By Billy the Dog McGraw
It is wonderful how when an article appears under the name “Sir Hardly Anyone” some people still take it seriously. Goodness, any moment now and someone is going to think I’m real too.
But enough about the garden shed; the last I heard from Dennis B. was that Olivier Giroud is a bit of a doubt. Abou Diaby is fit, but won’t play for another week.
Big news in the allotments is that Manchester City returned 912 unsold tickets (not 911 not 913 but exactly 912 to Arsenal). Maybe they don’t like our prices. Maybe it is because they are six points behind where they were this time last year. Maybe they don’t like the price of beer. Maybe they don’t like London. Maybe they don’t like Arsenal.
Maybe its because Yaya Toure has gone to Africa along with our old pal Kolo. Aguero is out and so is the delightful Mr Nasri.
But it is not all cut and served on the dinner plates for HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is the Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs part of the clique that runs Abu Dhabi (not to be confused with Abou Diaby.)
HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s team have not scored at the Emirates in the league for six years while their last win chez nous involved Rodney Marsh. We did actually get HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to come and meet Dennis and I at the Enfield dig-and-grow emporium but he spoke in Arabic, which neither of us is very good at, so it didn’t go too well.
So I’ll have to make the rest up. There have been four red cards in the last five league games against the Sheikh’s team which is just one less than the number of goals. We do get penalties, but miss them.
And so to the team:
Szczesny
Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs
Arteta, Wilshere
Cazorla
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski
Down on the beach enjoying the winter sun:
Mannone or Martínez, Rosicky, Coquelin, Arshavin, Jenkinson, Ramsey, Giroud (maybe), Gnabry, Koscielny.
The last three games were were:
Manchester City 1 Arsenal 1 (Koscielny), September 2012
Arsenal 1 (Arteta) Manchester City 0, Premier League, April 2012
Manchester City 1 (Silva) Arsenal 0, Premier League, December 2011
So yes we’ll all be a bit nervous, but actually in the current Premier League form listings we are third (one loss in last six). But we have only won nine all season which is a little less exciting overall.
However here is a good one, we have scored more goals by this point of the season than last season – when we had the un-replaceable RVP in the side! And Man C are six points lower than at this time last season. But again they have not won at the Ems or Highbury since 1975.
So what’s it to be?
Four pints for me and one for the dog should do it.
- Arsenal v Man City, from the anti-Arsenal perspective
- Scottish football annoys Rangers, but where else might they play?
- Today’s Arsenal transfer: Loïc Rémy
- José Mourinho, Villas-Boas, Redknapp, Benitez; who next for Arsenal?
- How the Daily Telegraph has used the AAA to establish the notion that it is to be believed
- High ticket prices for the Manchester City game. Who is to blame?
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites…
- Referee Decisions – just what are the refs up to this season?
- Parent News – what is going on in schools these days?
- The weight loss programme: The only guaranteed way to stay fit
- The Arsenal History Blog from the AISA Arsenal History Society
- Looking for a terraced house in Northamptonshire?
Minor typo: the December 2011 game was in the League Cup, not Premier League.
912 unsold Man City tickets.
Maybe its because Man City haven’t scored a single goal at our place for five seasons.
lack of recent goals didn’t stop C.6000 turning up to see city win at the overpriced gin palace in the cup you nearly won 2 seasons ago did it.
The likelihood is that the sugar daddy club Man City will eventually score a goal in this fixture, after at least 450 minutes without one.
Which means Arsenal will have score twice (minimum) to win today.
You’ve gotta love a good title!!! Does anyone know if we sold the allocation? I’m guessing yes 😀
Gooner Jack,
Well it says tickets sold out on the website
There is some bad news in the BBC commentary about the game:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21001242
> 15:01 BREAKING NEWS
> Some breaking news to bring you. Police have found what they describe as a “suspect package” in a car park close to the Emirates Stadium and have cordoned off the ground prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The match is due to kick-off at 4pm.
Another update from the BBC
> 1512: BREAKING NEWS
> Regarding that breaking news earlier (1501 GMT), police have now lifted the cordon around the Emirates Stadium and allowed access to the stadium for today’s game between Arsenal and Manchester City.
> An Arsenal spokesman has confirmed that “police checks” were being carried out. However, the match will kick-off at 4pm as planned.
@Gord, don’t worry the suspect package turned out to be Walcotts wages.
Diaby starts!
Team in full: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Cazorla, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski.
@Adam,
Ha ha yes or was it Diabys boots?
Stuart, Is it just me or does Diaby remind you of MOS DEF as well?
Oh yeah Garcia to get sent off?
I gather Arteta tweaked his hamstring in training yesterday.
Hope Wenger has a go at Dean at half time like red nose did, and see what happens
Dean at his best
Did anyone see Dean signal an advantage?
