Arsenal – Man City the difference between home and away

By Walter Broeckx

City started the best in the opening 10 minutes. A few good runs behind the Arsenal defence but the defenders managed to get the ball away before City could have a shot on goal.

Dean starting to show a bit of himself by letting a foul on Cazorla (push in the back with no ball) go and punishing Rosicky who stood his ground. It looked as if he didn’t like Rosicky at all as when Zabaleta seemingly tripped Rosicky he gave a goal kick. Now seriously did anyone reading Untold expected a penalty there?

The match was much more balanced now and both teams held each other in balance. Toure got a yellow card for stopping a promising Arsenal attack.

But then Podolski clearly wasn’t coached by his team mates and didn’t know City player was behind him and lost the ball.  And then we got what we tried to avoid: a City counter. Silva could get away with the ball and gave it to Dzeko who’s shot struck the post and a bit of Szczesny. The ball fell kindly to Silva who was in the right place to push it over the goal line.

Arsenal responded well and went looking for an equaliser. Arsenal scored but it was ruled our for offside. A cross from Podolski found Flamini and he managed to put it over the line but the flag went up. Flamini was offside so the decision was correct this time.

City could now speculate more on the counter and Arsenal had to open themselves up more.  Dean then again with a silly decision. Kompany then made a deliberate block on Arteta and Dean gave an advantage with only one Arsenal player up front…. He then gave the yellow card against Kompany later but then Arsenal had lost the ball already.

Podolski on the run at the left flank but Di Michelis could save at the expense of a corner. After that corner Arsenal was stopped for offside and didn’t the corner. It was a bit a similar decision that lead to the first City goal at the Etihad. But just as the penalty decision it didn’t even out.

Walcott was in the stands. Damn we miss you Theo. Rosicky got a yellow card when he had pushed the ball too far in front of him and collided with Clichy.  Gibbs then wanted to pass to Podolski who had just sprinted in to space and City could escape with the ball. Lucky Arteta was in the right place to stop the counter. Silva then jumped in wild on Arteta and also got his deserved yellow card.  0-1 at half time.

The first real danger was when Navas crossed and the ball trickled wide with nobody really knowing how, why and when. A let off but the signal for Arsenal to suddenly up the tempo. A first shot from Cazorla was pushed away by Hart. Arsenal followed up the attack and Podolski crossed and Flamini scored with a left footed shot. 1-1 after 52 minutes.

Hardly minutes later a cross from Sagna went passed Giroud and the open goal mouth. The match could have turned completely in the space of a minute.

Another big chance for Arsenal when the ball fell to Podolski whose shot was somehow saved by Hart and the ball went in to a corner.  That was a real big chance. City now trying to attack a bit more. Assistant giving a soft free kick in a dangerous position and a shot that Szczesny had to tip over from Fernandinho.  Flamini with a shot from a tight angle that went over the crossbar.

The assistant then letting a City offside go and giving a corner to City. Leading to nothing luckily.  Dean then letting a foul on Sagna go and leading to a hectic few moments in front of the Arsenal goal. Luckily Arteta could block the shot.

City having most of the ball some 20 minutes before the end but apart from that one situation not much goal mouth problems for Arsenal. With some 12 minutes to go Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Podolski.  A bit later Sanogo came on for Giroud.

Both teams a bit more cautious in the last 15 minutes. Arsenal with a spell with the ball bot no real goal danger. Rosycki giving away the ball to Silva but he made up for it at the cost of a foul. He seemed to play the ball but the ref called the foul.  Both teams seemingly not wanting to lose at the end.  Garcia with a foul on Cazorla and a yellow card came his way.

Arsenal with a last minute attack but the cross from Gibbs just went over the head of Oxlade-Chamberlain.  Corner to Arsenal in the extra time but The ox couldn’t make contact with the ball and it fell to Hart.

A draw it was at the end.  Probably a correct result.  But we sure could have won this match.

 

 

109 Replies to “Arsenal – Man City the difference between home and away”

  1. Can there be any shred of doubt that Dean would have given a penalty if the Rosicky incident had been at the other end?

    Proud of all our players. Rosicky, Arteta, Flamini outstanding. Cazorla possibly MoM. Back four did a good job, not letting the occasional mistake stop us playing. Players did well in covering for each other.

  2. A great performance with the second choice midfield and only 4 offensive players, plus Vermaelen who in only starting to rediscover himself. But Dean at his almost “best” – if that wasn’t a penalty against Rosicky, he sure did let City off with a lot of brutalities, especially by the defenders. Plus, he penalized Podolski twice for nothing.

