Arsenal and Tottenham: the most abused teams in the league.

Untold Injury Analysis part 4.

By Walter Broeckx

After the introduction part 1 and part 2   and part 3 of the series on injuries in the Premier League we now are going to dig a bit deeper in the numbers we found in that part 3.

We now are going to try to show how horrendous the treatment of Arsenal players is compared to the other teams we have in this injury database. As we are going to add a little extra number to this data.

What we will now do with the numbers we had in our data of contact injuries is to compare the other 9 teams without Arsenal and then see how it is compared with Arsenal.

As Arsenal has the highest injury record that itself is lifting the league average. So what would the league average be if Arsenal would not exist?

Well if Arsenal figures are excluded there would be a league average of 21 contact injuries per season for each team. Keep that number in mind. As it is important. So in the next table we will show you a few things and that is what happens if we compare the teams in our survey with that league average without Arsenal.

We will try to show how many or fewer contact injuries each team has compared to the league numbers without Arsenal. And we will also show you how much higher or lower the risk for each team is to lose players because of contact injuries.

Team Av. Contact injuries per season Compared to Average without Arsenal Risk coefficient for each team/player
Arsenal 32 11 148.44%
Aston Villa 20 -1 93.41%
Chelsea 21 0 99.38 %
Everton 22 1 104.08 %
Fulham 16 -5 77.20 %
Liverpool 18 -3 84.03 %
Man City 18 -3 86.59 %
Man United 26 5 123.70 %
Newcastle 21 0 98.10 %
Tottenham 28 7 133.51 %
League average 21

Let me try to explain this. As I said the league average of contact injuries for the other teams is 21 injuries per season. As Arsenal has 32 on average this means that Arsenal has 11 more of those contact injuries each season. 11 MORE than the average which is 21. So the risk of an Arsenal player getting contact injuries is almost 50% higher than the league average!

Just because you pull on the Arsenal shirt the risk goes from 21 up to 32! Why is this?

Is it because players go out to kick Arsenal players? And is it because referees are too cowardly (or perhaps too influenced by outside forces)  to stop this? The numbers show it is clear that since 2002 Arsenal has been kicked all over the place and that this has resulted in not only losing points but also has resulted in losing players because of injuries. And I may add losing players because of the most terrible injuries.

I have seen injuries and scenes in those years that I never wanted to see. But I had to endure the sight of Arsenal players lying on the floor looking in disbelief at what once looked a leg and now was lying around the floor shattered to pieces. Horror scenes.

And yet the kicking goes on and on and on and on and on. And referees are just letting it go when it is against Arsenal, giving no protection whatsoever to Arsenal players.  And the media? They remind silent. Or worse, they even praise the kicking that is going on. They urge teams to go out and kick us some more. Because that is the only way to stop Arsenal.

And what does the PGMOL and Mike Riley do? NOTHING! They just allow it to happen each weekend over and over again. Of course there are decent referees who try to do their job in a good way. But looking at those numbers it is clear for all to see that the referees surely don’t do a good enough job to stop Arsenal players being kicked off the field.  This is a complete and utter disgrace.

Is this a London thing one might ask? Well no it isn’t just a pure London thing. Because when we look at the numbers of Fulham we see that this London team only suffers half of the contact injuries that Arsenal suffer. Also Chelsea is bang on the average score. So these London teams don’t suffer the treatment that Arsenal and Tottenham suffer. Is it that refs don’t like North London at all? That seems to be the case. Because also Tottenham is suffering a lot from contact injuries and their number is also way too high.

Now we might not be best friends with our neighbours but if there is one thing that I would like to admit that in general they don’t resort to kick around and that in general they are a team that is trying to play football in a good way. So might it just be that refs in general don’t like such things? Might it be that refs don’t like technical football? Seriously this cannot be true. I hope….

Anyway in the last table where I calculated the risk coefficient I added not just the team totals, but also player totals. Because like in the earlier article I pointed already out that it is in fact the player running out on the field before kick off that is risking his limbs out on the field when wearing the Arsenal shirt.

I think you need to be a brave person to wear the Arsenal shirt out there…a very brave person.

Next in this series we will have a look at the non contact injuries.

Do you fancy writing for Untold?   Here are the guidelines.  

123 Replies to “Arsenal and Tottenham: the most abused teams in the league.”

  1. @Walter

    What this brilliant in depth research does is simply confirm what we have seen with our own eyes for a very long time now.

