By Bulldog Drummond
Let’s have a peek at who we have used the most this season listed by the minutes played, which is usually a fair indication as to which players the manager likes, when all are fit…
Below is our top 20 appearances listed in minutes (substitute appearances listed under games in brackets). This list of 20 I think gives us a perfect view of how the manager sees his squad, and who in particular he values. Obviously some players are affected by injury during the course of the season, but we can see for example that despite the constant, ceaseless clamour among the ne’er-do-wells within the scribbling classes for Bellerin to be sold and Holding to go, not to mention Xhaka being not fit to wear the shirt, all three are in the top five players for appearance minutes this season. It just goes to show what the scribblers know.
| Pos in minutes | Player | Age | Games | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Bernd Leno
|
29 | 25 | 2232 |
|
|
|
25 | 22 | 1913 |
|
3
|
Bukayo Saka
|
19 | 21(1) | 1866 |
|
4
|
Rob Holding
|
25 | 20(2) | 1838 |
|
5
|
Granit Xhaka
|
28 | 21(1) | 1806 |
|
6
|
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
|
31 | 19(3) | 1763 |
|
7
|
Kieran Tierney
|
23 | 19 | 1701 |
|
8
|
Alexandra Lacazette
|
29 | 17(5) | 1424 |
|
9
|
Gabriel Magalhaes
|
23 | 14(1) | 1277 |
|
10
|
Willian
|
32 | 13(6) | 1117 |
|
11
|
Dani Ceballos
|
24 | 11(7) | 1112 |
|
12
|
David Luiz
|
33 | 13(3) | 1077 |
|
13
|
Mohamed Elneny
|
28 | 12(3) | 1073 |
|
14
|
Nicolas Pepe
|
25 | 10(8) | 974 |
|
15
|
Emile Smith Rowe
|
20 | 11(1) | 858 |
|
16
|
Thomas Partey
|
27 | 9(3) | 708 |
|
17
|
Cedric Soares
|
29 | 7(1) | 610 |
|
18
|
Ainsley Maitland Niles
|
23 | 5(6) | 486 |
|
19
|
Pablo Mari
|
27 | 5 | 450 |
|
20
|
Eddiie Nketiah
|
21 | 3(11) | 320 |
So who is picked out of that group (plus Odegaard) to make up the team
Sports Mole offer us a team made up of
Leno;
Cedric, David Luiz, Mari, Tierney;
Partey, Xhaka;
Pepe, Odegaard, Willian;
Lacazette
Concerning Aubameyang they say that he was left out of the starting line up for the Leicester game having “netted the only goal of the game at the wrong end in the reverse fixture, but he has scored more Premier League goals against Burnley than he has against any other side so will be desperate to return to the starting lineup.”
The Guardian gives a lineup of which puts him firmly in the team…
Leno;
Bellerin, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney;
Partey, Xhaka;
Saka, Odegaard, Pepe;
Aubameyang
The Evening Standard seem to have resolved their problems with confirmed and predicted teams and seem fairly certain that the team will be
Leno;
Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Cedric;
Ceballos, Xhaka;
Saka, Odegaard, Willian;
Aubameyang.
The Hard Tackle has a probable line up of
Leno;
Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney;
Partey, Xhaka;
Saka, Odegaard, Aubameyang;
Lacazette
So putting it all together we have
Leno
Bellerin David Luiz Gabriel / Mari Tierney
Partey Xhaka
Saka, Odegaard, Willian
Lacazette / Abuameyang
The predicted scores doing the rounds range from a 1-0 win to Burnley through a couple of 1-1 draws over to a 0-2 away win to Arsenal.
In terms of form, our away form is equally balanced relating to wins and defeats (six of each and one draw) but we are excelling ourselves in terms of scoring 18 goals scored and 13 conceded.
Here’s hoping for another win. Aston Villa are not playing again until next friday so a win would take us up to the dizzy heights of ninth in the league table.
Below are the other preview reports…
- Burnley v Arsenal: the injuries, and an encouraging run of results
- The key tactical issue that Arsenal must observe in the game v Burnley
- We need to do well, they need to do worse. Could Arsenal really make the top six?
the team:
Leno,
Tierney,Mari, Luiz, Chambers,
Xhaka, Partey,
Willian, Odegarde, Saka,
Aubameyang.
Officials for today:
Referee: Andre Marriner. Assistants: Scott Ledger, Eddie Smart. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: Kevin Friend. Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes.