We’ve been ‘Deaned!’ 🙁
scumbag ref…as soon as i saw we had dean i knew we are 99.9999999995% likely to lose this match especially because everyone has been saying it has been 6 gaems and still no win for city at the emirates and hammering that in………as if to say wink wink nod nod they are DUE a win, they are owned by billionaires have stolen half of Arsenal players and still cn’t beat them its not good enough. That was 2 extremely dodgy decisions by dean and now Vermaelen has to be careful it is like he is systemattically weakening us not for just this match but for other matches knowing we have a lot of matches to play.
I find it funny how there hundreds of people that hold in the box but no penlty let alone a sending off and a penalty but eagle eyed dean sees it awards a penalty and sends our players off..how many ****ing manu scum players do this and nothing gets awarded and no penalty for the other team……..****ing farcial this league is!!
Listening to the sky ‘pundits’sucking deans proverbial………bunch of donkeys. I love Arsenal but i am starting to hate watching the EPL it is a sham it is all geared to Manu and the money men its so ****ing obvious that its shameful!!
Cant see us making the top 4 now, Dean has weakened our team badly when we have a huge run of games we wont be able to cope and pick u points and spuds etc seem less likely to slip up now and we keep on getting dodgy decisions against us…..i think this could really weaken us financialy etc and it seems they are wanting to do us because they can see the end of the tunnel in sight for us and they dont want us to compete because they know as soon as we can spend it is all over for the other teams.
11 v 12 is hard enough. 10 v 12 is even harder.
Not in the least surprised, as I had predicted that Dean could be relied upon to do something like this.
What a disgrace! Surely nobody can now doubt that refereeing is corrupt.
I know they say football is all about opinios but the sending off, well if you wrap both your arms aroud a forward in your own penaly area you and hee is goal side you are asking for big problems.
Yes Arsenal are down to 10 but it really is men agains boys.
Boateng made a great statement the other day.
Likewise, if Arsenal supporters had left en masse, sure the BBC would not have reported it, but everyone would have felt better.
That extra 95 minutes of your life, think what you could do with it!
John
As I have said on earlier threads I am a Chelsea supporter and in reality would have preferred a draw or even an Arsenal win so really am viewing this game as a neutral and sorry I know we all tend to view a refs performance through our own teams viewpoint I dont think that Dean has got a lot wrong.
That was never a red, would’ve been a soft penalty as Dzeko didn’t have control of the ball & our keeper would have got to the ball first. How could this warrant a red when the box was full of players from both sides, surely wasn’t a last man in defence case? To hello with being politically correct, Dean is f*&@ing moron, a f***ing cheat, son of a b**&h. We saw Webb give agger only a yellow earlier for hauling Danny when he was the last man in defence at OT, and for Kos to get a straight red for something that we see 90% of the time in every game at corners is an absolute disgrace. It’s pointless watching/contesting the premiership when its clearly rigged like this.
Mike T, don’t troll, you only upset people who are already seething.
I stopped following the EPL this year because it’s so totally fixed. So although I support Arsenal, it is without any feelings, and therefore I view all this crap without getting upset.
Dzeko didnt need to have control of the ball the question the ref would have asked was could he have got to the ball and if he had would he have been in a goal scoring position.
I know that you as Arsenal supporters will view it one way but I would doubt any on the press or indeed any of the pundits will say it wasnt a sending off or indeed a peanlty .
Fair point Marcus although I dont mean to troll
Hey enjoy the game!
It’s hard to swallow, but Mike T has a point about KOS, the point most of us will make revolves around consistency in these decisions and how they always seem to go against us.
I could not see Dean signal an advantage just before the first goal. So for him to pull the play back is not on.
With the sending off, we see this all the time with (so it seems) only us being punished for this.
I wanted to watch a good game of football but the way the game has panned out so far, it is very hard to swallow.
Little pull-backs being let go by city players but all infringements being called on us.
Cheers Mike.
I don’t really enjoy the EPL any more though.
Mike is probably 100% right.
The problem is how often do you see referees applying the Law correctly?
We know the script. We are not stupid……
absolutely ridiculous refereeing. I am boiling with FURY right now. Why does that twat still referees our matches? arent there any other competent refs out there? He shouldnt be ref`ing in the streets let alone in the PL. Bent,Biased and Corrupted. I dont think i have ever been this disgusted by a referee since Dowd did us at newcastle and thats saying something considering the number of time we have been Dean`d before today. Seething here
A master craftsman at his work.
Mike Dean has perfected his job.
Man City are a top team. Best in the League. Unfortunatly for them that’s not enough to finish above Utd.
Hahaha so predictable..They brought in Dermot Gallagher aka the PGMOL`s misinformer to try and defend Dean`s actions and he is doing just that
All in all, I’d state this was a game we was not allowed to participate in, let alone win.
Hard to take as the first 9 minutes seemed very interesting. After that all one way, and the pundits defending Kompany was laughable at least. But what can a team do when they have been enraged by a ref (not for the first time with Dean) and playing frustrated for 70 mins, could they have got back in the game? I don’t think they had the legs for it.
