Alexis on the score sheet, Arsenal go in the group stage

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

Well that was an interesting match I think. Just as in Turkey we didn’t get it handed over on a platter. It was hard work from the start to the finish.

Not helped by a ref who just as the one  in Turkey managed to go from brillant to blind within seconds.  I must say some excellent decisions as the non decision when Wilshere looked to bring a Besiktas player down when it was a dive. The yellow card remained in his pocket. I also thought the penalty claim against Debuchy was not a penalty as I saw one replay where he first played the ball and then the striker went down over the leg but clearly first the ball. That the ref let go a clear foul on Per a split second before was inexplicable and maybe playing a part in his decision.

As I said going from brillant to blind and back in seconds. The first yellow card for Debuchy was also a bit soft I think. Both trying to head a ball and Debuchy didn’t raise his arms just was his firm and strong himself.  A foul yes but a foul that doesn’t get blown by 90% of the PL referees.  So after having played a while in the PL some players are missing the rules as they are used in the rest of the world.

But let us move on to the play on the field. Arsenal was the better team and had most of the ball in the first half. But with only some half chances to show for it. Besiktas defended in numbers when needed and tried to catch us on the counter when possible. I thought our back 4 did an excellent job. Including Monreal who is getting a lot of stick but who since the Gibbs injury proved reliable and gave us the winning goal at Everton. No this is not a typing error. It should have been the assist to the winning goal.

Özil had a decent match for me. Not really the high level he can reach but this is only his second match so I think he will get better and better and better. You could see that his fitness level dropped a bit in the second half and certainly when we went down to 10 man he was the man to be taken off. But the most important thing is that he did his job before that. And his job is to assist other players to score goals.

And so he did in the last minute of the first half. Alexis was the at the end of the Özil assist. Alexis who played the central striker role for the second time after a first attempt at Everton last weekend.  And I think he was already doing much better and getting stronger in this position. What amazes me most of him so far is his work rate.  You are never done with him.

He had a few chances before he finally scored but it didn’t work at first. And then you fear that he will lose his confidence a bit. Doubt might creep in the head. Moans may start in the stands. But when Wilshere gave the ball to Özil who spread it wide on the right hand side it was a simple shot that beat the keeper. And then you could see the relieve on his face. Finally he scored and the pressure was off him.

We could see this in the second half when he was amazing up front. We should have scored another 2 goals at least to make it comfortable before Debuchy did a Ramsey. Getting booked twice against Besiktas I mean. So Chambers came on to get a yellow card and then came on again in a silly game of cards. A little bit of  agreement  between the 4th official who told him he could go on and the ref who clearly wanted to show who was the boss out there. Unseen in the Champions league I think.

But before that Cazorla had a shot blocked by the defender and how Oxlade-Chamberlain managed to shoot straight at the keeper from 6 meters out still confuses me. I think he himself will take that shot over and over again this night and score it 9 times out of 10.

When we had a man down it was Alexis who provided the relieve of the pressure. Running with the ball, drawing fouls on him, winning time. Needless to say he was my man of the match and not just for the goal he scored. His work rate and contribution was excellent and getting better and better the longer the match went on. I think he had the ball in his possession for more than 10 minutes in the second half on his own.

As we had a man down and lots of strikers on the bench it was difficult for Wenger to make a change.  And as most players were doing a good job defensively it is always a risk to take one off and you then are not sure that the one that comes on will take up that part of the job immediately.

It remained nervous till the final whistle. And if I may add one brilliant moment from the ref in the second half. And something that all the PL could take note and bring in to practice.  When Szczesny was trying to win some time he got immediately booked by the ref. Did you see that Mr. Moss? Not just turn your back and wave with our arm once. No actually get out the card from the moment it is crossing the line.

So we did it again. Two difficult matches where each time we had to play the last part of the match with one player out with a red card. But the team was determined and show some excellent character.  And that is something we have seen over the last weeks. In the FA cup final, in the CS, against Crystal Palace, against Everton and twice against Besiktas.  Not playing well but getting what you want….isn’t that what makes a team great?

