evert game we played in 2016 there’s been at least one ‘mandatory’ controversial decision against Arsenal. And still some can’t see what’s going on in front of their very own eyes. I’ve no time for such people.

  18. Totts have Liverpool, United, and Chelsea left. Leicester, on the other hand, hopefully drop points. CYOG!

  19. It would be nice if some people who have seen Walter on TV, could talk about that. I have no doubt that at some point, Walter will tell us from his point of view.

    Searching for stories about football referees in England on Google News, the only story seems to be rugby related. All the medja are blind to the problem.

    Congratulations to the U18 for beating Liverpool in that FA Cup semifinal. Tony, I like your idea of sending them out against those Messi molesters, but I to be fair I think we would need to augment the team a little.

  20. Just been listening to Geoff Stelling describe the Alexis equaliser as being a half hit shot. When you consider that, it goes without saying that Lloris must have made a halfhearted effort to save the “Half” shot from Alexis . Do you think it would be the decent thing to do to award Arsenal with half a goal. I get so fed up with the sneaky pops that the certain people make about Arsenal. With regard to Olivers’ performance all I can say is that he must have seen the youth cup match against v Liverpool last evening where the ref allowed any number of trips and pushes by Liverpool to go unpunished.

  21. Oops. The U18 game against Liverp was a quarter final game. The upcoming game against ManC is a semifinal.

    Nice to see Cech twiting support to the team, even though he wasn’t used today.

  22. @Tony,

    Good job with the post match summary in the place of Walter!

    I was holding out hope for Oliver after OT last year, but it looks like his PGMO reprogramming has been complete. Only way for change is to cut off the head of the monster, Riley needs to go or the FA needs to grow a sack and be in control of the officials like all the other European FAs that have major leagues (Spain, France, Germany, Italy).

    No one in the media mentions Coquelin getting tripped before he falls and gets penalized for the handball. Dier escapes a clear second yellow, and where was the replay of the handball incident at the end? The commentators mentioned it once when it happened, but not even a replay or mention in the post game highlights.

  23. One of the reasons that I dislike the Spuddies is that, match after match, they dive, push-pull, hold, and kick the hell out of our players – and usually go unpunished by the biased PGMO.

    Today was no exception, but I was proud of our guys – they really stood up today & in the circumstances (10 v 12) were the better team. That we were robbed of two points is just the usual result from the PGMO tilting the playing field – but the dumbass dorks on BT protected the ref incompetence with a mixture of biased commentary and their own blatant incompetence.

    But, well played our team!

  24. Bjtgooner

    The BT lot were so happy with Spuds, funny how their voices were stunned by Alexis.

  25. dan – grow up. You were never abised on here just chastised for referring to our players as fragile.
    We were playing our favs you know.

  26. Srevo – it is sad that our kids have to go through the same PGMO officiating. Is it any wonder I get so damned annoyed at the blind cheating. These are not mistakes. These is deliberate cheating in a professional capacity punishable by a criminal law suit with damages that could run into billions.

  27. In all of the decisions that go against us where the ref has clearly seen it, the thing that annoys me the most is when the media say abut the offending player “he got lucky”, no if it is unseen then he gets lucky, if it is seen but ignored then he is let off by the official, with this simple rewording we can clearly see what is happening.

  28. Menace

    You can look at my comments, I’ve always stood up for our boys. What makes matters worse is some of them playing into the hands of the powers that be. The confidence in lads was clearly fragile as the start of match clearly highlighted, how can the team not be shot mentally, wham all is going against you. The club being silent on these matters Lao must be sending the wrong message in the dressing room.

  29. Wenger cannot make too much of the officiating because the league will have him up before the FA & stupid penalties will be set. Nothing gets done without publicity.

  30. Menace

    again, that’s not wengers job, but, the club has a board. Dein used that very well.

  31. Dan
    When you say call people ‘idiots’ for verbally abusing others what do you think you’re doing? You’re just as guilty of verbal abuse as well!