@Marcus
I’d stopped watching the premiership too from the start of this season, and even cancelled my sky subscription, but my son pleaded with me to put it back on, and now I feel a total mug.
Adam – I agree, Dean was at his worst today, I wonder was he doing an audition to eventually replace Riley.
I look forward to Walter’s comments on the ref decisions, but to me it seemed a very biased and match destroying performance.
i am beginning to feel we won’t make the top 4 as i said earlier they know we are close to getting decent money from our sponsorship deal and that is tied with CL football and new deals and they know that once we can get some decent money in we will blow other teams away, it seems we are being deliberately stifled, i don’t think we will ever win the EPL again whilst Wenger is in charge because they just dont want ‘that frenchman’ winning anything again…………this league is as bent as a lightening bolt the ony way you can win is stealing others playings financial doping or being SAF intimidating refs or buying them…………….**** SCUM CRAP LEAGUE!!
Kos made a stupid mistake. Had to go. No idea why Kos felt it essential to hug Dzeko, maybe he has a crush on him, seeing as Dzeko didn’t seem to be in a great position.
City looked in total control right from the off. And in the last twenty minutes when we had 10 vs 10 we played ok but we had no bite up front. Their defence was equal to anything we had to offer.
Great home support in the second half, many players fighting, and wanting to do pull it round,a goal from us would have had Citeh on the rack. Good to see Diaby back, OK a few mistakes but plenty of good stuff. Ramsey made some great touches, Jack fighting all the way, great save from Szczęsny, TV5 getting stuck in.Bet those lads feel frustrated…
Theo as quiet as Poldi and some berk called Mike Dean. Lets face it, sending Kos off ruined the game.
Felt like we really missed Arteta, he would have shone in a game like that.
@Maverick, I think you need to calm down. I know it’s annoying that we lost but the idea that we are suddenly going to win everything in the next few years is wholly unlikely. Who is this imaginary “we” that has it in for Wenger?
Arsenal aren’t going to suddenly splashing money on players under Wenger, that’s not how this club works.
I felt very uneasy with the conversation caught by the mics at the end of the game.
One of the officials said to a City player ‘ Go over to your fans, they had to pay £62 for a ticket’
Might be innocent, but I don’t like the idea that was in his head during the game.
@Rupert, as soon as i saw that assclowns refs name i knew we wouldn’t win, the guy is a cheap…how many times have you seen Shawcross hold and bring a person down and the ref waves it away but we get a red card……the league is a joke, it happens season after season we only get the crap decisions and everyone says ‘they even out during the season’ utter bull……everyone can see this league is bent for the money clubs!!
cheap* mean cheat
Jayram, good point there, that’s not something an official should say.
WRT the Kos red, it was a red. My gripe is that the standard of foul required to get a card was softer for Arsenal than it was Man City. How Dzeko didn’t have at least 7 yellow cards I’ll never understand.
The ref also needs to learn his place. The way he was having à go at Vermaelen is not the manner that someone who is supposed to keep the game going without tempers is supposed to act. The most awful officiating this season but hats off to Man City, they played well.
@Stuart
City did deserve to win – they were better 11v11 11v10 and 10v10 in my opinion.
The officiating was terrible but not because of the big decisions but because of the smaller decisions that affected the flow of the game. City got away with as many ‘medium’ fouls as they wanted and you are right, Dzeko should have been carded in the first half for persistent fouling.
Overall it was a fair result – City are by some distance better than us.
@BJT, Soul destroying isn’t it. We generally pride ourselves on fairplay, but with really inconsistent decision making usually going against us it’s hard to be optimistic that we will ever be allowed to compete, Kos needs to learn a lesson and fast, Verm needs to keep doing what he’s doing and get himself sent off for it. Dean is soul destroying.
Although I think we took the game to them in the second half even at 10 vs 11
Never saw the game, were we really that bad?
I was pleased to see the red card and penalty warded by ref Dean, because it means he will take the same action in all future games when there is mayhem in the penalty area.
And presumably all the other refs have been told to take a similar hard line.
It’s going to be an exciting rest of season.
@nicky, you have got to be kidding right? That treatment is reserved for us only……that spineless piece of rubbish continually waves away similar when manu is involved, the guy is just a straight up prick!!
Don’t think its right to say city played better or who didn’t do what, which team wouldn’t do better against 10men? Any team losing a player to a red card after only 8 minutes when still trying to find their rhythm should not be judged that way, as they have to adjust, sacrifice players, change game plan, etc. I think to lose 2 nil only after playing almost the entire 90 against a side like city, coupled with the most one sided refereeing performance since Newcastle, isn’t bad at all.
City were the better side, end of. I couldn’t see us scoring a goal if we had a month to do it in.
Meant after playing almost all 90min with 10men…
Can you count, Rupert? If you can, you’d understand why city were better
@Maverick,
That was my little bit of cynicism.