A great early opener from Auba cancelled out by a moment of defensive stupidity.
All to do in the second half on a pretty rotten pitch prepared by the Burnley grounds en to negate the possibility of free flowing open football.
pretty obvious handball ignored by VAR in the Burnley box. It was from close distance but the ball was moving slowly and normally your hands aren’t out sideways when you are simply jockeying back and forth
A clear penalty and this is how the PGMOL cheat the game.
There’s a new excuse ‘a natural position for the stance of play’!!!!
Cheating scumbag PGMOL
var will overturn this…looks like his shoulder
The red card was too late. The VAR and the PGMOL play their own game of football.
We were better but not a full goal better…Xhaka (sigh)…Burnley got gifted a non penalty…not the overturned one but the non called hand ball when Pepe flicked it.
What’s the point in supporting a team in a fixed contest. The PGMO have no intention of allowing to win a game when there is anything they can do to prevent it.
I’ve really fallen out of love with PL football at the moment
The red card and penalty rightly overturned. I have no problem with that. We also had ample opportunity to win and had some bad luck too.
Yet still I find my overall feeling is that we’ve been cheated, yet again. The penalty that should have been given was so utterly blatant. Will we get an explanation from the powers that be as to why it wasn’t given? Will we hell as like. It’s an utter disgrace. I really don’t know to what level the PIGMOB wold have to stoop for the club, the Premiership, the FA or anybody else to actually taking some action.
I am seething at the perpetual injustice in this game and the blatant cheating that is permitted to continue unabated and unchallenged.
What is the bloody point in watching?
Burnley play like a pub team. We should have been 3 up by half time, to put the game out of reach for them and the referee. A very frustrating game to watch as the outcome on the bone-dry and tilted pitch was all too predictable.
Latest rule interpretation: VAR check only called for if it will be to Arsenals disadvantage.
It is the most depressing game in sport. Football is ruined by the corrupt FA and their peons PGMOL who just cheat every weekend to ensure an agenda is met.
Arsenal have to approach the FA with an ultimatum of fix it or cope with the press that will be briefed incognito to shame the FA.
Apparently the PGMOL’s explanation is that the players were so close. What a crock of ****. As you will see below, that is absolutely irrelevant according to the Laws of the Game:
Handball Situations
Intentional/deliberate handballs are always punishable. The following handball circumstances, even if deemed unintentional, are punishable by free-kick or penalty.
The ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm
A player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touched their hand/arm and then scores, creates a goal-scoring opportunity or gains a significant advantage
The ball touches a player’s hand/arm that has made their body appear unnaturally bigger. For example, a player extending their arm(s) widely
The ball touches a player’s hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hard/arm)
These are the 2 key phrases:
-The following handball circumstances, even if deemed unintentional, are punishable by free-kick or penalty.
-The ball touches a player’s hand/arm that has made their body appear unnaturally bigger. For example, a player extending their arm(s) widely.
In other words, if the players arms are extended widely to make himself bigger, which was clearly the case, it is irrelevant how far the ball travelled.
If the players arms are in an unnatural position and the ball hits them it is handball. No ifs, no buts.
I have worked out the solution for honest and fair officiating in football. PGMOL must only be allowed to operate outside the borders of the United Kingdom. Their income will now be negative and they must be seen to be refunding teams that have had VAR decisions given unfairly.
The adjudication will be made by blindfolded Fulham supporters.
Go to page 104, and read the section on handball carefully, and then try to justify the officials’ shithousery. Even Walton thought this was a penalty.
rules are rules
This is so obvious.
Apart from the more blatant issues, I felt that there was a pattern of not penalising Burnley fouls, particularly on Lacazette, and giving them free-kicks for no good reason, especially the one late in the game which offered them a chance to hoof the ball into our box. My only surprise was that Marriner didn’t invent an excuse to send off Saka, as was being demanded by the Burnley players.
Also, a number of off-sides against Arsenal looked to be highly dubious. With the 4 minutes of added time not quite expired, the corner kick which Arsenal was denied would surely have been allowed at the other end.
As I said in my earlier post, Burnley are basically a pub team, who do not deserve to be in the Premier League – a far cry from former times, when they had a deserved reputation for good football, with great players like McIlroy, Adamson, Robson, Connelly, Dobson and James etc. Nowadays its basically a form of thug-ball. Unfortunately they managed to drag Arsenal down to nearer their level for much of the second- half, until we reasserted our much higher class of game.
caught in the act
I bet the PL will have this little gem taken down pronto.