    I have no problem with most of your comments most of the time but today I particularly didn’t like you taking issue with Louissa for calling out what is still a racial comment in anyone’s book. The moment you refer to someone by their colour/nationality you run the risk of being called racist. And especially if thats followed by a derogatory term (e.g., you African/British/Asian bastard) then there’s no truer case of racism than that. Vardy was ‘disciplined’ by Leicester for racism after saying to a Casino goer ‘Oi, Jap!’. Compare that with John’s comment today, and try and tell me that wasn’t racist??

    Louissa did the right thing to call that out, and I’ll never know why you leapt to the defence of obvious trolls like John and his ilk. We all know Untold is not about that, and don’t want to continue to put spotlight on that on a day we should be celebrating the mental strength shown by the team. Most people argue in a civil manner on here. Yes tempers occasionally get flared and people may call each other names but when we see nasty individuals resorting to racial abuse we should applaud people calling racists out rather than take issue with them. So I urge you to stop equating verbal abuse with racism, the two are very very different.

  32. I think Wenger highlights the refs as much as he realistically can, even today he has pointed out the way the Coquelin and Dier incidents were treated differently…

  33. Dave C
    Thanks for the link. Blatant bias right there.

    ob1977
    Agree. Wenger tries to bring it out in a way that doesn’t land him in trouble. Was watching CNN and the reporter also commented on the failure to send Dier off as puzzling, given how stern Oliver had been with Coq.

    IMO the first yellow was actually a foul against Coq. He was sandwiched between two players and tripped, and his only handling of the ball was a result of firmly believing the ref would call the foul. The second one was metersacker/Costa all over again. The attacking player hooking their leg into the defending player. With an official looking to punish you that always gets punished. So both yellows were harsh. More obvious and blatant fouks by Lamela and Dier were not punished. And we’re supposed to just accept that refs are human and they’ll make mistakes… Nonsense.

  34. This game is the one we should’ve had a little earlier…

    Though I hate to say this….but Tynies are strongest tiny sides we’ve ever faced, and we came back with ten men and could’ve won the game. This shows our strength passion character resilience hunger and spirit. This will bode well for the rest of the season.

    Come on gunners.

  35. Tony,
    Not for the first time, I feel compelled to take you to task over the rather snide remarks made about BT Sport.
    Please have regard to all those loyal supporters of our great Club who are no longer able to visit the Ems or elsewhere. Or have never had the opportunity to do so. Or will never have the opportunity to do so.
    To this host of fans, BT Sport (and Sky) are an absolute godsend.
    The spoken word can easily be ignored by either broadcaster, but the joy of following Arsenal visually should not be under-estimated.
    Please take these remarks on board in the spirit in which they are proffered.

  36. Al

    let’s just say we differ in what is and what is not racist, I’ve been called many things. Referring to people who have just verbally abused me with calling me much worse than an idiot, well I’m going shake them by the hand!

    Calling someone a racist is very strong, you must be certain, im not defending the person you say, I’m saying crying racism is very easy these days.

  37. @Arsenal 13

    And yet I’d take just two-and-half players from their team – Kane, Alderweireld and, if Jack’s fitness doesn’t improve, Alli.

  38. Dan
    I’m saddened that you actually think calling someone ‘you African cunt’ isn’t racist…

  39. Watching Watford v Leicester, pigmob are creating monsters in Leicester players. They are now more or less thugs, kicking, shoving, choking, diving, you name it. And Moss is happy to oblige. I think the main difference with Stoke is they’re quicker.

  40. Nicky I fully appreciate your point about broadcasters and the value of having matches on TV. Indeed my view, which I have put occasionally on Untold is that all Premier League games should be live on TV, and they should all be announced at the start of the season. This would raise more money, and stop games being moved at the last moment.

    My objection is to the commentary and the editing of the filming. The filming edits out vital issues and the commentary is lopsided. I don’t mean this just because of watching Arsenal – that is hard for me to judge because of my support for the club. But when I watch two teams that I don’t support, I find them endlessly picking up previously agreed trivia and bias.

    They are self-serving, desperate to portray every match as exciting and vital – they were being criticsed for this in the 1970s – as the series reviewing the 70s on the history site has picked up and reported. Now the papers are part of the bias, and it is up to the blogs to call the TV companies out.