On a more serious note, I wonder how much long Wilshere will last before another longterm injury. Some of the punishment he is taking these days is excruciating and the protection from most of the referees is rapidly diminishing.
@Al,We had about half an hour where we had the same number of men as City and we did very little. Only once did we look like scoring and if Walcott had struck the ball harder we might have done. No contest in class, they have super quality players, we don’t.
Why don’t the club do something about Dean?
Strangely, I don’t think that Kompany’s red card was justified either. What was apparent throughout, however, was systematic fouling by Man City, with Wilshere the main target. Kick-boxing fighters must finish with less damage than he did today.
We were guilty of a couple of incidents of slack defending again. However, I disagree with the critics of our general performance. I don’t think that MC overall are better than us.
Dean was the difference today. One of the worst things about him is his obvious delight at having a pretext to give a decision against us (like last year’s penalty for Bale’s dive). The aggregate of routine decisions was blatantly biased against us today.
http://www.bbc..uk/sport/0//21006202
Here we are. Would this be a City supporting official?
@stuart can you give a working link?
Try again
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21006202
Dan, We turned up, it could have been a belter of a game but that wasn’t allowed.
John,
I actually felt both were correct however the ref was giving us softer cards. I do believe had city scored, Kos would only have seen yellow however.
Dean is a poor ref and a coward.
@stuart
Well now the bcc is playing the moral guardian attacking the price.
@AL
Oh well, it’s only right your son learns that the world is full of swindlers and crooks, so you are providing him with a good education…
@Rupert
I hope, by trying to follow your argument, you are confining your comparison of both sides’ performances to the first 8mins & last 15mins only when both had same numbers? And nothing from outside those two periods? Even if that’s what you looking at, you’d still find we played better than them in the last 15 mins…..
@Stuart that is definitely disgraceful and it shows bias, and it definietly shows we were probably going to never win this game we were up against it before the whistle was blown!
@ Stuart
Referees assistant “Paying £62 over there, go and see them”
Proof that the media negativity surrounding Arsenal has an effect.
@Stuart
This is outrageous, surely this should be viewed as bias?
Well it seems everyone hates arsenal at present.
@Rupert Cook
It seems a bit lame to suggest that Koz is that way inclined. Do you have evidence? It seems strange that you call various people on this site “conspiracy theorists” when they evidence their findings, whilst you are prone to throwing around mindless groundless statements.
Personally I think there are much much much more serious things in the world than the corrupt footballing substrata. But it is interesting to watch how much reality is distorted through the media prism in this small goldfish bowl, and then consider ho much the same forces are warping our everyday reality….
@Marcus
Fair enough, if only the learning process didn’t involve making my blood boil….
@Al, we weren’t better than them in the last 15 minutes. If we were we’d have scored a goal or two. City didn’t have to try hard to stop us scoring because we cocked up so many vital final passes.
Wilshire gave his all. Sagna tried but his passing was woeful. Cazorla vanished for long periods. Overall we looked tame and ordinary.
No good blaming Dean for our poor squad. It’s not his fault that that clown Koscielny thinks he’s playing rugby. He deserved the red card.
Wenger needs to pull his thumb out and sign a few players otherwise getting fourth is going to be really tough. No RVP to save us this year.
i just don’t see us getting anywhere until Wenger leaves, Arsenal will always be in a bad light until he goes because this xenophobic country can’t stand the thought of a frenchman which is 10x more intelligent than the scum in the game have winning anything especially in a tight budget their ego cant handle it……only that bully scum SAF can be shown as a ‘genius’ and a winner. Wenger says stuff in the press and they call him a whinger and a french yellowbelly coward, but SAF says the same thing in his scouse bitchiness and he is lauded as the voice of the game……the EPL is ****ing sicking the only reason i watch it is to see my team playing but i can barely handle watching us anymore because of how we are being treated and i know in my heart we are never going to get anywhere there is miles too much against us and it will never change!!
@Marcus, you’re joking right? That remark about Kos was a joke mate, calm down. I couldn’t care less if Kos was in love with the whole City team just as long as he forgets that while he’s out there playing against them.
@Maverick, xenophobic country. Bit strong. The press have always been quite considerate and friendly with Wenger. He’s been on good terms with them for years. Only recently have things turned a bit sour and some of that is down to the doublespeak that Wenger seems to indulge in these days.
@Maverick
I doubt the problem is Wenger exactly. The problem is that everyone has their place in the football economy.
In the same way that the banks were bailed out in 2008, it is highly conceivable that clubs will be bailed out.
Arsenal have kept a clean sheet for years, (balance), but so what? Will their virtue in this matter ever count?
Rupert
xenophobic country, well according to press, media and simpletons, supposedly it was those dirty foreigners who plagued our game with diving!
You can bring another 10 refs to judge this game, we would have lost anyway. This is Arsenal Light, Diet Arsenal. No confidence, no creativity, no spark.