    Every body knows it. They see it week in, week out, the same as we do. They’ve seen our players stretchered off the same as we have.

    Only last week at stoke they saw it. Only last week they heard the vile chants aimed at Ramsey for the heinous offence of having his leg broken by Ryan ‘not like that’ Shawcross.

    We are the ‘Southern softies’ who don’t like it up’em and deserve all they get.

    These statistics are a shocking disgrace.

    We know that this site and it’s meticulous work in assembling valid, deeply researched data, is well known out side Arsenal. So we know the ‘media’ will see them. We know the PGMOL will see them. Will they act? Will they f**k.

    Sorry Walter, but as fantastic and important as the work you have done to expose this disgraceful situation is, nothing will be done, because the wider footballing World just don’t care.

    Until Arsenal/Wenger are kicked or hounded into submission, nothing will change.

    Even though I am so negative, one things for sure, nothing will change if we do nothing. I bet Brickfields has an ancient Chinese proverb for that one!

    So please ignore neg heads like me and keep up the good work.

  2. Walter

    This is another magnificent series of articles. Thank you, and the two people you’ve previously mentioned, who set up databases, etc.

    I’m pleased the numbers have started from 2002, as I’d started to notice what I thought was a concerted effort to stop Arsenal winning the league.
    Too many black players. Too many French players. Too many “showing up the English players”. Too many Arsène Wenger!

    And so – allow opposition to foul, foul, foul. When Arsplayers react – send them the **** OFF!

    What have we got now? A club doing things the right way. Living within their means, vs State run clubs, oligarchs and oil money.

    Untold Arsenal has written about money laundering and other shenanigans, long ago, and recently. We now see Birmingham’s owner is in jail, and yet he was seen as fit and proper. Tip of the iceberg?

  3. Faulty logic …sorry. Firstly you have to look at how you define contact injuries and how you define the injuries suffered by clubs that you know nothing about. Secondly you have to look at what Wenger has said recently about the muscle injuries that arsenal have been collecting. Thirdly you have to look at possession ……Arsenal are superb at ball retention. The more you have the ball the more you will be tackled. Obvious. Fourthly arsenal have bought quick lightweight skilful players and usually have 4-6 playing every week. More than most other clubs. But those players tend to be more susceptible to injury simply due to physique. Its why Messi is injured more often than Ronaldo. So when you look at the stats alone without bias you can see many reasons other than the paranoid Everyone Hates Arsenal one. Bythe way you also have one of the worst rrecords for red cards and fouls conceded……of course thats because refs pick on you too isnt it? Poor Arsenal…..always a reason for underperforming every year and paying £65m to a failing manager. His excuses become your excuses.

  4. one can only wonder if the game is now a Royal Rumble WWF sport! even if it were they should at least inform everyone. We won’t mind signing Triple H and Stone Cold 3:16!

  5. This is a brilliant article in terms of the data and injury observations, but be careful and remember: correlation is not causation.

    Is it that the refs allow the kicking to go on? Could be.

    But it could also be related to some other third factor not directly in your data. For instance, we know that historically both The Arsenal and Spuds set themselves up to play one and two touch attacking football at high speed. Possession stats could be plotted against this data to see if there’s a correlation to possession. Could it be related to that?

    What about player size? We know that in a car collision, you can’t defy the laws of physics. A big SUV will crush a Smart car in a head-on every time, no matter how many airbags you add. Are Arsenal (and Spuds etc.) players smaller in average, such that they get the worse of two man collisions? We know anecdotally that Chelsea has large physical players since the Abramovich era… Stoke are of course orcs… Would be interesting to see player size/weight data overlaid on the injury data as well.

    We can’t definitively conclude it’s the refs, although that’s certainly a valid hypothesis.

  6. Dear, Garry Fox we are sorry for being deluded like A.Wenger. If based on your premises that because we are a ball retention team, you conclude that’s why we are being kicked left right and center, Sir can I humbly ask why Barcelona or Bayern Munich do not suffer such kicking as we do?
    Let me give u a hint: the man holding the whistle

  7. http://www.mustsharejokes.com/page/Confucius+Say+Jokes

    War not determine who is right, war determine who is left.

    Man who drive like hell, bound to get there.

    When called an idiot sometimes is better to be quiet than to open mouth and remove all doubt.

    Man who behaves like an ass will be the butt of those who crack jokes.