  3. It was a game of two halves, and perhaps a draw was a fair result. Maybe if someone deserved to win then it’d be us on two things, the non penalty and the hart save on Podolski’s shot which was a brilliant save. Dean today was the dean we’re are more used to; giving us meaningless advantage and choosing to let some fouls go unpunished. Well done Arsenal.

  4. I say bring on technology we might then get some of the penalties we are due against the bigger teams.

  5. Slow start, ended strong. City didn’t know what hit them in the 2nd half. Well done boyz, you did us proud.

  6. Well done boys, should restore a bit of confidence, which at times you could feel flowing back into the team. Some good performances today, good to have TV back!
    We can move on from this and still make it a successful season.
    We matched the,oilers with half of the first choice players out. Again, well done to those that played.

  7. It was a so so game . You were denied a bolt on penalty in the first half (did I say that)
    A draw was about right whereas as in our game we got what we deserved. Nothing!

  8. We played very well, even in first half, we just had one mistake and fell behind by a lucky goal
    In the second half we were fantastic and compeletly out played them

  9. Good draw. The boys really played out of their skin today, and we should all be thankful for that.

  10. Overall a very good performance by the team, a reasonable result, but with any element of fortune we would have beaten Dean and the eleven Oilers.

    The Rosicky first half incident looked clearly a penalty – there was contact not only with Rosicky’s foot but also with his leg. But Dean, as expected was visually challenged at that point.

    The Arsenal midfield – the subject of recent criticism from a number of cretins – looked good today and as a team at times we played some lovely football. The effort was good – well done guys.

  11. As I said in another article, the goal celebration of Mthiu Flamini values 3 points for me! And the chase back of Rosicky
    They showed ultimate attitude!

  12. Hopefully,that is it for Dean this year. Unless they want to try and maki it hard for us in the cup?

  13. sorry to bother you guys on untold, please who was that guy that said Wenger doesn’t do tactics?
    after Chelsea lost today, I see a glimpse of hope in this run in for us though its going to be tough for all.
    When Dean did his usual stuff, a Chelsea supporter told me he noticed that Dean doesn’t like Arsenal, I just told him what Untold made me realize.
    hard to give motm today but “that french freebies ” deserves it,
    Coyg

  14. Cazorla fighting the whole game that guy wanted to win, so pleased for the Flam…on the way home could only think about what if the bloody injuries hadnt taken their toll… To single players out is not right as all the lads fought hard.
    Lets take this attitude to Everton and break the morning hoodoo…
    COYG! Aha and Amen!

  15. Well, a short survey of the press.

    On the average, the press thinks that City should have won, and that we were lucky to get a tie. If an article mentions the Rosicky penalty, they either say it was the fans who thought it was a penalty, or that replays show it was a dive. I didn’t see any pro-Arsenal write ups.

    There was apparently one group with a banner at Emirates, who ordered Wenger and Kroenke to leave (or something to that effect, the preview chopped the sentence there).

    Congratulations Arsenal! On to the next game.

    COYG!

  16. Should have had a pen, thought silva looked a bit lucky not to get a red with that tackle, but stand to be corrected by one of our refs?
    We were not lucky. Probably a fair result, but with a,fair ref, could,have been even better

  17. Kenneth Widmerpool

    “…..on the way home could only think about the what if the bloody injuries hadn’t taken there toll…..”

    I know what you mean, but to listen to Gary Neville talk you wouldn’t believe it made the slightest bit of difference.

    I know we are probably out of the running for the title now, but we are not that far out, even with all these injuries, so for Neville to infer we wouldn’t be in the running anyway, even if we hadn’t had the injuries, is crass in the extreme.

    The multitude of injuries we have suffered this season, many of which have been long term, has had a devastating impact on our title challenge, and to suggest otherwise is simply ridiculous.

  18. Thank you Arsenal for the spirited performance . fair result that was ad that will keep the mouth of some idiots who claims wenger doesnt do tactics shut. Sorry to bother you, did that imbecile Mourinho go to inform his wife of todays score?

  19. Imagine if we had Ozil, Theo, Jack, Ramsey and Koscielny available. That’s half the team out, all players who would start.

    That media will never mention that penalty incident, they’ll say it was a dive but the contact was more at the knee level than at the feet. I heard Gary Neville say Rosicky left his leg trailing, another one the media use to explain things away. Like when they say there wasn’t enough contact for me when Giroud was bundled over by Vidic, or there was contact when Koscielny gave away a penalty against robben. I heard one of them say should Everton win tomorrow then beat us they’ll go above us, even though they’re 7 points behind with two games in hand.