  41. I do require that the exchange between various people about what is and what is not racist, plus the calling of names, stop now. If it doesn’t I shall remove people from the site.

    This is a site for exchange of views, not name calling.

    If you are called a name, please ignore it. If you find it offensive email me at Tony.Attwood@aisa.org giving me details and I shall investigate.

    I’m not taking any action over comments before this point, but if there are any more after this warning, I will take action. No matter how much you are abused, ignore it, and if you are concerned, report it to me. Do not respond.

    It is not possible to have people watching the site 24 hours a day to control discussion, and we do need everyone to be restrained.

    If you can go with this, I would be very much obliged.

  42. Al

    That wasn’t said, I’m sorry but no one said that. Al understand being called that is totally different that is different than what has been said.

  43. With Leicester’s win, we’re now eight points behind. It’s not out of sight, but considering the fixtures they’ve got coming up (right the way through March and April), we may soon be out of reach. It’s probably not entirely true, but it is starting to feel like every game is a must win.

    The referees recently have really taken their toll: we’ve dropped eight points in the last week alone, and between Rashford’s handball, Swansea’s unfair equaliser, and Dier/Lamela being allowed to stay on, a lot of them, if not all of them, were lost to us due to the referees.

    Far too many decisions have gone Leicester’s way this season. There’s no denying their run is a fairy tale, and like all fairy tales, they both have an element of fantasy and tend to skip over quite a lot of important details.

  44. Al
    I will call you out on this subject ..I used the word “Indian cesspit”.Ive been to India once and there were many . They were used to contain stagnant water and effluent.Why when i use the word indian does it become racist?I used this remark on menace who has constantly abused referees for as long as ive been coming on this site. Louisa does that insult you more than calling a person a derogatory term for female genetalia like a “cunt”or the “You’re both fucking wankers,”.If so you are a member of the racial police that have plagued this country for too long ..Get a life

  45. That was a good match played by Arsenal today.I have wondered why AW has not played with 2 holding players more often.With our attack we will make may chances and hopefully take them.Regarding BT sprout, I usually have the sound turned down.On another matter, I see David Pleat has come out in defence of AW.He said it was wrong for ex Arsenal players to have a dig at Arsene Wenger.I think they are a total disgrace.

  46. Leicester can be reeled in, the only problem is the pigmob; it seems the more negative decisions we get the more positive decisions they get, on the other hand. If I wasn’t cynical of the refs I’d say it was all coincidence.

  47. Moss was woeful.

    He was completely fucked after 20 minutes, and every time he needed a breather, he gave an easy free kick to Leicester.

  48. Good write up Tony.

    As for BT Sprout – the sound is always off. Even the sound of donkey’s in the heat of passion is preferable to their plastic pundits.

    Its great that Alexis equalised today and a shame that Tottenham didn’t get what they deserved… Nothing.

  49. Haven’t read the report or comments, but thought I would post this – something I saw on social media from an acquaintance of mine. He is not an Arsenal fan – Chelsea I think – indeed not much of a football fan at all. But I think it is worth relating:

    “Team goes down to 10 men. Falls 2-1 behind but manages to snatch a very important point with a late equalizer.
    Supporters’ key takeaways? That it’s two points lost rather than one point gained, and that the player should never have made the mistake that got himself sent off.
    Only at Arsenal.
    Gotta be honest; if I was an Arsenal player, I’d think that the supporters were a bunch of miserable gits as well.”

  50. it is funny Coq got sent of at the home of the chickens ( very harshly i felt) .

    I hope walter enjoyed his day in the sun ,

    would have loved ozil’s effort to go in would have made my month; time to do something important spend time with a loved one and lose at cards again wish me luck she cheats

  51. Even pro establishment main stream media is highlighting the issue of the ref failing to send off the spud today, hell the paedophile broadcasting company is stating this as well.

  52. Al @7.13pm

    Totally agree about how the PGMO are treating Leicester – Moss was……well……a PGMO dork following orders.