    He who thinks only of number one must remember this number is next to nothing.

    Wise man never play leapfrog with unicorn.

  8. @Gary fox

    “The more you have the ball the more you will be tackled”

    The more tackles there are the more foul there is bound to be, more fouls there are there should be more cards. Please show some evidence that teams receive higher number of cards when playing against arsenal than others before giving some twisted logic.

  9. More fascinating stats, Walter. Can the seriousness of the injuries be related to the nature of the foul – accidental, professional (I hate that term) or outright thuggery? Also Rantetta – great clips trawled from youtube. I wonder how many of these assaults actually resulted in cards (especially the Rooney ones). Not many I bet.

  10. The reason that Arsenal top this table is that we don’t ‘play ball’ the way ‘they’ want and so are targeted .
    A firm board , a steadfast owner and an unshakable manager. No chance of manipulation from the inside .
    The Spuds ? Beats me ! For me is not to question their strange ways !

  11. As simple as it gets .

    http://www.myrkothum.com/confucius-says-the-top-10-quotes-by-confucius/

    Confucius says: The Top 10 Wise Confucius Quotes

    1. “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.”

    2. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

    3. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

    4. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

    5. “The Superior Man is aware of Righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage.”

    6. “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”

    7. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”

    8. “He who learns but does not think, is lost. He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.”

    9. “He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.”

    10. “If you look into your own heart, and you find nothing wrong there, what is there to worry about? What is there to fear?” [

  12. I appreciate your posts, comedic, philosophic, et al, Brickfields. Thanks.

    I just viewed Eduardo at Birmingham. It made me weep. BG’s posts helps to calm.

    Norm
    Most fouls on Arsenal players posted here were not called fouls, giving the opposition license to assault at will. And they do!

  13. Amerigooner

    Size does have an influence, it is not quite as obvious as you point out. Strength scales with area whereas mass scales with volume. There will be situations where the larger mass of the big players wins, and times it doesn’t. At least Walter is taking the opportunity to start.

  14. Rantetta
    Good ranting.

    Don’t get me started on that perpendicular flying kick following a leap impacting just below the knee on Cesc F Word (for those who cannot understand: that means that there was not even a vague consideration in ‘playing the ball’, not even an afterthought. This was no Keownesque or Solglorious ‘reducer’, it was out of control dangerous and deliberately malicious), which led to the infamous ‘bruised bone’ in the build up to the 2010 WC.
    The ref must have blinked.

  15. ive said for ages , the reason that arsenal have more contact injuries is because historically we play in a way that invites it, its really that simple.

    The pure and simple point is that, wenhger has over used a small squad, ramsey didnt even have a game off before suprise surprise he picks up an injury. We simply dont rotate, even with the players we do have, look at podolski for example. Wenger is scared and doesnt trust his squad yet refuses to strengthen it, even when we lose walcot in january, even when it is clear we needed bodies to even have a chance of a league challenge., Ive always supported wenger and will continue,

    but the fact that he is launching an investigation into why we have so many injuries is quite frankly embarrassing. Look at giroud, great player until he gets mentally and pysically shot away! then who have we got, sanogo, how presumptious of wenger to even contemplate we could win the league with one striker, could or would have fergie, no way!

    its almost like wenger sets himself up to fail, he needs to change and change quick, and hopefully he’ll realise what the rest of us do after this investigation, and start realises you can have mopre than 11 great players in a squad.

    wenger tantalises us with what his teams could do each year, the napoli game for example but always, recently anyway makes it impossible for anything other than sheer luck to be a factor in us winning the league, if we had signed draxler ( who wanted us, and will be worth double after the WC, plus one of two more bodies to help take the strain on what was already an injury ravaged team, the league was ours…

    Its so disappointing,,, can anyone say what was the economic sense of not siging draxler, we know for an extra 10 million he was ours, just like mata, just like hazard, just like goetze, now lookj at those guys, and they all wanted arsenal first

  16. @Made to Lve Magic.

    I know you are talking crap. I just can’t be bothered to waste my breath with idiots such as you today. I did my bit with Tom. I’ll leave it to someone else to point out the error of your ways.

  17. jambug,

    The only way someone can ignore the following is by making a serious effort:

    “I believe that when one day I look back, certainly I will be very proud of what I have done,” Wenger said. “It was a trophyless period but certainly a much more difficult and sensitive period, and we needed much more commitment and strength than in the first part of my stay here. I went for a challenge that I knew would be difficult because we had to fight with clubs who lose £150m per year when we had to make £30m per year.”