  20. This is how we expect the team to play every week, with passion and determination, and they will get the support vocally from the stadium. I guarantee every Arsenal supporter in the crowd is pleased at that performance. City was weak(er than usual) i know that was because of how Arsenal played.

  21. Hey Jambug, was with you all the way concerning the unlimited budgets point of view yesterday…anyway enough of all that!
    I know the bloody injuries, poor Ramsey what a cracker of a season he was having. The other thought I had on the way home was that with three or so new players, next year could well be ours…
    Did you see the stat(!) that the Arsenal were 128 days on top this season.And another stat…561 minutes of Man City not letting in a goal..until the Flam steps up…

  22. I suspect the media are now backing Liverpool, despite City being the favourites. Expect suarez to get away with blatant dives from here on, and Gerard to add another 6 or 7 goals in the remaining few matches from the penalty spot.

  23. Kenneth Widnerpool

    Yep, poor Ramsey. Add to that poor Whlshere(how much of a kicking does that lad take?). Poor Theo.

    Personally speaking I think the lose of Theo alone, his goals, his assists, have cost us at least half a dozen points.

    I think the media trolls can see we are on the brink of reasserting ourselves as serious players in the Premiership.

    They know a top 4 Finnish, aligned to an FA Cup win, is going to provide the exact impetuous we need to bring in those 3 or 4 top notch players to which you refer.

    The truth of the matter is they just cant bear the thought of it and will do everything they can to undermine us at every turn right up to the end of the season.

  24. Al, think City will win it, Jose’s little horse may fail at the latter hurdles this season,but can see where you are coming from. Don’t have the stats to hand, but they seem to get an incredible number of pens….in complete contrast to another side I can think of.
    Liverpool vs Spurs, a real dilemma for the UK media.

  25. Did Mourinho called his wife to inform her of the score today? Hypocrite!
    The boys gave a spirited performance today and they made me proud. COYG.
    Just read Arsene’s post match interview. the last sentence tells a lot of what to expect when M.Dean is in charge. its so funny that even Wenger knows.

  26. Jambug…Jack? Takes a kicking every game with the Arsenal fans holding their breath every time until he gets up…I know what you mean about Theo, it doesnt seem right without him…I thought Thomas Vermaelen played with a lot of confidence today which was good to see.

  27. Mandy Dodd.

    Rest assured which ever one loses it will be a ‘glorious failure’ !!

    Unlike us. We always CRASH to defeat or CRASH out of Cups.

    But you’re right they must be in a right old tizz !!

  28. A really good, fighting performance from the lads, they played some excellent football today. A definite penalty I thought, though Neville congratulated Dean for spotting Rosicky’s attempt at deception.
    It seems to me that Neville has been warned about his early season attempt at being fair and objective and now trots out the negative, critical crap as espoused by the rest of the media cretins. Probably he’s been told, get in line with everyone else or your future as a pundit will be short lived.

  29. @Mick

    Maybe the BBC is cosigning the loan the Neville’s and others need to buy Salford?

    I can easily imagine that the money to rent that airplane at Old Traffic was paid in part by BBC/Guardian/SkySports/TalkShite/….

  30. Talking of Jack and also the media, Ive just read some irrelevant article– “Arsenal legend Stewart Robson urges Jack Wilshire to leave Arsenal and move on”…thanks for that “legend” Stew..

  31. You are correct Jambug, that game will be a mutual mastabatory media manipulated love fest, whatever happens.
    Who knows, might actually be a good game, as long as you turn the sound off to avoid the groans of ecstasy from commentators and pundits alike.
    Never has a narrative been so predictable, whatever the result…..and score.

  32. Regarding the media. Heard for the first time, a new narrative about the Arsenal team: “10 years without winning the league”. I thought that they wouldn’t have started until next season.

  33. Yes Mandy, my money is on City too. But I suspect the pool games at home might be used to try and tilt things in Liverpool’s favour.

  34. Stewart Robson.

    What a total wanker.

    Although to be fair maybe he has his wellbeing at heart because there’s no way they’ll be allowed to kick the shit out of him at any other Club the way they can now !!!

  35. 36 comments and not a single moaner! Means that Untold has now (with my comment) exceeded the number of games that Dean has failed to give us a penalty… Would love to see a video montage of all the credible shouts he has turned down.

    Crowd were great today – really positive, really got behind the team. Well done everyone. The not so silent majority.

  36. OT:

    I thought England was sending a team of officials to the World Cup this summer?