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70 Replies to “Alexis on the score sheet, Arsenal go in the group stage”

  2. We were awesome, Sanchez was on fire, as Va Cong said, on “Beast Mode”.

    As for Monreal, what the hell? He was brilliant, extraordinary. I have total respect and support for all our players for how they fight for this badge. When Giroud was injuried (broken ankle that is) and still kept walking on it not to leave the field in the last minutes. When Kosienly today ran like hell to the Besiktas player after the Arsenal corner, who then cleared the ball instead of passing it. And come on Chambers, what are you man? Dont you get afraid or confused? Play CB, awesoem, play rb awesome, what next? cF?

    What I dont agree with walter was that Ozil was brilliant today, not best player, but a joy to watch. And we played awesome game.

    Respect to Besiktas for this competition. If am Platini, I will send them to Group stage now for their effort, instead of these mickey mouse teams.

  3. Sanchez. Wow.

    He seemed to raise his game even more once we went down to ten men.

    What a player. And he belongs to the Arsenal. 🙂

  4. Thanks Walter. At least your analysis regarding the non penalties against us, which others had already concurred with on the other thread, will put that argument to bed before it gathers momentum. The ref was ridiculous; two fouls from Debuchy and two yellows. Not even a warning. If they were dangerous fouls I could understand that, but both coming together fouls which the other player could have been deemed just as guilty. Very harsh.

  5. The result is what matters, some great performances, but some terrible refereeing.
    Why would a ref book a sub coming on who has been cleared by his colleague? Why was Debuchy given a second yellow? Szcz….That was the quickest time wasting booking I have ever seen given……fine if that is the precedent, but we all know it will not be, at home or in Europe.

    But we are where we need to be, pressure is lifted, if we still have transfer targets, they will be that much easier to get and I think our players will be stronger…..and maybe more wary of these refs after this.
    Two reds in two games…..does that make us the dirtiest,team in Europe so far?

  6. What an entertaining game. That’s how football should be played. Not parking the bus and calling it tactics. Its called being a coward. Alexis, what a fantastic work rate. The entire team played as ONE team. BRILLIANT!!

  7. So it’s official, heal well Monsieur Giroud, see you early in 2015, if not before…….we will be needing you !

  11. Walter, thanks For your perspective. In the stadium I thought the ref was being paid by the card, he waved it often enough. I had my heart in my mouth for both of the penalty incidents and the card for Chambers was sQ. atrange as I got the distinct impression that the fourth official told him to come on. If the card for Szcz is replicated consistently throughout the competition I will accept that one but I bet it won’t happen again.’

  12. The booking for time wasting was the almost the strangest act from the befuddled UEFA representative this evening, considering that he could be observed to be perfectly happy to see the Besiktas keeper waste time while playing for penalties in the first half. One minute added on at the end of the half.

    The stadiums ire towards the man from UEFA was the loudest and most consistent since the performance witnessed from A.Taylor, who is up next! 😉

  13. A great team performance but special mention from me for Cazorla, Flamini and our goalscorer Alexis

    Wilshere making stronger faster runs. The coaches said he needs the games, and it looks to me like he’s going through the same process all young or even older players have to go through after missing so much football and game time, same as it was with Ramsey?

  15. Thank you Andrew Crawshaw. Glad to share some of your opinions on this game. Thought this performance was bizarre, a proper organisation would investigate this ref. Really hope Ivan, in his many capacities with ruling bodies has words. I have never seen a guy booked for coming onto the field after the refs colleague cleared him. Yellow card betting scam written all over this game.

  16. That was a hard match and all our players performed like giants. You could see at the end some of them – including Alexis – had given their all, and could hardly even walk. Great result. 17 years in the Champions League. I’m relieved and happy.

    Great to read all the comments and see that all the players get an appreciative write up by somebody.

  17. A Taylor vs Next game? Your kidding?
    One dodgy ref after another this season…..yet amazingly, we remain on an unbeaten run in competitive games.
    Ivan, you really need to be speaking up on this
    Death by yellow again with Taylor??