    There’s no excuse for writing that kind of gibberish about not spending any wonga. Not anymore. Not from anyone.

    The Red and White Holding trolls need to try harder.

  18. @OT EPL Fans – the most abused fans in the world

    There are web sites such as

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/

    at the BBC, which are meant to be switchyards from which the fan chooses another page to view. But, during games, the page displays live scores and often has a short snippet describing “recent events” in the game or games.

    Perhaps what we need to get it through their thick skulls that we don’t need to be abused by their endless BS, is that instead of clicking through to watch video or read commentary, we only visit the lead page and periodically reload that page to get updates on the score.

    If enough people do that, it will show in log file analysis, and maybe they will realize we want more truth in reporting?

  19. jambug, what part of my statement could you possibly refute?, because its all based in the world of fact. We do have a small squad, wenger does overuse certain players, to a degree of negligence imo

    Are you honestly telling me you dont think the ramsey injury was down to fatigue? thats what happens to muscles, when they dont get rest. Ramsey wasn’t rested one tiny bit, not once, neither was ozil, neither has giroud been.. WHy didnt we replace walcotts goals even with a loan signing?

  20. GORD,

    The point is that we are not spending money that WE HAVE EARNED. Arsenal are so cash rich yet wenger remains in too much control.

    There was no economic sense in not siging Draxler , absolutely None.

    If anyone on this site can convince me otherwise i would congratulate them and buy them a mars bar

  21. @MadeTo…

    What did I write that had anything to do with your reply? I was off topic, and you are out of order.

  22. Some more facts that you can use to impress women and men you don’t normally get to meet, but can still make you seem smart and interesting on the internet !
    From..

    Unusual Interesting Facts.
    http://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/read/80502761/

    1. The longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.”

    4. The symbol on the “pound” key (#) is called an octothorpe.

    5. The dot over the letter ‘i’ is called a tittle.

    6. Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

    9. There are only four words in the English language which end in “-dous”: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

    10. The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

    11. The only other word with the same amount of letters is its plural: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosesl.

    12. The longest place-name still in use is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukup okaiwe-nuakit natahu, a New Zealand hill.

    13. Los Angeles’s full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reinade los Angeles de Porciuncula” and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size,L.A.

    14. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

    18. Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.

    21. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

    26. A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

    35. Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning “containing arsenic.”

    36. Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian seal for that reason.

  23. And all this while I ‘ve been under the impression that a ‘twit’ was ‘not a pleasant ‘ thing to call a person That is until I saw no: 26 ! Is it the same a an AAAA ?

    36. Are the Emus and kangaroos upside down on their seal?

  24. off topic: did anyone noticed that Clattenburg didn’t let the Liverpool penalty retaken because of Liverpool players encroaching before the ball was kicked?
    Well I did…. 😉

  25. madetolovemagic:

    “There was no economic sense in not siging Draxler , absolutely None.”

    So signing an injured player for 60M would have been good business?
    I think by now it should be clear that Schalke refused to sell him. For whatever money

  26. Walter,

    I must admit I missed that. You’d of thought the commentators would of mentioned it wouldn’t you ! Yeah right !!

  27. Thats not true walter, shalke said they would listen to serious offers, until arsenal typically insulted them like we do everyone,, plus i believe the figure was more like 35 million,

    Wenger rated draxler at 25 million no more, wheres the sense in being stingy over a player who wants to come who will be highly sought over after the wc? wheres the economics n that>?

    Im not sure where this 60 million figure came from walter that is the first i heard of it?

  28. im a huge admirer of the way arsenal go about things in general, but why is it fair now we have the money to spend while still being sustainable, that we are not? we only have one recognised striker, can you honestly tell me you believed we could win the league with only giroud?

  29. It’s nice to read that the referee gave Liverpool 2 goals. NOT.

    From Sports Mole:

    ARSENAL: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Arteta, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Cazorla; Giroud

    COYG!

  30. So are you in the negotiation team Madetolovemagic? If not give me the inside information source you have this information from.

  31. And the subs, from Sports Mole

    ARSENAL SUBS: Fabianski, Monreal, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Flamini, Gnabry, Sanogo

  32. It kind of looks like the Mike Riley 😈 determined who was going to win the first game, I would have preferred a tie. But it does make it easier for Tottenham, Everton, Southampton and Newcastle to possible get ahead of ManU.