  53. Arsenal.com has an article up now, from Francis. He didn’t see our goal be scored.

    I wonder how many times Gabriel is going to see that clearance almost go in the net tonight? I think in the game, Mertesacker came along and consoled him on it. Good thing to do.

  54. John,
    I have called you out for your racism some time ago, on a separate thread.

    You advised a contributor from Nigeria “…to go back to watching the Nigerian league if you don’t like what you see here” or words to that effect. Now you are trying to weasel out of your “Indian cesspit” insult with the weak and contrived excuse that this is what cesspits in India are like. I got news for you buddy – cesspits the world over are the same.

    Tony,
    You have asked us not to engage with name callers / abusers / racists etc. In John’s case it’s a shame because even though he is from the WOB, he occasionally captures the frustration that many of us fans feel quite well. But I for one am fed up with his mealy-mouthed hate mail. I guess he just can’t help himself.

    Duly reported

  55. Tony,
    With respect, your 7.15 totally misses the point.
    You refer to (a)editing and (b)commentary by BT Sprout (as you call it).
    Neither of these aspects of broadcasting have any real connection with the points I raised in my complaint. I was referring solely to live games involving Arsenal FC, plus the ready availability of the mute button.
    My humble request is this…..in criticising BT Sport, please don’t forget its current vital importance to the legions who, for various reasons, cannot attend home and away matches involving our great Club.
    Without TV, where would we be? I would rather watch BT or Sky broadcasts with all their imperfections than nothing at all. Please remember that maybe one day you could be in a similar restrictive holding position, i.e. pipe, Calvados and a TV remote. 😉

  56. Good fightback in the circumstances, hopefully changes a few narratives.
    Was pleased to see Coq and Elneny start in the centre with Rambo further forward, despite Coqs red, I hope Wenger is not shy of playing like this in certain games.
    The ref was …yet…..again, a complete joke, so was Moss. You can see clearly the teams getting favoured…..starting to think FIF may be right about them giving Leicester the title, though Spurs seem to be their plan B based on the ref decisions they get week in week out. But even at home, with the ref and a numerical advantage, they couldn’t beat us….credit to our team.

  57. Back from the TV studio… hope to be able to write about it in the next days and add a few pictures.

    The best part of the TV show according to the Arsenal Belgium supporters was when I said to the spuds lovers this great sentence: “You won the league twice in your history, we alone won it twice at WHL”. 🙂 I rather liked that and still enjoy it.

    But more about it later.

    Thanks Tony for the match report

  58. not interested in making friends , spurs are cheating shits and we got the draw so fuck off

  59. This is what i and most other fans want, to see engagement and passion of our team.
    Normally at 2-1 and a man down we would not have recovered, but we looked even to go on and win.

    I said many time before, every game should be treated as if we are playing Spuds.

    Anyhow, still some critism, Le Coq, where is your head? Wake up and stop the really unnecessary 2 feeted tackles any time soon.
    Bellerin, have you got a little weight on? You are not as quick and spry as you were, almost a little panicked last few games against your opposite, what is going on?

  60. Great character today from the lads.

    These players have been abused in the media and abused by some of their own fans. They had to go to a hostile away ground and play in a game that was Spurs Super Cup Final. They have been low on confidence and this has not been helped by the knowledge they have been unlucky.

    Ospina has been insulted for no other reason than he was a convenient scapegoat and a cheap way to attack the Manager after Olympiacos. Elneny was insulted because he didn’t cost £35m. Both players proved these criticisms were based on ignorance.

    So for Ospina and every one of those players to put in a performance like that deserves immense credit. And it proves they are not the bottles the AAA say they are. Even down to 10 men we never lowered our heads.

    When confidence is low and things don’t go your way it is easy to hide. None of our players hid today. In fact, we proved Spurs are a good side but one that has been overhyped. I even heard the commentator say Spurs haven’t won a title for a while, clearly unwilling to be honest and say that it was actually an embarrassing 55 years.

    Well done Arsenal. Let’s use this as a confidence booster to push on. This league is there to be won all it needs is a consistent run of wins, which we are capable of producing.

    Well done to the lads for that performance.

  61. In his press conference Arsene Wenger said he has to come and explain himself after the matches, so the referees should have to come and do the same.