  18. Just got home from the game, fantastic atmosphere, fantastic game, fantastic effort all round but special mention to Alexis and Santi who both ran their hearts out. What have they been putting in Santi’s coffee, his tracking back and work rate was phenomenal. Regrettably the ref was diabolical. I’ve never heard an official get so much verbal from a crowd and he deserved it.

  19. Really happy about today’s match and this happens to be my first comment on untold.
    Lots of positive to take from today’s match ozil kept us going forward , wilshere was just fantastic and alexis is a legend-to-be IMO. Funny thing is that we have not yet gelled together, when we do I can promise you a double
    #coyg #alexisthelegend #inwengerwetrust

  20. So Alexis is magnificent. In fact most of the team were magnificent. The defence were exemplary.

    The officials were not magnificent. They were pathetic. This one man can ruin a 600 year national friendship between England & Portugal in 90 minutes. His poor interpretation of the Laws when Alexis & Santi were being fouled beggared belief.

    I hope Alexis and the new Arsenal players begin to understand the Laws as interpreted by officials against Arsenal. WE have to keep winning inspite of these cheats.

  21. Think Ronaldo already did that when he did Rooney in 2006 Menace!
    Not that I was especially upset to see a usually protected species like Wazza get a bit of due karma!

  22. Regarding Wilshere penalty he actually admitted tripping Besiktas player in the post game interview.

  23. Monreal is actually the most imporved player this season.

    I always think he was ok. At least similar to the Sagna level with a bit lower attacking output. Both of them had some errors that they could recover once a while.

    This year, he works well both in preseason being DM partnering the unfamilar Chambers and he did well back to the left. He had more contribution going forward than before and even so, he had fewer mistakes.

    He played well in all games except one that he was normal.

    Since he came to Arsenal, many people who seem to be AAA or Gibb’s support bashed Monreal. I always think he is good except a bit slow playing a high line. He is really performing at the moment.

    Cazorla is definitely bouncing back. It began from the end of last season and the absolute height was his beautiful FK goal (best FK of the season?) which stopped the FA final from being a disaster.

    Wilshere shows how good he can be. He must keep it up.

    Ozil needs more game…

    Sanchez.. Players still don’t know how to link up with him but he is very good. I think we know that long ago.

  24. Individual performances absolutely great from all players.
    But… collective performance not yet where it should be.
    This is why the boss was berating this short pre-season.
    As to the referee, one must ask if there are bets out there for:
    -total yellows (combined)
    -total yellows on one team without red
    -team with player that has two less yellows than other team getting red
    -combined yellows and reds; if you said 6 versus 3 (+1) and 1, you win
    -ludicrous decision to award yellows or second yellow / red
    -etc…
    Here in the us, I watched the game on Fox Sports (we call it Faux Sports) but with the volume all the way down as I listened to the feed from Arsenal Player. Having forgotten to tape the game on my DVR, I re-watched part of it while taping it later; it was hilarious how Wynalda, the Fox village idiot, was getting agitated and excited because he “saw” two penalties committed by Arsenal players. I think I was laughing at him way too loud, as my wife had to silence me because the kids were working on assignments and homework from school. Luckily, I have the Wynalda connuption fit taped for endless reruns.

  27. My two cents:

    1. Ref was very harsh with us. However he got the two penalty decisions correctly.
    2. Wilshere stepped up in Rambos and Artetas absence and dominated midfield like a boss.
    3. Alexis found his confidence! Wow what a great performance. He is definetly very comfortable on the flanks.
    4. Debouchy is one hell of a player.
    5. We have tons of character and its now undeniable.

    Now for a question – do we need a new CF?

  28. The fatigue took its toll towards the end of the match, I was more afraid of a flop because some player collapse, but alas, we held on. For all their physicality and technique, the Turks didn’t create that many chances, and Ba’s missed opportunity was the only moment of real danger.

    I don’t think we need a new CF. We have some 9 registered strikers, out of which Giroud and Sanogo are the typical CF, and the others mostly wingers, but apart from Miyaichi all are capable of playing through the middle. My guess is Sanogo will have his work cut out in the next months, even though his main task will be to bully the opponent defenders. The Everton game showed us a bit of what’s coming, and with Theo on his way back, our play can only develop more variation and unpredictability.