    I kept hoping to see a Breaking News story, Mike Dean in car crash and won’t be able to officiate, but alas it was not to be. Maybe he’ll have a bad day and be fair to both teams?

    COYG!

  33. “yes hello waiter, I would like the ROAST CHICKEN, with ROASTED SPUDS please, and all the trimmings”
    “trimming’s Sir?”
    “yes, two goals from Podolski and also two from Giroud and one from Cazorla and one from Mertesacker on the side. And remember waiter..”
    “yes Sir?”
    “a cannon is always better than a chicken”.
    “thats common knowledge if you dont mind me saying so Sir”.

    COYG!! aha and Amen!

  34. And who was it that said that no sane EPL referee would give a penalty at Old Toilet ? Here’s a brave man who has given 3 ,to show that the EPL is not fixed and that hard work will win you fame and fortune and all that goes with it !
    My faith in humanity has been restored ! Yeah ,right !
    When the end comes it rushes at you at breakneck speed .
    Like the pavement when you’ve fallen off a building !
    Splooooossssh !

  35. Sounds like just a single game for Vidic. I wonder if Kompany is going to get an extra suspension for his gesture?

    Nice Kenneth. 🙂

    COYG!

  36. After watching the man-liv game, my first not including Arsenal this year, i came to this:
    1- those penalties are given, its only us who are not allowed to dream of.
    2- the EPL game is neither “men game”, nor a “kick em of the field” game, a good technical players can get three points, except if they are Arsenal.
    3- Diving is part of the game, since the FA,Uefa and Fifa Are not determined to stop it. Today, 2-0 up, manchester players not even threatining, still, sturridge dived, shame this is what football turned to be.

  37. Mark Clattenburg has just given the best performance by a referee at Old Trafford for years and years.

    3 penalties and I red card all against Man Utd.

    Never, never, ever thought I’d see this day.

    Is the EPL trying to come clean?

    Mike Dean step forward.

  38. @Brickfields

    I thought the longest one syllable English word was, “gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal”. Or are you saying that is Spanish or Portuguese?

    I’ve known of “#” as octothorpe for a long time. I believe somewhere in Bell Labs history, is a 1.5 or so page article on the various names for that character.

    COYG!

  39. Walter
    Do I detect a hint of sour grapes from your comment about Clattenberg and Liverpool ?I hope not.

    Let me be the first one to congratulate Liverpool on a fantastic performance from the beginning till the end . They dominated all stats and mental and physical commitment as well. Man U were the second best all over the pitch.

    The only blemish was Sturidge’s dive to win the third penalty but Gerard missed it so it didn’t have any bearing on final result. Worth noting Sturidge should’ve had a proper penalty awarded just a few minutes later when Carrick took a swipe at his feet. Fellaini should consider himself lucky Suarez didn’t go down in the sixth minute when he was fouled twice in the area.
    Well done Liverpool!

  40. Sports Mole had this:

    > 6 min

    > 01:12 – Tomas Rosicky’s goal is the fastest ever scored by Arsenal against Tottenham in the Premier League. Rapid.
    > — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 16, 2014

  41. What a cracker from Rosicky!

    Excuse me for ‘whingeing’, but the far said linesman looks dodgy; Adebayor was a yard offside and his flag didn’t go up, Arteta was barged off the ball right in front of him and he let play carry on. I’m watching him.

  42. @tom why don’t you go to the voice of Shankly it would be a lot more suitable for your scouse love in

  43. Tom
    Sturridge’s dive didn’t have a bearing on the final result, wasn’t it what led to Vidic getting sent off?

  44. We need to calm down and not get a red card, and we should take out chances better, other than that, we are great.

  45. Tom,
    Although they were better than united, they werent that better, all we need us fair officiating, those penalties we dont even dream of getting when we play.

  46. I thought Flanaghan should’ve been sent off and Steeeeevie done enough naughtynees to go too. Wayne was just Wayne.

    Thank goodness for TR7’s early goal. Fouls committed on him don’t count! Deano still trying to tilt. Chandli back in totty team following his successful contribution to the crippling of Theo. Walter, was it right to card Sagna after the tackle with Danny Rose? Maybe it was frontal? Maybe it was Rose trying to cripple, as his his want, at least against Arsenal.

    Well done so far, Arsenal.

