- Home and away: Liverpool and Arsenal, last six games and the Arsenal team.
- Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal: the yellow cards for different reasons
By Tony Attwood
So the Untold prediction that Arsenal stood no chance because of the referee, was wrong.
And I am much relieved and delighted by that fact.
It was 6.28 AM when the Liverpool Arsenal game finished – that is 0628 in Sydney, Australia. The game might have been on TV on some channel in the country, but my daughter with whom I am staying does not have the channel, if it was, and I know from years past that bars in Sydney don’t open up in the early hours just to show football. Besides wandering from bar to bar asking if they do, was not the most pleasant activity of my life when I tried it a few years back.
So, waking up just after halftime, I followed the match through on line reports.
But I can bring the league table, since the internet is working …
| P | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 36 | 16 | 20 | 40 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 16 | 21 | 39 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 39 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 24 | 13 | 36 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 34 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 31 | 30 | 1 | 30 |
And I have to say if someone had offered me that as the Christmas league table, before the season started, I would have been delighted to accept it.
What’s more, the next match is West Ham at home which looks a do-able game, Liverpool have Burnley away, so both of those look winnable.
With the two teams just one point and one goal apart this seems a rather satisfactory way to go into Christmas – after which I shall be flying back to England, and then taking up my seat once more for the FA Cup match.
It’s morning in Sydney, Australia, and looks like being a rather fine Christmas Eve. My family, with whom I am staying, has a party planned for this afternoon, which I rather hope to enjoy, but for now, I think I might just catch up on a couple of hours extra sleep.
If you, unlike me, were able to see the game, either on TV or live, please do add a comment or two, for my benefit if for no one else’s.
Happy Christmas.
The Liverpool versus Arsenal clash was a thrilling display of skill and strategy, showcasing the intensity of top-tier football. Both teams exhibited resilience, resulting in an electrifying contest that captivated fans worldwide. Ultimately, it was a testament to the competitive spirit of the sport.
A fair result after a great match of football from both teams.
why was it only the Arsenal players slipping so much at Anfield?
A hard fought game where both sides had periods of dominance. How we achieved 5 bookings to their 2 can only be put down to home bias as both teams were evenly committed. We scored early which sparked a period where we were comfortable and looked likely to score again but once we were caught out at the back , inevitably Salah on a very weak Zinchenko challenge , the worm started to turn and their crowd began to influence things.
Odegaard survived a penalty claim which would have been given last year but as we learned against Villa it’s not handball if a defender accidentally handles only a forward is penalised. VAR inspected and after about 2 minutes the vote went our way even Coote couldn’t give it.
Defensively we were strong in the centre but we do have a problem at left back , Diaz looked like he was spoiling for a fight and Tsimikas was on the end of a mild bit of retribution from Salah from a previous hand in face incident and in the act of falling took out Klopp on the touchline and broke his shoulder blade in the process.
From my armchair it was a good draw , I would have liked a win but I can’t help thinking that had Zinchenko just bodychecked Salah and taken a yellow instead of just waving a foot at him we might have taken the three points rather than just 1.
Retribution from Saka and it wasn’t Klopp’s shoulder blade although it may have read that way.
I’m not in the “blame Zinchenko” part of the fanbase. I think Salah has done this a 100 times in his career. You know what he will do but he is so good at it that he can do it time and time again. And Salah has done this to world class defenders, so why would a player who is more a midfileder who plays somewhere on paper as a left back be blamed for not stopping Salah. Maybe a player like Timber or Tomi would have done better defensively but even then Salah has done it too many times so will not blame Zinchenko.
Maybe Chris Kavanagh read your column before the game and decided to prove you wrong?
When a player is targeted by the opposition you know they have decided who the weal link is in the defensive chain.. And if they have you know perfectionist Arteta knows.
Sorry Walter , but if he has done it that often then it should have been allowed for. Zinchenko just waving his foot with a little flick was schoolboy stuff .He let him get into the penalty box , should have closed him down earlier and taken a yellow for a bodycheck . Being a midfielder is no excuse and if it is then we need Timber back or Tierney as soon as possible.
Took great pleasure watching pitiful Chelsea and the even worse Coote. When will the powers that be realise he is just not good enough. Felt sorry for Sterling being cautioned for simulation – that was a penalty. How about the Wolves player repeatedly taking foul throws – if I can see it why can’t the officials? Or don’t they want to?
I hope you don’t mind but whilst I’m sipping away on my Christmas Sherry, and listening to yet another singer that cant sing, I’d relieve the boredom by updating my ‘next 6 matches’ predictions from back in November. As you will see it’s all looking pretty good.
These are my original predictions with what actually happened.
ARSENAL
Wolves H = 3 Actual = 3
Luton A = 3 Actual = 3
A Villa A = 1 Actual = 0
Brighton H = 3 Actual = 3
Liverpool A = 0 Actual = 1
W Ham H = 3
Originally a total of 13 pts tacking us to 43 pts
Well, not bad, except a point dropped at Villa Park, but a point gained at Anfield, leaving us on target for the 43 points I predicted.
MAN CITY
Spurs H = 3 Actual = 1
A Villa A = 1 Actual = 0
Luton A = 3 Actual = 3
C Palace H = 3 Actual = 1
Everton A = 3
Sheff Utd = 3
Originally a total of 16 pts tacking them to 45 pts
Not so good, with unexpected points dropped against Spurs, Villa and Palace leaving them 5 points behind my predictions and now looking at a maximum of 40 points.
LIVERPOOL
Fulham H = 3 Actual = 3
Sheff Utd A = 3 Actual = 3
C Palace A = 3 Actual = 3
Man Utd H = 3 Actual = 1
Arsenal H = 3 Actual = 1
Burnley A = 3
Originally a total of 18 pts tacking them to 46 pts
It was all going as expected until dropping 4 home points, very unexpectedly to Man Utd, but perhaps less so to our good selves. That now leaves them on target for 42 points.
So, out of my original 3 teams only Arsenal have managed to accumulate the amount of points I expected. In addition to that Aston Villa have put themselves back in to the reckoning. Villa’s next game is away at Man Utd. I’m predicting 3 pts. As Spurs are currently above Man City I’ve included them, but I must make it clear that isn’t because I think they have any hope at all of lifting the title. Spurs are away at Brighton. I’m predicting 1 point. That leaves my revised top 5 post Christmas prediction as follows, with original prediction in brackets:
ARSENAL (43) 43 PTS
LIVERPOOL (46) 42 PTS
A VILLA (37) 42 PTS
MAN CITY (45) 40 PTS
TINNIES (37) 37 PTS
As a post script, I’d just like to say what a magnificent job Arteta and his backroom staff have done, and what a fantastic team we have. We haven’t even hit top gear yet.
To Tony, all at Untold and my fellow regulars, as well as all the occasionals, have a wonderful Christmas. Cheers.
To all Untolders throughout the World a very Happy Christmas and a fabulous New Year.
Very glad with the point , although we could have nicked all three . Well done to our players for really putting in a hard shift.
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to all on here .
Up the Gunners !