  29. We do not need a new forward. We have players like Podolski and Campbell who can hardly get a game, so why waste £30m plus to get a third player to join them? Walcott is a few weeks away and Giroud might be back by December, what would happen then? We should remember team balance is critical, you can have lots of players at your disposal but if they’re not happy it’s counter productive.

    Campbell gave fine performances at the WC, better than some of the 60m players, so I’d be happy to have him, Sanchez, Walcott, Poldi, Sanogo and Akpom battle it out at the front. If the manager will buy at all I think it might be cover in defence, otherwise he’s enough headaches already on who to play and doesn’t want to make it worse.

  30. I thought Wilshere was fantastic. The little dummies to let the ball run which takes players out of the game were top class.

    Once Ozil and Sanchez get on the same wavelength, they are going to decimate teams.

    We are not playing well yet still winning, only bodes well.

    The ref was a joke (again).

    We need an Ian Wright type strikers who doesn’t give a monkies about being part of the play and only lives to get behind teh defence and score goals.

  31. @ Al, I thought about it and I think we do need a CF. The only player we have who is capable of playing in Arsene’s new(ish) system is Sanogo: a tall, physical CF who can play with his back to goal, win aerial battles, and enable the second line to advance – and he is not ready yet.

    Campbell, Sanchez, Theo – all play with their face to goal, rely on speed, and are more comfortable starting the attack from the flanks. Podolski CAN play with his back to goal, and used to do that for Koln in his youth, but has not played in that role for years. I am not sure he is the right guy for the job.

  32. Agree TommieGun, we’ll find it difficult to fill the hole Giroud leaves. Sanogo looks not up to it and probably needs a loan. Maybe Ramsey will make the difference as bar Giroud he scores more goals than anyone else.

  33. @ Chapman, NO, Sanogo does NOT need a loan FFS where did you come up with that …

    He needs to stay at AFC and get more playing team with the team ! Not out on a loan. All I was saying he is not ready RIGHT NOW, which means that he needs (in my opinion) 5-6 more Kg of muscle (remember Adebyaor’s transformation) and to play (and even start) more matches (which is what AW has shown that is the plan…)

    Seems you were kindov using my worries to stir up some shit. BTW the problem is not goals, we have great goal scorers, it’s much more tactical – a pivot player.

  35. After watching replays of Debuchy’s second yellow, I think it was wholly justified. Not by the foul, but by the fact that Debuchy laid hands on the referee twice as he protested. The foul was never a booking, but Debuchy was stupid. England is the only place in the world where a player can lay hands on the ref with impunity.

  37. Phew that was some game.

    Could of gone either way but well done quite an achievement to qualify for some years in succession.

    Real blow for you with Giroud being out so long.

    As for the ref I thought he did reasonably well and whilst he went mad with the cards most were probably correct although I think he bottled a further one when a Turkish players pulled an Arsenal player back.

    Walter is right that one of the replays appeared to show that Debucy won the ball and I think that was the view the ref probably had although had you had video ref been available the vast majority of angles and replays appeared to show it was the Turkish player that played the ball and hence it was a foul.That said there was probably a foul in the build up.

    The second penalty shout is an interesting one.The replays clearly show there wasn’t contact from Wilshire’s lower body and as Wilshire himself has confirmed there was contact the only possibility surely would have been from a hand. I thought it was strange that if the ref didn’t think there was contact why didn’t the player get booked for simulation?

    Walters is right re Debucys first booking although. The second however was according to the rules correct in that Debucy clearly put his hand on the player at the start of the coming together. Its a real harsh one as its not reckless etc but its one of the offences that the rules state that a player has to be cautioned for.

    The Chambers booing alas was correct and a player at that level should know that a substitute can only enter the field of play after the player being replaced has left and after receiving a signal from the referee.