  47. Al ,highamsparkgunner

    My sincere apologies !
    I forgot myself for a moment this was Untold I was commenting on.
    Here’s my new and improved version for UA consumption only.

    Man U dominated the game and created countless chances. Liverpool parked the bus and only thanks to a totally biased referee managed to squeeze by and win the game . Looks like PGMOL want Liverpool to win the title 🙂

  48. @tom
    you can say what you like just seems funny to see this on an Arsenal blog. I bet there are no Arsenal match reports on a scouse blog

  49. I’m confused. Are we playing Bayern Hotspur? with the amount of diving going on, I can’t tell!!

  50. Gutsy performance by Arsenal players and good tactical plan by Wenger considering all injuries.
    Well done Arsenal!

  51. SO.,,,,,,

    WERE ARE ALL THE MIKE DEAN HATERS???

    WHAT A FINE PERFORMANCE BY DEAN….

    PER MERTERSACKER..MOTM AGAIN…..

  52. @ hiss..

    Good performance….. Nonsense. If he had made any iffy ones…..it would have looked obvious. Why no penalty given???….

  53. “how was your meal Sir?”
    “I much prefer my Chicken roasted and my Spuds also well roasted, that was a bit more like boiled chicken and I dont like people throwing balls in my Le Sagna, and certainly not enough trimmings”
    “Sorry Sir”
    “I guess iit will be silent at WHCoop tonight”
    “yes thats the way we like it Sir, may I offer you anything else perhaps?
    “yes burn my fucking Chelsea buns next week when I come in will you…?
    “Yes Sir of course Sir”

  54. Yes!!! Well done the team, excellent victory over Mike Dean and the eleven totts.

    Not a classical performance, but plenty of true grit in there!!

    Well done again.

    Later tonight a wee dram is called for!

  55. What a fine performance? All that fouls not.given? And the penalty? The so obvious penalty? What did u watch? Yes he wasnt usual self, but dont tell me he had a fine performance, specially second half!

  56. Credit where it’s due, dean did well today, apart from the non penalty on Kos. Well done Arsenal!!!!

  57. WOO HOO , HOO ! Just loved the way the prof closed the game by bringing on the defensive players
    The Ox should have scored a hattrick today .But what the hell 3 points away from home is sweet !

  58. Hissy Fitt

    I also think he had a pretty decent game. But this doesn’t change his history. Doesn’t change the ‘dance’ or the misdemeanours. UA do not make up the stats you know, although you may think so.

    But as they say, one Swallow doesn’t make a Summer 😉

  59. Mike Dean… good performance! Not according to what I witness.

    But anyway… Well done Arsenal, great battling performance.

  60. Very good defensive display. Our passing in midfield disintegrated as the game progressed but everyone gave their all to protect the 1-0 lead. That should end Spurs season and give us a springboard to a challenge for the title.

  61. @JAMBUG does one Amazon make a summer? 🙂

    @Arsenal 13, Yassin et al
    Blinkered twits…..Not every decision can go your way? Or can it? Are you spoiled children?

    Get a sense of hoensty and humility and courage.
    You make me sick.

  62. Merson. Another ex Gunner unwilling to give us an ounce of credit. Thank God for Souness.

    When others do what we did “Playing like that and still winning is what Champions are made of”

    We do it and we’re lucky.

    Will they show our penalty?

    Merson is such a wanker.

  63. @GooneressNo1
    you are the worst of the worst…..
    I will not even read your posts anymore…Waste of time and effort.

  64. Lie lie lie….Tim Gooner Sherwood is not a gooner. He just announced that hez a chicken at heart….

    I’ve had truck loads of chicken already today…..for lunch for dinner……

  65. @hiss…

    Sorry we make you sick. With all humility I advice you to consult Dr brickfields….

  66. Finsbury

    Ta for posting Guardian article, and observations. I thought Wenger’s quote was the better part of it.

  67. I have to be honest lads. 2 poor off side calls by the Linesmen early on. A pretty blatant penalty not given, again by the linesmen I think, as I Deans view looked blocked.

    I think most of his cards where right.

    He may not of been perfect but I think he had a decent game. I can’t put my hand on my heart and say he was biased at all. Maybe I missed something. Sorry.

  68. a nervy match.