    The Times of Malta is reporting that referees for the World Cup are being instructed to protect players from rigorous tackles.

    How can English officials do that? They don’t even want to stop play in the event of a compound fracture?

    It is hard to imagine, but there are even quotes from Webb in the article. Mind you, Walter’s “friend”, Busacca is also quoted in the article.

    http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140329/football/Referees-told-to-focus-on-protecting-players.512647

    Maybe this is meant to be a humourous article, and maybe Brickfields should be presenting it?

  37. @Pete

    I’ve been moaning all week (I got food poisoning on Tuesday night). My GIT almost has a new, stable bacterial flora now.

    But Pete, did the crowd notice the group protesting Wenger and Kroenke? The Independent (I believe) wrote up a an article about them.

  38. English refs at the World Cup, you do them a disservice, one is so strict on tackles and infringements, he gave the same player three yellows in a single match!
    And of course with English refs, we must realise beforehand that deliberate kicks into a players sternum are strictly permitted, especially in the final.

  39. It just a pity Giroud has almost nothing left in the tank.
    He buried one one against Swansea, He should have buried 2 today with good runs, than he didn’t make.
    It is simply depressing, that Arsenal has no 2nd striker besides Giroud to be placed with success on the pitch.

  40. The effect on our season by the prolonged absence of Walcott, Ramsey, Ozil, and Diaby, is regretted by many in these columns.
    My own fear is that next season similar absences of key players will be repeated, unless in some miraculous way we can overcome the frailty which seems to overtake our players year after year.
    There are so many permutations of reasons, I only hope one can be found and acted on.

  41. Although mathematically we could take top spot and we have to strive to achieve that, I would say that is an unlikely result. I don’t like any of the teams around us so I won’t cheer FOR them to win. ManCity for their poaching of our players, Liverpool because of their duplicitous, mealy mouth comments last summer and…I dislike Mourinho (as opposed to Chelsea) the most, so I won’t moan if someone else wins. Of all the other teams, I dislike Everton the least but for them to win, it would necessarily mean a win against us..so that’s out. As for Sp*rs and ManU…no brainers there.

    Bloody Hell, guess I can only cheer for Arsenal…in the end it’s quite simple…Up The ARSE!!

  42. @Strus

    Thanks for that delta.

    @Nicky

    Frailty is a poor word. If I smash your arm with a sledge hammer, and break bones, can I say you are frail?

    If the EPL/PGMOL/FA actually is fair, and all Arsenal have been seeing is an extended run of bad luck, we don’t need any more personnel next year to get the results that the fickle demand. If the EPL/PGMOL/FA are not fair, it seems that we are pretty close to having the personnel to get the result the EPL/PGMOL/FA do not want.

    Wilshere came back stronger, but not strong enough. He is likely to come back stronger than this year. Ramsey will come back stronger. Theo will come back stronger. Did the Ox come back stronger? I don’t think anyone doubts Gibbs came back stronger. I don’t remember if Monreal has been injured severely enough for this argument to have meaning. I don’t believe Koscielny’s injury has meaning in this context.

    Giroud has been beat up for an entire season, and has the World Cup yet (where he could have English referee’s try to protect his fitness). I suspect he will have a setback next year compared to this year, simply because he hasn’t gotten enough recovery time. I can easily imagine Wenger giving Giroud time off until October. Is that enough?

    I think Wenger might move for 3 players in the off season, at the most. We know something about the academy in terms out outfield, I don’t know if any of the academy goaltenders are ready to step into backup roles for the first team. If any are, I would say Wenger would only look at a maximum of 2 players in the off season.

    I have no idea about Diaby. His life has been hell because of injuries placed on him by others while under the “care and supervision” of English referees.

  43. A good point and well deserved based on the second half performance. Could have been more too. Hope it gives us confidence for the cup semi in particular.

  44. Comment 49 (unbeaten I could say) and not a troll yet to be seen. Next up is Riley to spoil the fun 😉

    Funny that after an unexpected dropped point they are usually on here within minutes after the final whistle. now 5 hours later they are silent

    Long may it continue

  45. Yes, with certain types on here, it is only one way, can have a go when it goes wrong, but nowhere to be seen when we do ok

  46. Silva’s goal was pure luck; had we scored such a goal, it would have been “lucky Arsenal this…” and “lucky Arsenal that…” while in contrast, it was Joe Hart who got lucky, when he clueless-ly got a great Poldi shot to hit his heel and go into corner instead of being a great goal.
    Up the Arse!
    As to English referees in the WC, who was it that could not add 1 + 1 and did not send a player off after 2 yellow cards?