The more I see that video the more blatant a handball it is. That view must have been available to Var so wtf is going on?? We were not at our best considering we had a week off. The pitch was appalling. Not watered at any point before or during. Burnley are another Bolton. I sincerely hope they end up following their Lancashire neighbours down the divisions. We had enough chances to win this game and then the penalty would have become redundant.
Since xmas the games we have struggled in have had a lot of strange refereeing decisions or individual players mistakes .
I now think we only win when we take the referee out of the game like against Leicester last week , if it’s a tight game we will be screwed as in in not getting a decision or having a decision against us , it works either way .
I used to look forward to every Arsenal game , not anymore far too many strange decisions , someone in a powerful position in Arsenals employ will at some point say something to the FA or PGMOL .
PGMO treat the game of football with the same utter contempt that the UK Government displays in their treatment of nurses.
PGMO and all tiers of the football authorities are allowed to absolutely get away with their corruption, however much their corruption ruins the enjoyment of people watching, however much it ruins football, however much customers pay to watch
Riley and the referees and the TV companies and the clubs are all swollen with their own self-importance. They have left the game behind them. They ride the clouds above
the planet, more important than the game, more important than the fans, more important than making certain, by doing their best, and being seen to be doing their best, that every fan knows that the game is fair.
After today’s fiasco it’s time to consider crowdsourcing to sue PGMO, sue Riley, sue the referees. sue the Premiership. sue the TV companies, the clubs, for defrauding customers.
Why should anyone watch a game of football when the referee is the most important person on the pitch and can decide whatever happens in the game?
Why should a game you have loved since you were a child be spoilt for you because people making a living out of the game treat the game and yourself with contempt?
Having just watched the denied penalty incident you can clearly see the Burnley player lean to his left as he knocks the ball down with his hand. The way he actually moves toward the ball makes it look absolutely deliberate and this ‘proximity’ thing is a feeble excuse to attempt to cover their incompetence. Shortly after this happened there was a similar incident outside the box and Marriner blew for handball straight away.
I see Dyche is moaning that they should have had a penalty and Saka given a red card and that we were going down screaming and feigning injury at every opportunity.
Last time we played them he accused our lads of diving all the time.
He really is a knob.
Burnley deserve to be relegated. Their brand of football would not even be good enough for Allardyce.
I feel for us, indeed I forced myself to distance myself form the PL because of everything that is seen and said here on untold. To see the club I support being so cheated out of the competition by officials is more than I can take. Especially when you see that manure getting pens out of thin air, that you see that manures Fernandes can kick Xhaka what for any Arsenal player would be a straight red and the ref doesn t even blink, that was the moment I said to myself I cant take this anymore. Sorry lads. I hope untold will have the power and the stamina to do what they are doing because it makes a difference!!! Things only get better with a protocol that isnt designed en monitored by pigmob. There are plenty of better solutions, untold, keep on calling out the hypocrisy and the blatant bias/cheating. It will get better because I m sure PL is killing the brand like this.
When is deliberate handball not a penalty?
Answers on a postcard.
They will never admit it, but something is very wrong in the world of PL refereeing.
Had enough now. I’m not renewing my season ticket. There is no point when we have a body controlling referees which is answerable to nobody and regards the rules as playthings simply to be used and changed as suits. There’s just no point in going to games anymore if there isn’t even a pretence of a level playing field. And the club appears to be wholly complicit as it does nothing to raise this issue, seemingly regarding paying fans as easily replaceable and happy to treat us with contempt. I’m done with football now. It’s simply a form of Hollywood style confected entertainment rather than sport.
This ‘proximity’ argument is balls***.
The rule states it is an automatic penalty if you have made yourself bigger, which he clearly did.
Whether the the ball is struck from 1 yard or 10 yards is irrelevant. You have made yourself bigger and stopped the ball illegally with your arm. That is hand ball.
I see that the PGMOL set up a Twitter account in December, but they don’t use it to engage with supporters.
@Seismic,
re your question; “when is a deliberate hand-ball not a penalty?”
The answer, obviously, is:-
When it occurs when Arsenal are the opposing team.
cheated once again by the pgmo….
@John L
Correct.
It was not a trick question. 👍