    I thought we were going to score 5 at the start but give Spurs credit they took over the game but despite the work of Adebayor they don’t have enough quality up front nor a midfielder to play in the killer pass. I wouldn’t have liked to play that defensively against Liverpool or ManCity. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s miss was weighing on my mind as was Koscielny being dragged to earth in the Spurs box. Having said all of that our centre-backs were massive. As for Dean, I am glad that though he missed Koscielny being dragged down in the box he didn’t give any penalties to Townsend who was throwing himself on the ground like a sniper-shy infantryman.

    Strange to watch us give up possession so easily. We would win the ball back, and then just hit it upfield to a Tottenham defender or make 2 passes and then miss the 3rd. Whatever, it is 3 points and on to Chelsea next week! 🙂

  69. Poor old Hissy… quiet room, perhaps some coffee to calm those shattered nerves.

  70. @Hissy,
    As for a whining children, then why dont u grow up and leave us whine all day about great performances from refs!

    As for calling us twits i know one thing, u cant say it to my face, all u do is a cowardly calling names to people where they cant reach u om this net. So pleasr save me ur genius and yr amazing mind, and start doing to me what u did with Goneresss i would prefere that.

  71. the match report is published and it contains a part about Dean. of course. How could it else be 🙂

  72. @yassin
    suck on a big one u dimwit…..

    dean had a blinder…u r blind and an ignoramus for not acknowlegding it.

    and for saying things to my face etc…big , bravado, aggressive scummy violent talk.
    get stuffed

  73. GooneressNo1

    Glad you actually watched the game.

    Whilst totty ended up, unbelievably, 5 – 3 in the card count, that was due to late bookings. Vertongen, if he was an Arsenal player, would’ve been sent off, before any penalty appeal. Dream ignored so many fouls on Arsenal players and still gave totty a couple of ghost fouls.

    Chandi and Sandro did some nasty things in the first half. Sagna was magnanimous in dealing with Sherwood’s petulance – not only appeasing Dean’s march towards the totty boss, but also going, with peace aforethought, towards Sherwood, to ensure a handshake.

  74. Good first half. Midfield was non existent in the 2nd half. It looked like Arsenal were playing against Guardiola’s Barcelona.
    Szczesny should thank it was Tottenham.
    I know it was a fierce derby but c’mon, Tottenham was average.

    Talking about average…I always said Giroud was average but deep down I knew I was being too generous. He may be good at cheating on his wife but his football skills…The worst thing is Wenger playing him for the whole match.

    There are people still crying about the referee…for what? For not giving a soft penalty. And Tottenham fans are crying for Sagna playing the 90 min.

    Forth place ‘trophy’ is coming once again…So enjoy the loser mentality. There’s more forth place trophies to ‘win’ under Wenger, the serial loser.

    I imagine if Liverpool win this thing where will you Wenger apologists hide after all the whinge about City buying the league ?

  75. Chickens , Spuds and the AVB transfer buys ….

    A man decided to start a chicken farm and brought 24 to get started. A week later he bought another 24 and another 24 the week after that. When his friend asked how his chicken farm was coming along the man replied, “Not one of them has grown yet. I wonder if I’m planting them too deep?”

  76. Tom,

    No no sour grapes. Just a reminder of what I wrote in my article after the Everton match about the retaken penalty.
    I said at the time that I would be watching him if he did it for all the teams. Well clearly he didn’t and certainly the second penalty there was Liverpool player (and others also inside the penalty area) some 3 meters closer than allowed. You have to stay out the little D also you know.

    Just a confirmation in fact of the fact that there is really a strange thing going on when Arsenal is on the field and when others are playing. And that is something that should not happen!

    Or you do it all the time or you let players run in without punishment. But not one time allowing it and not the other time.

    On to the Arsenal. ONE NIL TO THE ARSENAL…. 🙂

  77. jambug,
    Agree. Thought the linesmen were awful today. I counted at least 3 incorrect offsides, given or not given…

  78. Two LBs, one RB, three CBs and two DMs on the pitch at the same time: only Arsene can do this interesting thing!!
    Congrats to all Gooners and Gunners! At least we did take our chance today to continue our season in faith.

    A good week has already passed, don’t you think?!

  79. Brilliant Bricks, love your wit mate! May the world service listeners be ever blessed!
    COYG! Aha aha aha amen

  80. So much bile and hatred for a hard fought 1-0 win !
    Sweet music to me ears !Don’t you just love the Arsenal pissing off ‘fans’ !