Losing to the Champions when down to 10 men is not sad. Having only 34 points from 21 games is the real sad part. Those who think this is OK are working against the Arsenal to protect their own man.
Few years ago, we were told that this is part of the grand plan, the youth will rise and change the world. There is no light at the end of the tunnel now.
Something’s got change, quick. I don’t advocate losing Arsene, but he has to change or be changed.
@Stuart – thanks for the link, even though it made my blood boil.
Absolutely clear what the mindset of the officials was. Doesn’t sound neutral to me.
Ironic when you consider that Manchester City are bankrolled by big money.
Shouldn’t that official be disciplined for saying something like that?
Strange game, the sending off, followed fairly closely by a goal put us on the back foot for a while, although the team did show heart in the second half. There were some impressive individual performances – obviously Jack, but as a team, we seem to lack a bit of confidence at times. Also a word about Ramsey, thought he did very well…in his true position. Not that I am knocking his versatility for the team, but his crtics need to know he is actually a central MF. According to the laws of the game, Kos was a bit silly, but as has been pointed out, others get away with the same thing constantly…as mentioned, Ryan Shawcross for starters. But Arsenal should know what they will be getting with this ref…these days , we just do not seem to do well with him. Kos was one thing, but Jack was clearly targeted, and not for the first time this season. Dean did absolutely nothing to protect him. I once thought England players got the rub of the green with refs, I have adjusted such thoughts. Good to see TV having a go at Dean. Walter has stated that Dean is a very clever ref….well today, in two red cards, he stitched us up, and maybe weakened City …helping Utd..hows that for a conspiracy! But I reiterate, Kos should have been far more aware, especially with this ref and our history with him. I do not have the stats at hand, but seems to me we get him more than any other ref.
Another thing, think Santi C really needs a rest. Would really like to see Rosicky given a go against Swansea..and maybe Ramsey in his true position? Theo can play CF in some games but is not so much use against such a well drilled defence, still see him as a wide player who can cut in, although maybe he could be more effective doing this on the left…as his finishing is generally better than his crossing?
It was a clear sending off;Koz is a diabolical centre half who always holds in the penalty area ,and it was about time some ref had the balls to send him off.Kompany was unlucky though.As for Wenger being more intelligent than other football managers,lets see if Laudrup,6 months into his tenure at Swansea city,turnover 32 mill (approx 200 mill less than Arsenal)can beat tactical genius Wenger on weds again eh? Interestingly,when asked who they wanted to replace Mourinho in a recent poll of Madrid members,Wenger came bottom of the list with 3.1%;seems his reputation is in tatters elsewhere and not just in “xenophobic “England.We are worse now than when he first arrived and had Bergkamp and the back 5 bailing him out.
Mandy, good post I agree with all of it.
A few years back, we had a few exceptional players, Cesc & RVP included. It would have taken an investment of 30Mil to build a great team. But we now have to spend a huge sum of money bring this team back to par. We currently have no exceptional players, Jack is still a shining star for future.
My patience with Wenger is pretty much exhausted. I think if we don’t buy someone soon we’ll be playing in the Europa League next season. It’s rumoured that MVilla is off to QPR. Meanwhile Arteta is out for three weeks. I know we’re only trying to finish fourth but things aren’t looking great.
How was kompany unlucky with both feet of the ground? Do not let your hatred of the club and manager detract from the laws of the game
After Mike Dean was caught doing his jig of delight when Spurs scored their opening goal against us last season and now his assistant showing his dissent for the club, both caught on camera, its clear that an unhealthy bias exists.
With Mike Dean officiating Arsenal Premier league games in recent seasons the stats are poor. In fact relegation becomes a real prospect when Mike Dean takes control.
Last Four seasons;
Played 18, Won 3, Drawn 6, Lost 9
2008/09
Blackburn Away WON 4-0
Chelsea Away WON 2-1
Spurs Away DRAW 0-0
Man Utd Away DRAW 0-0
2009/10
Man City Away LOST 1-2
Chelsea Away LOST 0-2
Man City Home DRAW 0-0
2010/11
Chelsea Away LOST 0-2
Newcastle Home LOST 0-1
2011/12
Spurs Away LOST 0-2
Fulham Home DRAW 1-1
Man Utd Home LOST 1-2
Spurs Home WON 5-2
QPR Away LOST 1-2
Chelsea Home DRAW 0-0
2012/13
Man City Away DRAW 1-1
Man Utd Away LOST 1-2
Man City Home LOST 0-2
Real Madrid are welfare state pariahs. They get about 300 million euros annually in handouts from the state to prop the club up. In spite of this they still struggle to pay their wages.
The fans are not stupid, they know that a dyed in the wool capitalist like AW would shrink their club down to manageable proportions. The pain would be too intense. Of course they would prefer a dole cheque manager like Ferguson.