    The time wasting booking was on the face of it was harsh but as I have said on previous threads without knowing what was said in the build up to the booking its difficult to know for sure. It would have been helpful if indeed the ref had already issued a warning he would have made it evident with one of those exaggerated hand signals that some refs have a habit of making

  38. Would a striker make sense? Yes. Would a centre-half make sense? Yes, it would make all the sense. Would a defensive midfielder make sense? Indeed it would.But then maybe our sense and Arsene’s sense are very different. But hopefully not so different that it’s the kind of sense that sees a creepy little boy see a dead Bruce Willis who doesn’t know he’s dead.That’s the main thing.

  40. I was privileged to be there last night.

    What an exciting, nerve wrecking match.

    To me it was obvious that that performance was a BIG step up on our performances so far.

    -Back four looked solid.

    -Jack stepped up to the plate.

    -Cazorla is working his butt off and getting there.

    -Alex is an absolute powerhouse and a grafter. You could see the confidence coursing through his veins in the 2nd half.
    He will be immense.

    What a shame one of us had to go out. I thought Besiktas gave it everything. It’s not there fault the ref was poor.

    Poor, but not particularly biased. They had 2 very close calls for pens that could easily have been given, and almost certainly would of been in the PL. Jack admitted he caught the player in his incident(I wish he’d keep it shut.) So that was a let off.

    I think the sending off was harsh. 1st Yellow was 50/50 and for the 2nd, although he won the ball cleanly, he had pulled him back slightly by the shoulder initially, again 50/50. So as in the 1st game 2 x 50/50 yellows resulting in reds. Harsh, but not at the level of the shit we get in the PL.

    But nothing can spoil a great night. Fantastic result. solid performance. Brilliant atmosphere.

    Shame about Giroud but after last night I am confident this squad has the will, as well as the ability to challenge on all fronts.

    Still buzzing. I’ll be off to work with a spring in my step.

  41. Tommie @6.10am,
    Add this quarter cent please: Carzola was awesome in the game. He was everywhere and spraying the passes right.

    Also:
    By the time this team comes together, it will be difficult for injured players to stroll back into the team upon recovery. I mean, we were missing Gibbs, Ramsey, Giroud, Walcott, Arteta and, later, Debuchy in the game and yet, the team remained compact and competitive in every department!

  45. There was one offside early on(replays confirmed it), think in the 2nd or 3rd minute, by a besiktas player but the lino missed it. Could have been another huge talking point but fortunately it came to nought. But officially there was none.

    El Gringo
    Debuchy putting his hands on the ref was in protest of the second yellow he’d already been shown, so not sure how it could have got worse.

  48. @TommieGun, my sincere apologies. Sure Sanogo should get more game time and I hope he can be exceptional. Still I think it would be useful to have a proven goalscorer upfront. Falcao is available on loan apparently and is the sort of player I imagined we were now looking for especially as in comparison to Chelsea and City our striking options look a little light with Giroud out for months. Seems baffling to me that we won’t strengthen at least one position before the window closes and I suspect we will.

  49. Ba was given offside when he hit the side netting.

    Anyway, all’s well that ends well. That was one game where the result was the only thing that mattered. I was right to be concerned by the red card risk but the boys did us proud.

    Extremely nervy – and incredibly impressed by Sanchez. Wow – what a fighter – and with speed and skill to burn. Cazorla and Wilshere did well too.

    I’ve read elsewhere that Wilshere and Ramsey don’t seem to play that well together. Beginning to agree – they are both box to box players (and with a load more) so maybe are looking to occupy the same space?