  47. My transfer list:
    -The Boss: Keep Bacary Sagna if possible, get an established international-level right back if he cannot, keep Poldi as he is decisive and has many uses asde from defense in a large squad, get an established international-level striker other than Suarez as bitey will not reproduce his current form next season, and try to land our two established targets, Draxler and Bender with Gundogan possibly too injury-prone.
    -Kroenke: Media team to deal with the crap on British media outlets and Fox in the US; NBC has been far more palatable as far as Arsenal goes.
    -Usmanov: A “team” to take care of the pig-mole.

  48. No, not sure about it either, but apparently reported in Germany. Doesn’t mean anything though.

  49. Transfermarkt.com had the probability of transfer to Arsenal
    at 10%, and is falling. Been at Nurnberg less than 1 year.
    BleacherReport, CaughtOffside, TalkShite are talking about him and Arsenal.

  50. I hope you are kidding Mandy. The only one of those I would assign any trustworthyness to is Transfermarkt, and their data indicates to me it is unlikely.

    Do we cheer for Spuds tomorrow? (My tomorrow, your today.)

  51. Welcome back TV.

    Keeping Bac, a must. So steady and leaves it all on the pitch.

    Santi is Saint Santi, MOTM. Really Inspired play.

    And Rosicky – lots of heart and the nous to not pick up a second yellow with the dean marauding at times.

    Giroud is still tired; and, sadly, no one else on tap in that position. Cryin’ shame that lack of clinicality plus his overuse were factors today. Fully agree with you Strus, at 10:06.

  52. loved the moment when vermalen tried to rush forward when both arteta and flamini were already up the field and flamster just flailed his arms and directed vermalen to get back. that is the kind of simple organization that holds a defence.

  53. “unless in some miraculous way we can overcome the frailty which seems to overtake our players year after year.”
    Gord,
    Imo, the miraculous way ahead – to at least dilute, if not overcome the “frailty” you mention – is being sensible to ensure a larger squad with a quality bench and ffs, more than one complementary striker; this with the absolute foreknowledge that the same attacks on us will continue next year.

  54. “English refs at the World Cup, you do them a disservice, one is so strict on tackles and infringe-ments, he gave the same player three yellows in a single match!”
    Mandy,
    Comment of the day goes to this! They are god awful.

  55. R.iris
    Yessssss, that was one of the best moments of the game!
    In another situation, at final moments, both Per and TV5 were wandering in the opposition’s half after a free kick, when Wenger stood up and shouted on them to go back to their situation!
    This deciplined play was sooooooooo fine!

  56. After such a fantastic performance none of the keyboard warriors showed up to “argue” about Arsenal and Arsene Wenger!
    AAA is a just paranoid name calling, they said!

  57. The answer to the 3 yellow cards question is, who else but the most embarrassing Graham Poll, who is currently… a pundit about how to officiate!

  58. Mick said: “It seems to me that Neville has been warned about his early season attempt at being fair and objective and now trots out the negative, critical crap as espoused by the rest of the media cretins. ”

    Amazing how one pundit can change so drastically, you must be right Mick.

    Anyway, this is the kind of performance i expect to see every match, and don’t tell me it can’t be done. More motivation is needed to bring the level of determination up every week. I know it’s said one will have drop outs, but the way the team played against City, i have seen this before from Arsenal, when things have got tough and a performance was needed, but now the mindset has to sink in that this kind of performance is needed EVERY WEEK, this is definately not too much to expect in any way.

    What pleases me though, is that it is (a combination of) players who probably would not have gotten this many games if the regulars were fit, who pulled this performance out of the bag, and i am glad they are getting much needed play time, hoping they are going to be simple and needed rotations in the team next season, hoping to prevent some injuries.

  59. I keep saying this but Arsene, for some reason or another, doesn’t do as I suggest.
    During the summer recess, Gibbs should be sent away to somewhere remote and practise using only his right foot. When it’s as good as his left he will be the finest left-sided defender in our land.
    Watch him now as he cuts inside, pushes forward, with his right boot automatically screaming out for action……but no luck, the ball has to stay on his left side.
    I hope Arsene will listen to me this time.

  60. @ Nicky: we all wish we could use both our feet, but that’s never going to happen. These things should have been taught around 6-10 yrs of age. I know how we were taught in school, so i will not make the same mistake with my 6 year son.