    This was with regard to Dier not being sent off.

    Good for you Arsene!

  62. para,

    Bellerin might be a valid point, to me he looked isolated in the first half, and the Spuds targeted him/his area. Once Ozil moved to the right in the second half, the problem disappeared.

  63. The lads stormed back, played with committment throughout. Ospina did what he had to do, Elneny displayed why Mr Wenger considered him necessary for the squad. As for the opposition brittle is the word. As for the reffing…..England does not do corruption. Do not believe what you see happen in front of you, it didn’t happen.

    Great what Mr Wenger said after the game.

  64. there has always been corruption in England, we are just better at covering it up than others, sometimes under the veneer of respectability and priveledge……all helped by a media than can be manipulated.

  65. A great performance by the lads, something all of Arsenal fans should be proud of. If you call yourself an Arsenal fan and you don’t appreciate what the lads have shown today, then perhaps you should support the Spurs instead. I myself sometimes don’t agree with Arsene. I’ve been thinking that he should’ve played Elneny more from the beginning instead of Flamini,but hey,he’s the coach and perhaps that was what he thought was best for the team……and to tell you the truth,he’s surely knows football a lot better than i do, so i just had to live with that,right? 😀

    Anyway, that was a great performance and clearly shows that we are a better team than Spurs. That’s enough for me for this time being. LOL

  66. Given the circumstances, and not overlooking Coquelin’s error, I look at it as a reasonable result. We really wanted a win but absolutely could not lose…so…onwards! 😉

  67. Looking at the remaining fixtures our run in is not so bad with 5 home games, all winnable. So let hope there are no more toxic atmosphere at the Ems and the whole support base cheer on the boys. They will need all the support they can get. I truly hope the WOBs put their views aside until the end of season and start supporting the whole team, we all need to be one voice.

  68. And, of course,not overlooking Dier’s attempt at removing Giroud’s shirt, either.

  69. Ignoring all the WOBs & less mentally fortunate I would like to point out that Arsenal have had at least one wrong game changing PGMO decision in each game this season. This having been said our Untold previews have a table of shame that really should be called ‘The Graphic Truth’.

    Wenger has asked for Referees to be open to interview in after match press conferences. Sadly he has more chance of seeing flying pigs. The PGMOL & their EPL & FA masters have alternative ideas in removing sport from football & introducing managed results.

    Being a gambling man, I have backed Leicester earlier to ‘win’ (be gifted) the EPL to cover my Arsenal to win bet. Knowing the PGMO methods lends itself to betting chosen teams. I still want Arsenal to win because besides winning a few quid I will have a joyous heart & a smile of pride.

  70. Menace,

    I guess we can all ask now for the refs to open themselves to the public, because whoever goes to Vancouver has the chance to see a flying pig 🙂

  71. Saw this link poster over at PA.
    Don’t know the source……but whoever it is, thought they summed a few things up rather well
    Development is the key…..and development is not always a linear increase in success. Have a strong feeling this summer will be a key part of this teams development.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cc0GACIXEAAin2z.jpg:large

    Expect our form to pick up a bit now, which will be just as well as the chasing pack are starting to get a bit closer.

  72. @Gooneresse No1,
    Re your 10.56, of course Tony is right.
    But remember, for those legions who cannot visit the UK and attend live matches, the contribution of Sky, BT Sport and the BBC (however grim) provides the only chance of watching our heroes.
    Much better than nothing. 😉

  73. “Expect our form to pick up a bit now, which will be just as well as the chasing pack are starting to get a bit closer.” – a bit of an understatement, Man C will be ahead if they win their game in hand, Man U on the same basis will be 2 points behind and West Ham are 3 points behind. I do think Arsenal will go on a run now, but are much closer to being dumped out of the top 4 altogether than to winning the league right now.

  74. Someone asked Acharya Chanakya ( an ancient Indian sage and philosopher )-

    ” What is Poison? ”

    He gave a beautiful answer – Anything which is more than our necessity is Poison. It may be Power, Wealth, Hunger, Ego, Greed, Laziness, Love, Ambition, Hate or anything

    ” What is fear…..?”