  81. Hissy Fitt,

    You seem to think so highly of your childish taunts and insults. What are you; 10? There have always been contrarians and even those we dub AAA but your only objective seem to be to aggravate others. Were you recently given unsupervised access to the Internet?

    Anyway, we’ve had many like you come and go. You may be the latest Untold wind-up artist but you won’t last and you won’t be the last. It’s a little sad that you get off from unnecessarily antagonising others.

    I also think that Dean did not do badly today but I won’t go anywhere as far as you to now question the sanity of those who didn’t trust him. You could go a step further and say that since 3 penalties were awarded against Man United today and with their captain getting sent off that referees are biased against the club rather being in the tank for them for years.

  82. @bootoomee

    IGNORAMUS…

    as quint said to HOOPER
    “you college kids dont know how to admit when you are wrong”

  83. Hissy Fitt,

    You’ve done it again. You got me with that capitalised insult. I’m in tears.

    I hope that just made your day. Now quiet down and let the adults converse in peace.

  84. bootoomee….

    have the last word no problem.

    but as u know…THE EMPTY CAN RATTLES THE MOST

  85. Boy: “Want to hear a joke about my dick? Never mind, its too long.”
    Girl: “Wanna hear a joke about my pussy? Never mind, you won’t get it.”

    Q: What do you call 2 guys fighting over a slut?
    A: Tug-of-whore.

    Q: What do you call an artist with a brown finger?
    A: Piccassole

    Q: What do you call a man who cries while he masturbates?
    A: A tearjerker.

    The biggest difference between men and women is what comes to mind when the word ‘Facial’ is used.

    Women fake orgasms to have relationships. Men fake relationships to have orgasms.

    Hope those AAAAs are gone . See you guys. Goodnight !

  86. WARNING: dont eat evening dinner( chicken curry) whilst reading Brickfields jokes as it all ends up on screen as one bursts out laughing!
    COYG! COYBRICKFIELDS! Ahah and amen

  87. I think Hiss has a few rattles of his/her own – trouble is they are all out of the pram!

  88. Hissy Fitt.

    We get plenty on here who are just trying to provoke. Much to my own dismay I find myself getting into some, shall we say, interesting debates with them.

    But at least they tend to maintain a level of maturity that is conducive with debate, all be it a bit heated at times.

    But you set the tone way bellow playground level.

    You could do with some help.

  89. @Brickfields – Raising Chickens

    The version I heard, was from Kentucky. Farmer there decided he wanted to raise chickens. So he goes out and buys a bunch of chickens, plants them in the ground feet first. Waits a couple of weeks, there is no sign of any growth, and actually the chickens all died. Still early in the season, goes and buys a bunch more chickens, but this time he plants them head first in the ground. Waits a couple more weeks. Again, no growth and they all died. He’s stumped. So he drives down to the University of Kentucky to talk to the Ag people there. Tells them about what he did. The professor there think about it a while, and then announces that perhaps the farmer needs to do a soil test to see if there is some missing nutrient.

  90. @ Kenneth – Thanks and thank you too for the laughs. I will now add ‘the induction of the forceful expulsion of chicken curry ‘ to my resume and list of accomplishments !
    @ Gord – There appears to be a lot of ‘turkeys’ missing ‘nutrients’ in Kentucky !
    Since you mentioned earlier that your neck of the woods is very flat , I just wanted to know if ,just like Governer Palin ,can you see Russia from you house ?
    Innuit ? Polar bears ? Elks ? Caribous ? Seals ? Shot any ?

  91. @Brickfields

    SE Saskatchewan is very flat. Many farmers have dugouts to impound water for domestic use, and the top of the dugout usually trips elevation markers, inadvertently showing where every yard is.

    I live in NW Alberta, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Dawson Creek, which is the beginning of the Alaska Highway is 120 km away. The aboriginal people around here are I believe historically are the “Beaver people”. I’ve chased a black bear down a road (35-40 mph) once without meaning to. There are elk around, but moose and deer are more common. Caribou are further north. No seals. There are grizzly around, but their territory is quite large. There are 2 fairly large water falls in the region, I believe Kinuso Falls is 100 feet taller than Niagra Falls.

    The “Peace Country” (land within the watershed of the Peace River” is about the size of Germany, has a population of about 160,000. The long summer days are great for flowers. We grow a lot of canola (yellow flowers) and alfalfa (blue and red flowers I think), which in turn means we have a lot of bees and honey making up here.

    I can’t even see Governor Palin from here.

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