  61. Well, it seems our biggest problem is away games against big English teams. And that seems more like a psychological problem than a football quality problem. Unfortunately, it is a long standing issue and Arsenal doesn’t seem able to solve it. No doubt, we need a better striker than Giroud or at least another striker that can be at least as good as him. Anyway, we had a good game yesterday and without Hart’s save we might have taken all 3 points. I also see that Man City and Chelsea seem to have a dip in form, so I’m still hopeful. Go Gunners!

  62. @Gouresh,
    Very wise. Will look out for your lad in about 13 years’ time as the Gunners’ “New OX”!

  63. Trolls back in their holes. Proof of a good performance.

    In context, Arsenal, without 6 first team players, more than matched the multi-million pound Sheiks, even with the additional Dean handicap to overcome.

    Even Hansen said our defence was good, but spent more time showing examples of previous games when it wasn’t, including Spurs away from last season. No change there then.

  64. John,
    Strange that hansen spent more time talking about incidents from past games than yesterday’s. Wonder if this is ever done for other teams, or just Arsenal only. That man is a joke.

  65. Another 2 points dropped at home on the day we concede the league title- only on Untrue Arsenal would the gimps be celebrating that

  66. I was wandering around the stadium beforehand (trying to buy a kit for my son – sadly all sold out). All peace and harmony I’m afraid. People taking photos, talking excitedly about the game – sometimes exuberantly if had been in a hostelry. But no slagging. Absolutely no sign of a demonstration – might have been chased away?

  67. Bob @4:26am

    I didn’t say we were frail. You mis quoted, or rather confused the source.

  68. Dean became nearly fair referee lately.
    Notice, that he was not afraid to brandish yellow cards to players.
    Notice, he was even a bit Arsenal biased, when he has not show Rosichy the 2nd yellow.
    What a difference it made, when both Company and Toure got carded.

  69. Strus

    Dean wasn’t so good on the not given penalty, or the red card for Silva.

  70. bjtgooner
    March 30, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    Dean wasn’t so good on the not given penalty, or the red card for Silva.

    Dean had an excellent game- certainly the best I have ever seen him officiate with AFC (where I do admit, I believe there has been observable bias in the past). The penalty wasn’t a penalty (if that had been awarded against us, the whinging here would of lasted for weeks and produced another 10000 word acticle I should think). And the red card for Silva wasn’t be any stretch. I struggle to think of any decisions he made that I disagreed with.

  71. @SurferX

    I see you are an apologist for dancing Dean. I suggest you take an eye test.

  72. A deaf sewer rat / troll. Any more? Havent been called ‘AAA’ yet? You’re communication style must make everyone here, with which you associate, with very proud.

    I make no apologies for Dean- I think he is a terrible ref. Last night was the best game I have seen him officiate. He was even-handed, got all the decisions correct- tried to allow play to flow (a pet peeve of mine is a whistle-happy ref- he nearly always falls into that category).

  73. And when I say deaf, I obviously meant blind. Bah- I’ll give you deaf as well. Im a deaf, dumb, and blind sewer-rat / troll.

  74. As much as anything, yesterday was about restoring pride and giving the Gunners some kind of platform to recover their season. Only the most blindly optimistic would believe that the title is still on, even if mathematical possibility still exists. Arsenal have taken two points from the last nine available. However, the performance gives them something to take to Goodison Park next weekend, and the crowd left the stadium a lot happier than they did on Tuesday after the Swansea match, even if at the end of it, the result was the same – two points dropped at home.

  75. @SurferX

    I’m glad you have self-analyzed at last – perhaps you fit arrogant in there somewhere.

  76. Just made the mistake of watching Fulham/Everton, regretted it instantly. Every everton goal was greeted with the commentators screaming ‘are you watching Arsenal?’ ‘watch out Arsenal!’ I think its fair to say arsenal was probably mentioned in there more than the two teams that were playing….sick.

    Anyone who thinks dean had his best game ever yesterday is either a troll/not an Arsenal fan or desperately needs an eye test.

  77. @bjtgooner

    Sure mate- call me whatever you like. Whatever off a ducks-back. Now shush, the adults want to chat.

    @AL
    Which incident’s do you feel he got wrong. I’ll be as objective as I can;

    The Penalty
    Rosicky was going down before any contact was made (imho). He left a trailing leg in the path of the defender (who actually pulled out of the challenge). These are decisions you see that go the other-way frequently (lord knows, we have had a fair share against us). But you can’t take the moral-high ground one-week and then whine that you don’t get it the other way.

    First-half
    Their was an incident which I wasn’t happy with on first-viewing. It seemed like he allowed us to play-on, and no advantage was forth-coming. Kompany (I think) then took out Arteta- he let play go on again, then pulled it back and booked Kompany. Replays then showed us the first-challenge- it was fair- I was wrong.