  50. Hi Walter, Tony and all gooners,
    I have been an Arsenal fan since I was almost 5 (1973) and my uncle took me Highbury on a visit to the UK/London.
    I was always a genuine fan/supporter as I understood the meaning of the word whether arsenal were winning titles or not and always felt that Arsenal were singled out for what I called a silent conspiracy against them by the media referees etc. To my delight a few years ago I stumbled upon your site and suddenly I felt I was not alone. A lot of other gooners felt it and I was not simply a biased fanatic for feeling this way.
    I kept coming on the site on a daily basis, if only to maintain a grip on reality and decipher all(almost) the garbage that is written for our club. I do feel the need to point out that the more I read I felt that besides informing us of the Arsenal news, you guys took another task which was to educate the rest of the world about what’s going on in the football world today (FIFA, UEFA, refereeing, betting etc) with some very interesting articles that I read very carefully and in numerous occasions referred people to your site for information about these subjects.
    However as I always try to keep an open mind and be as impartial I can be in order to understand the reasons behind all these (stories) lies against us, I can’t seem to shake the feeling lately that you guys have crossed on the other side of the biased scale and blindly condemn anything that goes against us, which in my humble opinion hurts the credibility of your views which I personally consider very very important in the larger scheme of things.
    As I don’t want to simply say something I will take today’s article as an example and explain.
    Walter wrote “I must say some excellent decisions as the non decision when Wilshere looked to bring a Besiktas player down when it was a dive. The yellow card remained in his pocket. I also thought the penalty claim against Debuchy was not a penalty as I saw one replay where he first played the ball and then the striker went down over the leg but clearly first the ball.”
    Now I am not a referee and I am not saying both of these were clear penalties at all, but I do remember my genuine relief on both occasions while I was watching the game. What is even more unfortunate and sad in my opinion is that I feel almost certain that were we playing against Bayern or Barcelona instead of Besiktas, at least one if not both of them would have been given. So back at my point, what I am asking is, was this really necessary? in an otherwise very well written article which analysed the game and pointed the obvious weakness of the officials amongst other things?. Since Jack admitted of slipping on Ramon Motta and had contact (at least that’s what I read on a few main media articles), and since I watched the Debuchy tackle numerous occasions and I did not see him getting the ball at all. Was there really a need to disregard these so blindly and state that these were and I quote “excellent decisions”?
    Personally I don’t think so.
    I do however believe that by simply and impartially judging these as what they were or at least not commenting on them, would reinforce the credibility of this blog/site in the ongoing battle against what I clearly perceive as an ongoing battle for a better football world.
    Thanks for the time and your consideration.

  51. Thank you referee for A) An honest (if slightly erratic ) game
    B) Not awarding two penalties against us.

  52. Ray, there will be bets for all you mention and a lot more. Bets on cards is very popular , very profitable…..and one of the easiest to fix……fixing a whole game needs a lot more on pitch input, or a ref making himself look suspicious

  53. Kanenas
    Thanks for a calm and sober post. I’m sure Walter will have his own views but I thought there was no contact between jack and the besiktas player. I was surprised to hear jack say there was. I think you’ll find not all of have the benefit of watching these games on HD widescreen TVs, a lot of us rely on Internet streams which have grainy images, mostly in foreign commentary, and the picture will occasionally freeze. I can tell you that I was adamant there was no contact in that incident, nor did I see the contact (leg contact I mean) in the Debuchy sending, etc. So people can get these things wrong. I take it even you were not sure of the contact and how much of it there was till you read about Jacks admission today. I also think Walter said regarding the Debuchy non call there had been a foul on Per seconds earlier, and he wondered if that may have played a part on the ref’s mind not to award a pen. So in view of that there had been a foul on our player which was not called, it was a good thing not to award a penalty against Debuchy as that would have been unfair.

  56. @ Al and Kanenas,

    I’m watching all games full HD on a 60″ screen. I was adamant that there were no penalties, and was in fact shocked to read Jack’s admission to “some” contact.

    I do agree, however, that similarly to the second yellow against RVP when we played Barca (UEFA’s pet club) – it would also be detrimental for UEFA for Arsenal not to qualify, and I did think that against other opposition, in other circumstances, those (non-penalties) would have been called against us.

    It’s a matter of life – as Mike Krzyzewski once replied to a reporter, who asked how come Duke were getting so many decisions going their way: “It comes with the territory”.

  57. Jambug- Arsenal were lucky- repeat lucky but like you I am pleased. Yes there was a least one pen not given. Wilshere is a bit of a liability.