@Maverick
I did have the same argument with a mate a while ago and I was saying exactly the same points you raised here. I think the fact Wenger came from nowhere to challenge the ‘establishment’ didn’t go down well with a lot of people. While xenophobic might be a little strong, there’s definitely something to do with him being French, can anyone imagine any English manager getting the same stick as Wenger does? Anywhere you look they’re trying to ridicule the man. Certainly the media have an issue with Wenger. For me his biggest sin was going a whole season unbeaten. To think they laughed at him – probably the same way Pythagoras must have been mocked after suggesting the earth was round – when he dared suggest his side could go a whole season undefeated the year before.
@Mandy Dodd
Yes, dean achieved two things(shaft us & weaken city same time) today and still ‘managed’ to come out with his integrity intact to the world.
He knew what he was doing alright. If the authorities had any backbone they would investigate/punish the assistant who asked the city players to acknowledge their fans, disgraceful.
I do think Arsenal leave things until its too late or bordering desperation, a striker and DM short. The sale of Song is biting us now, and with no news with regards to transfers.
Anyone know why rosicky out of the picture at the moment?
Dean sent Kompany off. If he was so bias he would have shown him a yellow surely?
Anyway it’s easy to blame the refs for our own shortcomings. Wenger himself said we were timid.
The gulf in class was there for all to see.
Tasos, not many people realise the magnitude of Dean officiating us. Refs earn (so im told) £125,000 a year. Who is real value for money? the refs or Arsenal?
Kompany was already on a yellow. Somethings the refs have to do. Were not talking about the big decisions its the litlle fouls that break-up play and stop a team getting in to their rythum that some refs are very good at ignoring. Dean is one of them who can be astute at tilting the game. He on more than one occasion stopped play when Arsenal could’ve broke away, but when Arsenal committed a foul to stop play he would allow the attack to develop.
Fair officiating. Not in the slightest.
Rupert, Im not suggesting a mass conspiracy more ingrined bias, for what reason/s im not aware of. I would like to understand why? And not left to assume.
Bit of conundrum for Dean today. Restricting both Arsenal and Man City was always going to be difficult for him but I thought he did a masterful job of it.
I merely showed a record of Arsenal games with Mike Dean in charge. I did not pass blame anyone for today’s defeat.
Whichever way you look at it Mike Dean has a poor record for Arsenal. As Arsene Wenger once said “I do not believe in coincidence”
Well done City they deserve it !
Not only our defenders but every one has to be aware when this clown referee is assigned for our games.Kos might be caught this time but the over all awareness when this clown and his likes are assigned to ref Arsenal games seems to me not properly sorted.As for Kos yes was wrong to go all over Dzeko but …hey every defender does that.I will say he is inexperienced.
I consider our team is mediocre and that is being very generous.Maybe because i am fan.Anyway the table doesn`t lie.
From a mediocre team against champions what do you expect specially when we are down to 10 men ? Just get real guys.!!!
I sense a kind of player power over the club in Theo.In one hand the negotiation is dragged endless.On the pitch today where was he ?On What merit plays before Giroud?
Probably Theo success more than football it is
about commercial gains in Gazidis eye.
Certainly i never been Walcot fun and i dont see any footballing reason to keep him.
Tasos, there is a similar trend where Howard Webb is concerned but we benefit from. We always do well under Webb when we play Liverpool. Maybe the rivalry between pool and Utd has something to do with it?
If Untold developed a big enough collection of data on these refs. I do think the bookies would like to purchase it to keep it from common knowledge.
@Rupert, I replied to a question you put to me.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/26719/comment-page-2#comment-480133
@Tasos what bugs me even more is that he always and i mean ALWAYS get our big matches. Are the other refs not fit to ref us? why always him? 3 games so far this season plus the 6 games last season and you get a staggering 9 games in just one and a half seasons. That must be a record
and that wasnt red not in a million years.. if red were given to those then stoke wouldnt have any players to play with as all of them would have been suspended
Adam
Yes certain Refs have unusual patterns for certain teams.
There is something to be gained (financially?) from the beliefs many people hold on this site.
@Adam, thanks for your answer. Good points which I will read more thoroughly when I’m less goggle-eyed from looking at the computer for the last three hours.
It’s impossible to say whether the outcome would have been different without Kos being sent off. We started slowly, which is becoming the norm these days, and City looked more up for it even before the dismissal. Both the penalty and their goal could have been avoided with better defending, which is also a common theme these days.
The team couldn’t be faulted for effort in the second half, with Wilshere showing the rest what playing with a bit of passion means. But it was always going to be an uphill battle with 10 men, and City still looked like the more likely scorers when the game became stretched.
Overall, I feel increasingly pessimistic about this season and the immediate future. I’m not anti-Arsenal or anti-Wenger but there is an atmosphere of inertia and disconnection around the club which is reflected in the way this team plays. I would love to feel positive and think that we will have a storming 2nd half to the season and cement a top 4 spot and/or win the FA Cup, but that will require a significant improvement in fortunes.