    Arteta
    Toure was booked for pulling back Arteta. In the 2nd half, Arteta did the same thing to a Citeh player and there was no booking. Arteta was lucky.

    Silva
    He was late in this challenge- a definite booking. But it was neither two-footed or with studs showing: just clumsy. Again (take the rose-tinted glasses off), if an Arsenal player had a red for that and had been sent-off there would be up-roar on here- a straight red would of been far too harsh.

    Bookings
    1-4 in yellows and a foul count of 8-11 says a lot to me. It wasn’t a dirty game at all, and the decisions Dean made seemed (if anything) to go our way on the whole (penalty discounted). Towards the end of the match, there were a few fouls for both teams that sometimes you see bookings for (Milner had one, so too Rosicky- who was already on a yellow). Personally, Im glad kept his cards in his pocket- so often you see him throwing them around like confetti.

    Thats it- he had a good game. Certainly better than the game last-year between the teams (which was a travesty).

  78. Different strokes for different folks !

    It was time for Father John’s Saturday night bath and the young nun, Sister Magdalene, had prepared the bath water and towels just the way the old nun had instructed.

    Sister Magdalene was also instructed not to look at Father John’s nakedness if she could help it, do whatever he told her to do, and pray.

    The next morning the old nun asked Sister Magdalene how the Saturday night bath had gone.

    ‘Oh, sister,’ said the young nun dreamily, ‘I’ve been saved.’

    ‘Saved? And how did that come about?’ asked the old nun.

    ‘Well, when Father John was soaking in the tub, he asked me to wash him, and while I was washing him he guided my hand down between
    his legs where he said the Lord keeps the Key to Heaven.’

    ‘Did he now?’ said the old nun evenly.

    Sister Magdalene continued, ‘And Father John said that if the Key to Heaven fit my lock, the portals of Heaven would be opened to me and I would be assured salvation and eternal peace. And then Father John guided his Key to Heaven into my lock.’

    ‘Is that a fact?’ said the old nun even more evenly.

    ‘At first it hurt terribly, but Father John said the pathway to salvation was often painful and that the glory of God would soon swell my heart with ecstasy. And it did, it felt so good being saved.’

    ‘That wicked old bastard said the old nun. ‘He told me it was Gabriel’s Horn, and I’ve been blowing it for 40 years !

  79. Gord,
    Right you are. “Frailty” was nicky’s term, and I stand corrected. My above comment should be redirected to nicky’s observation. Cheers.

  80. SurferX, Zabaletta trod on Rosicky`s foot, then their lower legs collided and then Rosicky tumbled. Zabaletta nowhere near the ball was last man, Red Card!.
    Dean did not appear to refer to the 4th official or his linesman ! Immediate ! no foul.
    All things are relative, but if you believe Dean was even handed without referring to his officials, I am lost for words

  81. There was an incident in the first half where an Arsenal player got to the right side byline and pulled a ball back which was cleared. The Arsenal players were appealing for something prior to the cross but not obvious to me (although I was sat adjacent!). Any ideas?

  82. @SurferX

    The Rosicky incident was a definite penalty, if you think otherwise – too bad – as I said before an eye test might help your perception – but your arrogance may be more difficult to correct.

    I was going to outline the incident – but terry has done so very accurately.

    @pete

    If you have an idea of the time of the incident I will review the recording – whether or not the cameras covered the incident is another matter.

  83. @Terry white

    The ‘penalty’ can be viewed here (around 2:40);

    http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/arsenal-1-manchester-city-1-motd-2/

    Now Ive watched that a few times again. Firstly, Zabaletta doesn’t tred on Rosicky’s foot- there is daylight between their feet. Rosicky pushes the ball away from Zabaleta who is stationery and on his feet. Rosicky leaves he leg trailing next to Zabaleta and falls over. No penalty for me. Listen, Ive seen them given (both for and against Arsenal)- but that was not one and I would prefer that type of decision was not given (in general- would of been nice yesterday though).

  84. @SurferX

    There was contact with Rosicky’s foot & also leg. Zabeleta did not pull back quickly enough to avoid contact. Zabelata was not close to the ball.

    Had it happened at the other end would a penalty have been awarded – damn right there would. If it was not a penalty why didn’t dancing Dean card Rosicky?

  85. Zabaleta pushed Rosicky’s right leg behind his left leg; contact was there but in a sideways manner and it was more at the upper bit of the leg than feet. You know the kind of contact that leads a player to ‘trip themselves’. There’s no way Rosicky could carry on running after such contact.