    Unacceptance of uncertainty.
    If we accept that uncertainty, it becomes adventure…!

    ” What is envy ? ”
    Unacceptance of good in others
    If we accept that good, it becomes inspiration…!

    ” What is Anger? ”
    Unacceptance of things which are beyond our control.
    If we accept, it becomes tolerance…!

    ” What is hatred? ”
    Unacceptance of person as he is.
    If we accept person unconditionally, it becomes love…!

    It’s a matter of acceptance.

    Resistance creates stress…
    Acceptance relieves stress …

    And..
    Once you start a working on something, don’t be afraid of failure and don’t abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest.

    Awesome right ? Then again he also said ….

    1) “Learn from the mistakes of others… you can’t live long enough to make them all yourselves!!”

    2)”A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first.”

    3) “Books are as useful to a stupid person as a mirror is useful to a blind person.”

  75. I was in the White Hart Lane shop the other day, and I saw a sign that said “Spurs: The Glory Years…£200” I said to the woman behind the counter,

    “Bloody hell that’s a bit steep, how do you get away with charging that?”

    She looks at me and says, “Well it’s £5 for the video..”


    “And £195 for the Betamax player!”

    ( And just in case the younglings don’t know what a Betamax player is , it was supposed to have been be the very next best thing since sliced bread – very much like what the Spuds are supposed to be this season !)

    Betamax – noun

    the first home videocassette record/playback tape format, created by Sony and using half-inch wide magnetic tape, now obsolete.

  76. A tourist is in North London one Saturday and he decides he would very much like to go to a football match, so he asks a man in the street if there are any local matches being played that afternoon.

    “Well,” replies the man, “the Arsenal ground is very close but they’re playing away today. If you feel you really must see a match, the Tottenham ground is not that far away. You go straight down this road and you’ll see two queues, a big queue and a small queue.

    You should go to the small queue because the big one is for the fish and chip shop.

    ( This may not at all sound funny next season , when they eventually start their ground redevelopment .)

    * Coughs !

  77. Don’t know if anyone saw on Match of the Day, but when he was getting his red card out the ref was standing in front of the Spurs fans. He turned to them and shrugged his shoulders as if to say what alternative have they left me? The Spurs fans loved it.

    This isn’t the first time a referee has appeared to commune with the opposing fans at an Arsenal match.

  78. @ Pat March 6, 2016 at 12:44 pm – I think he was shrugging at Le Coq , but milking in up in front of those Spuds fans . Payback will be sweet one day !

  79. Tony
    Refereeing question for Walter please
    Having seen the Le Coq “incident” in slow motion, there is more than meets the eye
    Le Coqs silly tackle could easily have been avoided by Kane, in fact his left leg was above Le Coq and clearing him
    Kane then brought his left leg BACK and DOWN so that HIS left leg made contact with Le Coq, not the other way around. His right leg cleared Le Coq and didnt touch him
    In other words Kane engineered the “offence”
    Oliver obviously didn`t see it, so is it possible the F.A. could take retrospective action against Kane ?
    Yeah, I know hell could freeze over but perhaps an indictment against Kane could be processed
    If so, what should be done ?
    Many thanks
    Dank u wel

  80. Hi Brickfields.

    The ref faces the Tottenham fans, not Coquelin, and shrugs his shoulders and spreads his arms.

    You have another look. You obviously have a kindly disposition and look for the best interpretation!

  81. Wenger warned him at half time to calm down because he knew the ref was just waiting and looking for the excuse that would send him of. This is what this manager and team has to live with when the go out to play their football. Now it’s not only the ref’s but we have also a promble with the media who’s bias is there for all to see that have eye’s in their heads. Put this all together with the Arsenal so called Supports on their back’s and the Ems like a cemetery sometimes and you begin to wonder how they cope at all. This is why it is vital that everyone should get behind this team that they profess to love and give it their all home and away. That result could just be the catalyse that brings the PL Title back to where it should be and if we can then what better way to stick two fingers up to all the refs in this league. It’s not going to be easy at all but with that show yesterday we are back on track.

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