  58. Thanks Alex, though I think kanenas was referring to a different incident. But having looked at your link again I will say that red was a joke. The besiktas player has his left arm in front of Debuchy’s waist to block his run, and Debuchy pushes his left shoulder downwards. It’s a jostling for the ball between two players. Normally a yellow would be given if Debuchy would have been deemed to have broken play when the other player was clear. Not in this case, it’s a 50-50 with ball available to be won, and he clearly wins it. I saw Jack’s shirt tugged by a player he’d left behind, but nothing was given. Now that would and should have been a yellow.

    As said on other threads a few days ago, any mistakes that seem to favour Arsenal are replayed over and over in the media. I’ve no doubt this is what will happen with Jack’s admission there was contact (which I still say I didn’t see, as others are too). While we want our players to be honest, unfortunately this will be viewed differently by the media. Remember Nani getting a red card for kicking another player in the groin a few years ago. That was as clear a red as you’ll ever see, but there was a huge uproar in the media that the ref had got it wrong. All in the media, bar Roy Keane, were unanimous that was never a red. Compare that with the Debuchy incident and you’d be blind not to see the bias. And now all we will hear is how Arsenal were lucky to get through on the back of inept refereeing. Yes the ref was inept, almost cost us a place in the CL.

  59. Not sure I would thank a UEFA representitive for being incompetent, at best, after I paid spent farking Wonga to watch him at ‘work’.

    I can’t pretend that I’m a human-ostrich hybrid however intriguing that may thought may be and pretend that spot fixing has not happend in UK sports, though the 24/7 football broadcasters don’t like to mention such things inbetween the Ray Winstone adds; no balls, yellow cards…

    It is an insult to referees and umpires from other sports, and indeed many football referees, to refer to the gentleman sent from UEFA to N5 last night with the same title.

  60. Remember when the OX said ALEXIS is a animal in training. The animal is coming alive , saw signs last night. He is feeling more and more at home. will only get better.

  61. ARSENAL loved in zimbabwe the pub felt like we where there at the emirates , tha noise . this has to be our year.

  62. Strange that Ramsey and now Debuchy both red. Hope that’s our quota given already.
    A good thing is, in the past when we get a man sent off, we usually lose and end up losing confidence, but now TWICE we have come through a red and not lost.

    Stop listening to those so called football pundits, one day it will catch you unawares and you will throw something at your screen. You have been warned.

  63. goonergerry

    Coulda Woulda Shoulda !!

    I said that the penalties could of been given, and probably would of been given in the PL, but I did not say they should of been given, and I definitely didn’t say we where lucky.

    But if that’s your opinion fine. We won and are through whatever we may think.

  64. I saw the match in HD TV with slow replays from various angles: Wilshere did not touch the Besiktas player.

    What we got in Wilshere’s response is a classic response to the media when you don’t want them to label you a liar on an incident that you are not 100% certain of. This was a game played at breakneck speed with incidents taking place in milliseconds, Wilshere can be forgiven for not being certain but he needs to learn to deflect such questions without admitting one way or the other. No one who have seen the replays can say that Wilshere touched the player. If anyone have the video evidence, they should please provide it.

    Although we will get hell for Wilshere’s wrong admission of guilt, it would be worse if he claimed to not have touched the Besiktas player and video evidence prove otherwise. Personally, I take the video over Wilshere’s admission because I have always believed what I see people do over what they claim to do.

  65. Hey Fari, nice to hear from Zimbabwe 🙂 I am originally from Zimbabwe, and most of my friends back home are gooners. Of course there were a few stupid united fans, and they were always the unreasonable ones 🙂 I couldn’t agree more about Alexis, he’s a real warrior.

  67. From what I recall of the match, there was one offside in the early part not given and only one called & given in the second half.

    I had resigned to a loss after the early decisions but thankfully the officiating improved sufficiently to allow a reasonable game.

  70. Bootoomee

    Why Jack constantly feels the need to ‘fes’ up to the media is beyond me.

    Does he not realise these are the same people that think it’s ok he gets kicked from pillar to post week after week, and what’s more blame him for it.

    These are the people that said he and Theo ‘faked’ injuries to avoid England duty.

    Fuck ’em Jack. Don’t even speak to the immoral lying wankers.

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