  86. @Pete,

    I remember it, it was a penalty call. Cazorla dribbled past a defender, who then hit him on his leg, Cazorla didnt fall, but the ball was lost.

  87. @bjtgooner
    March 30, 2014 at 3:36 pm

    Had it happened at the other end would a penalty have been awarded – damn right there would. If it was not a penalty why didn’t dancing Dean card Rosicky?

    Well, we think about things differently bjtgooner. Im not ready to damn-Dean on a hypothetical what would of he done had it gone the other way. (Jesus, he damns himself in nearly every game we play with him- we have no reason to be hypothetical).

    You probably have a point regarding Rosicky though- he could of booked him for the dive. Im glad he didnt though as it wasn’t a dive-dive (ie from the Gareth Bale school).. there was contact enough for him to go down. Players do it all the time. Was it enough for a penalty? In my opinion, no. I think to be awarded a penalty there should be a clear foul against a player: for me, that wasn’t.

  88. @SurferX

    I glad you can now agree that there was contact. Rosicky, moving quickly, did not go down until after contact both on his foot and leg. Zabeleta tried to run across Rosicky, realised they was in the box, tried to stop but too late – penalty.

    Further, if a player goes down after a contact trips/unbalances him it would be a travesty to book him for diving, equally it would be a travesty to wrongly condemn him for diving.

  89. Im watching Liverfall now ,if only mike dean shit could see the dives suarez and sturridge are doing and the ref PhilDowd giving them every one of it.
    Really cant Arsenal do anything to get rid of mike shit dean officiating every crucial game,cant they do anything??

  90. SurferX My last word on Zabaletta
    He did the old trick of “helping” Rosicky up. He did not “proclaim his innocence”
    Just Mr “Nice-Guy”, other Citi players did dispute, he didnt! Draw attention away, do the “nice thing”, not me Guv. without saying it
    Having seen the incident many times on replay, Dean was unsighted by Citi players. That was my point in response to your “even-handed”, because he was unsighted he should have referred, he didn`t
    All credit to Marriner, he didn`t see so he referred (still wrong)
    And having seen it many times, it is clear to me that Zabaletta first caught Rosicky`s foot then leg
    If Dean had referred and come up with the same conclusion, OK too bad
    He didn`t, he`s mindset !

  91. Yassin
    Think you’re right; Carzola poked the ball away, the defender made contact with him, and Carzola was forced to skip past a second two-footed challenge from a second defender. Those two tackles were in the box, and one of them could have been punished.

  92. Oh well, so much for getting any help from today’s games. I suspect Tottenham could end the season with 56 points (where they are now). Sherwood had the players going, telling them their jobs were on the line. But Levy took that away by arranging for a new manager. The players have nothing to play for, and Sherwood has no reason to push them. The highest ranked team they have yet to play, is Stoke. They’ll play out the season, and then spend some time at the golf course, beach or what have you.

  93. Pete @ 12.27, sounds like the protest was a damp squib. Was supposed to be about ticket prices etc, apparently about ten turned up and turned it into an anti wenger and kronke protest, with their silly banner.
    Have read that all the pre protest top boys did not turn up as planned, sounds like they bottled it and sent in the foot soldiers, probably saw the reaction of the masses to the pathetic anti Moyes fly by

  94. OT: Emoticons

    Ars Technica is running an article about a proposed set of extensions, to the 800 emoticons currently in Unicode. I guess one of the problems has been, that (almost) all emoticons so far, are white (Caucasian).

    http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/03/african-mobile-company-creates-new-emoticons-in-the-name-of-emoji-diversity/

    No idea when (if?) these might get to WordPress sites.

    The article on Ars Technica is a re-print of a Wired article (and says so at the end).

  95. Yeah, why are wasting time talking about a penalty for Arsenal? Everyone knows Rosicky will never get it and it would a pleasure for Dean to give it at the other end. If that media-forgotten dive by Studdrige was a penalty, then Rosicky should be awarded too. Not to mention, a red card for Zabaleta. I have no clue that the media will go such a distance to be hypocrite and cunning enough to hide that dive with Arsenal story all the time. Arsenal this, Arsenal that. I dont even dare to think if one of our players (especially the foreigners) did that and got away.

  96. Sunderland – West Ham, give me a tie please. Currently West Ham leading by a goal.

    West Ham still have Liverpool and ManCity to play (as well as us). Sunderland still have Everton, ManCity and Chelsea to play. A tie today, would make both teams hungrier for wins in the rest of this season. One would hope we would have the skill and luck to negoiate our way past West Ham.

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