The match preview: Arsenal – Anderlecht

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

Let me start this review in the absence of the rest of the Untold crew with a personal note.  This match could have made me a TV star. Well at least in Belgium. Last Sunday I was called from the sports redaction of the channel that has the rights to show the CL matches in Flanders. The reporter asked me if we would go to London for this match and if that would be the case he would have tried to get in touch with us in London. We might have had a film crew on our tale for this trip.  Alas a midweek match is very difficult for our supporters club to attend and so nobody made the trip. I looked at the option to buy a last minute ticket for myself but I will follow the match with the rest of our supporters club in the pub in Antwerp.

I would have made sure I would get the name of Untold Arsenal in the coverage of course but well it isn’t to be for this time. Enough of my missed opportunity of 5 minutes of fame in Flanders. Let us talk about the match.

If we can believe Arsenal.com and I have no reason to doubt them we will be without Jack for this match. He is sick and will be rested and should be back  for the weekend. For the rest the squad that was ready for Burnley is ready for Anderlecht. Jack also missed the Burnley match so you could say an unchanged team for Arsenal.

Let us look at Anderlecht as they have lost a few players since the first match in Brussels. The biggest loss will be Defour. The Belgian international got a calf injury and will not be able to play. He has been their best player this season so far so it will be a miss. Another important player Matias Suarez is also out with a knee injury and will miss a few weeks. Suarez is probably their best player or most talented, but also very injury prone.

So Anderlecht will miss a few important players. But so will we as we still are without Özil, Giroud, Koscielny and Debuchy. Writing that down shows that we are without almost 1/3rd of the French national team.

We should have learned a few things from the first match. The most important thing is to not take Anderlecht too lightly. I was wrong when I said they cannot defend and park the bus. As that was what they did for most of the time and then they scored on a counter. And then they showed they can counter a bit but not finish it off.

The second thing is that we should make sure that we play at a high tempo from the start. And if we can manage to score an early goal we might be in for an easy night. But if we let them grow in to the match we could have a more difficult match than we had against Burnley. As Anderlecht will try to counter better and maybe have more technical players than Burnley has.

I hope that we can score early like we did against Galatasaray and make it comfortable for us and give us a bit of breathing space before we go to Swansea next weekend.

If we win this match we are certain of European football after the group stages. Unless Galatasary would win against Dortmund but despite Dortmund not doing well in the Bundesliga they do seem to lift them selves in the Champions League this season and produce great games and results.

I wonder if we will have a few players coming in compared to last Saturday. I don’t think Walcott will start a match in the next few weeks but will be given more and more match time till he is completely used to playing again.

But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ramsey again from the start. But who to take off? Cazorla? Apart from not being able to score for the moment he is playing fine. Leave Flamini or Arteta out? If I go for the CL press conference tradition I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Arteta on the bench at the start. I have noticed before that the player sitting next to Wenger doesn’t start the match. It could give Arteta a bit of rest so he should be completely fit for the weekend.  And it would give us more attacking options and drive up front.

Would he give Welbeck some rest and play Podolski? That might be another change he could do. And see how Lukas and Alexis get along on the pitch. I think we did rather well in the final 15 minutes with both of them on the pitch and surely Lukas could use his lethal left foot against Anderlecht as he did in the first match.

After all this speculation Wenger will brush it all aside and just start the same eleven from the Burnley match. And we might see

Szczesny

Chambers Per Monreal Gibbs

Arteta Flamini

Oxlade-Chamberlain Cazorla

Welbeck Alexis

And the rest will find a comfortable seat on the beach. I will sit in the pub thinking about my missed fame….

Untold Arsenal is here

 

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177 Replies to “The match preview: Arsenal – Anderlecht”

  1. And for those interested in less than half an hour the Uefa Youth league match will start between Arsenal and Anderlecht and you can follow it live on arsenal.com

  2. Do hope we get going very early , score a few goals and keep a clean sheet . Another run out for Theo and Poldi .

  4. @ AL – Have the goalposts been repaired/ changed after the last assault by Poldi ?
    Up the Gunners !

  8. Dear Walter & Untold

    Excuse the deviation from the CL game but I though you might find this interesting – haven’t had time to read it yet but it looks interesting, and corresponds with one or two comments made by yourselves:

    That all is not so kushty in the House of Riley? At least, not as smooth as it may once have been?

    http://www.floodlitdreams.com/page.php?art=17

    A referee broke the MOB rules and published his book last year, the same year Don Ferguson (that’s how Ferdinand and a 5live presenter described him, not me!) hung up his mobile.

    The numbers compiled on cards pelanties etc. speak for themselves and cannot be refuted (which is why no one has tried!). Yet still the AAAA Groaners come here to groan…? And even worse some who appear to lack the necessary footballs try to dismiss the work done here elsewhere, on the sly, which as cowardly as one can get.
    –

    Enjoy the football everyone!