What seems wrong? Well for starters, defensively we are vulnerable and prone to costly individual errors. Offensively things don’t look so bad on paper, but that is rather distorted by a few high scoring games. Walcott as a lone striker seems more like an experiment than a considered judgement by the manager.
Are we just going through teething problems as a title challenging side emerges over the coming seasons? Or are we entering a Liverpool type dip that will take some years to recover from?
WARNING:
USING MULTIPLE EMAIL ADDRESSES IS A REASON WHY YOUR COMMENT WILL NOT APPEAR!!!
One email address from one user. Don’t go hiding behind different ones to agree with yourself.
Thank you.
@Walter LOLOLOLOL, is someone being a slimey little troll?
Big Brother Walter. Doing a fine job there SIR.
Want a job looking after the receipts of our politicians.
Btw Linz has a 5-2*2 inferiority complex. Just I case you have not noticed
Conspiracy stuff now there’s a thing http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2261817/Arsenal-Manchester-United-financial-fair-play-plot-ruin-Premier-League–Martin-Samuel.html
@Mandy Dodd
Thanks for the link.
It is all about money and individual glory.
I always admire Samuel Martin articles and this one is just another fantastic one.
BTW, we are closing in on the half-way point in the January transfer window. That said, Arteta’s injury after so many games with no break is predictable. That is a result of not having replaced (sorry, having failed to say no to) Alex Song. Not having him today was totally injurious and Diaby’s return was (predictably) not in form. If Arteta is out for “only” three weeks – that is, THESE three weeks – we have only a non-defensive, injury-prone midfielder to take up the slack (with possibly 5-6 games in 13 or so days).
As for those who found it so easy to dispense with Demba Ba (because we already have Giroud, was it FunGunner?), are we just kickin’ back and admiring our frequent nil scoring, lack of shots on goal (was it any today?), and waiting for fourth place to fall into our laps as if it were fated?
To do nothing this transfer window will result in failure to qualify for the CL, the minimum standard that seems to unite us. To do something with a splash for quality – an affordable gamble – guarantees nothing, but it is at least trying. Failing to achieve something by either not trying or not paying over the market price will be an unaffordable gamble because it will cost in loss of CL money, perhaps (this needs to be checked further, Linz, Mandy?) diminution of the Emirates deal, and a drop in the worldwide interest as the team we have been fielding is just not that interesting (apart from Wilshere and the injured Arteta and the on/off Cazorla).
@Mandy
Interesting link, but Martin Samuel really detests Arsenal, it is strange that like the AAA he attacks the board and Kronke – but nothing said about the fat Russian.
Bob,the Emirates deal reduces by 20% from 2015 if Arsenal don’t get CL football;the Emirates guy was saying that the deal was a “two way” thing,ie it is not money for nothing but a level of performance is expected.I’m sure he said something about guarding against complacency!!! Of course we are not in 2015 yet,but Liverpool have shown how hard it is to get back in it once you fall out.I assume this is why contracts now have a clause which means a players wages are reduced if we fail to qualify for the CL.However,selling this to future recruits will be difficult imo.The player recruitment strategy is deeply concerning;we have so many unproductive players on our books that at the moment we are paying to play for others ( i believe we are picking up the majority of the tab for the loanees).Now i can accept a few mistakes,but the number we have is ridiculous.Denilson,Chamackh,Djourou,Miyachi,Park,Campbell,Wellington with Bendtner returning through season ending injury.All these are supposed first teamers playing for other clubs.Then we have the enigmatic Squillaci,Arshavin Santos and Rosicky who the manager doesn’t seem to trust anymore.Twelve first teamers of no use to the team whilst Cazorla,Wilshere and Arteta(now injured),are flogged to death.Now if anyone can tell me this is a good use of resources i would love to hear it;meanwhile fine players like Holtby,Ba and Remy ,all of whom would improve us,are going elsewhere for affordable fees.I’m just not sure what is going on any more.On another note,why, oh why, oh why is that letter from AFC,MU,Pool and Spurs written on AFC notepaper;now it is us that will get ALL the grief even though it is David Gill who has done all the talking.Typical,it will be turned into a slag Arsenal off issue whilst the other three get off scot free.Again.
Linz
I shouldn’t worry about the newspapers slagging Arsenal, it’s what they do.
Besides you seem to be doing a decent job of it yourself.
The thing I find interesting is when we beat spuds 5-2 after they played for over 70min with 10 men, I heard comments such as we only won cause of the sending off. Now the same thing happens to us, and the same people refuse to acknowledge the impact the sending off had on our game, choosing to label the team rubbish. How does that work?
ARSENAL vs the world….
Critics, they are paid to criticize. AND when its ARSENAL, they can do it all day long.
If Koscielny sending off is as per law, then Kompany sending off is the same. As per law of the game, two footed (though 1mm off the ground) studs up lunging challenge is a red. And defending Kompany as he dint collect Wilshere is plain stupidity as the intention was there. If not for quick evasive move from Wilshere, we would have been looking at Ramseyesque situation here.
I thought, we played well. Really good. With 10 men we created enough chances to suggest that with 11, we would have been better.
Arsenal 13:
What were you watching for FFS ???
We were clueless with 11 & 10 men.
Only Wilshire & Chesney came out with reasonable credit.
@Adam,as I suspected after skimming over your response to me I can’t really find issue with any of your points. I’d say that not only do we need Bergkamp or Henry to help inspire the team from off the pitch but a player of experience in the team who has won things, someone of the stature of Lampard, much as I detest him. There’s no winning mentality about the team and I do feel that offloading some of the great talent we had around the time after the invincibles was an error.
Linz, Mandy Dodd,
Some are understandably angered by misuses of the term “asset-stripping,” by which I mean offloading superior talent for a profit without replacing like for like. If we don’t fill the holes from this past summer (at minimum), is that not what the bean counters at AFC will have achieved? What would you call it? Prudence? Gutting? Can we put the pause button, just for this window, on that beloved (and well trod) expression “we can’t afford to compete”? Because if that becomes the mantra – when all the official and public and Gazidisian bromides say we have (indeed have had) money to spend, then the handy mantra becomes a tragic self-fulfilling prophecy. And, in the meantime, as the transfer-clock ticks on, our midfield – of which all the apologists hereabouts, and since August Mr. Attwood, assured us had zillions of capable names to fill it, so what’s all the profiligate fuss about replacing Song, etc. – is stretched and falling apart. Arteta predictably injured. Rosicky mysteriously unused. Arshavin internally exiled. Cazorla exhausted. Wilshere being kicked to bits. But wait, there’s rescue in house: the (brilliant on his occasional days) imperious Diaby. This state of affairs was predicted and predictable in August. With money in the coffers (quoting Gazidis and others), if there is no successful action in January, and there is AFC’s having passed on the likes of Demba Ba (who really needs him, eh, FunGunner and Mr. Attwood) as a non-midfield example, then what has happened to our laundry-list of midfielders? Perhaps, if asset-stripping is too harsh a term, then we have been taken to the cleaners. And, imo, we have been complicit in our own self-clean sheeting. Let the touted peerless worldwide coaching staff (of which little is uttered these days) earn its keep and now. It’s been awhile, this waiting for Godot. Mandy Dodd, who I genuinely and long have respected, you have raised the point that something seems wrong inside the inner sanctum. In all honesty, would you not call it – this unraveling of talent and spirit – a de facto regime of asset-stripping? I’m at a loss to conclude it’s anything else. Many of us watch in great angst as the gutting (on all levels) has continued. There’s money we are told. So, to spare us another [Untold here] story about how Arsene and Fergie concluded that phone call in August, perhaps the asset-strippers will be put in check because they are, to mix the metaphor, losing the inmates.
The people on this blog are old and senile. They view Arsenal like one would view their grandkids: “Arsenal can do no wrong.” They probably don’t have any grandkids.
We will be frequent visitors over the next few weeks to this blog. Not to gloat, but to enjoy in the awakening of our elders on this site, who have put our reasonable opinions down time and time again when it is they who can’t see. Your restful nights will become less restful. The dream is over. You are sleeping. Almost time to wake up.
How do you call people who speak in the “WE” form?
So the AAA is a real group otherwise Vance wouldn’t speak in the WE form.
And that after a few people have said that they are all caring individual fans…
@Walter, how does the fact that one person speaks in the plural prove that the AAA exists? This sort of reasoning would be thrown out of court.
‘Not to gloat, but to enjoy’.
Well it’s clear what you are hoping for, and it isn’t any sort of positive second half of the season. Just wanting to be proved right, even if it means failure for our club.
That’s what gets me about you guys. No true supporter would put their own ego above wanting better for the club. But then perhaps you’re not a supporter (of this club, that is).
@GoonerVance
Well that was a pointless post wasn’t it
Rupert,
Are we in court?
I was just wondering if he was a royal or so? If not then why does he speak in the “we” form?
@Walter
Judging (no pun intended) by the comment from Goonervacant – sorry GoonerVance, “we” have confirmation that the site is again under attack.
Once again for the ‘benefit ‘ of the ‘younglings ‘ who seem to know better ,let me repeat this story .
Once there was an old hardworking bull who was wise in his ways. The farmer wanting to give some him help and respite , bought a young stud bull to lighten his load .
One day the on top of a hill and looking down at their herd grazing in the valley ,the stud eyed a comely heifer among some of the newly acquired cows ,and tells the old bull, “Lets run down the hill and fuck that beauty !”
The wise old bull looks at his rash,impulsive (read -brainless!)younger companion and says ,
“Why don’t we walk down the hill and fuck them all ?”
AHHH ! The joy of wisdom !
bjtgooner,
just check the new article from this morning and you (and rupert coock) will understand it even better 😉
LOL Brickfields 🙂