  10. Yes we lost in the U19 game with a under par performance particularly in the second half. Daniel Crowley was behind everything good for Arsenal in the first half but was subjected to rotational fouling as the half proceeded and was effectively kicked out of the game. To his credit he continued in the second half but was a shadow of his usual self. The Ref awarded most of the free kicks but as the fouls were by different players no cards.

    Huddart will probably feel he should have done better with the cross that’d led to the second goal but the Anderlecht move was brilliantly effective.

    We weren’t.

  11. I agree with that Andrew. The endless kicking on Crowleys ankles took their toll at the end and he wasn’t himself after some 35-40 minutes. But he sure is one hell of a player in the making

    No other Arsenal player could step up to make up for having only 1/4 of a Crowley on the pitch

  12. finsbury,

    I love this line from the linked article:

    “The fact is that Clattenburg is not in vogue with the powers that be at the PGMOL, notably its head, Mike Riley, the OVER-PROMOTED killjoy stooge of Richard Scudamore” (capitalised emphasis mine)

    What an apt description of the bird-head weasel!

  13. @Bootoomee
    November 4, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    This time I will disagree with you; “bird-head weasel”?? NOO Birds are cute and mostly harmless. Rodent-head fits his activities and looks!

  14. Two of the most obscene words connected to a sporting contest, in the English language, are “rotational fouling”.

  16. @finsbury
    November 4, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    Thanks for the link…its high time things started to get Uncomfortable for these cheats of football.

    Having said that, we have a long way to go!

  17. On to our game tonight; I hope we get off the blocks quick smart tonight (in front of OUR crowd)…we need to show intensity and urgency this time and get ahead early – set the mark for them to chase!

    COYG!!!!!

  19. FIFA – Chuck Blazer corruption. Out of the topic, but interesting reading. See also the readers comments. What a beautiful game spoiled by the corrupted organizations like FIFA, UEFA, FA, PL, PGMOL, etc.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/soccer-rat-ex-u-s-soccer-exec-chuck-blazer-fbi-informant-article-1.1995761

    http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/brit-ablaze-chuck-blazer-fbi-informant-work-parliament-member-asks-fraud-unit-investigate-article-1.1998224

    Best regards.

  21. Quick question; has any of our matches been shown on itv yet this season? Evetytime I check it seems it’s Liverpool…

  31. From the description at Sports Mole, Alexis was trying to kick it as hard as Podolski. And Sports Mole seems to be cheering for Anderlecht.

    COYG!

  32. Arteta is back, he is back. Brilliant
    Chambers does he has a heart? Or did he lose it somewhere, fearless chambers.

    And what were they smoking in Barcelona when they agreed to sell Sanchez. What were they thinking when they benched him in the first place. It seems those beach games by Wenger in the WC were worth it.

  33. The BBC seems to have sent someone to the Emirates who dislikes Arsenal. But, The BBC did mention that Ramsey seems to have gotten a knee in the lower back. Is he okay?

    COYG!

  44. The BBC sgrees:

    > He’s three yards offside! It shouldn’t matter too much though, as Anthony Vanden Borre slams in a cross from the left. Well offside…

    I don’t get the “shouldn’t matter” comment.

    COYG!

  47. Sky not giving good replay angles for the penalty, that coupled with Monreal’s protests suggest that was a harsh decision

  50. Alan smith starting to make me feel sick.

    Gord
    That ludicrous line is repeated everytime we get an embarassingly obvious decision against us.

  53. And then you see 25 replays of the Anderlecht goal…. Sky is so predictable it’s nauseating

  56. What the ****?

    This needs to stop.
    now where are those who says the ref is not responsible?
    1-offside
    2-dive
    3- it was a foul when we were attacking, then he gave them a foul for nothing.

    And how did thr player who scored their 2 goals be playing on the field with such fouls?

  57. Anderlecht only deserved one goal, their last one. I don’t know how long we’ve to put up with these refereeing mistakes for. It’s ridiculous now.

  60. Now this has to end just right now! And nobody can say we cant blame the ref. Why the heck is it always us? I feel frustrated its unbelievable. The match was over and the ref team determined the score! Too much!

  61. Yassin
    I can bet you those inbreds are already sharpening their knives, even with blatant mistakes like that. They’ll be out on here soon, just wait and see. But you know what that tells me, they’re psychopaths. Blaming the team for this is like blaming someone for getting crashed into while stopped at a traffic light waiting for it to turn green. It’s crazy. But these halfwits still manage to do it. Shocking.

  62. “When will this cheating end?”. Apparently never, as long as we are arsenal. Seriously, im starting to wonder, why do we even try playing football at all week in week out just to get f up by the officials.

  63. Alex
    Don’t think anyone can do anything about it, and that’s my honest opinion. Football is being run by shady people, it’s way dirtier than even politics. Not sure if you saw an article last week about some Asian teams I think who scored 5 own goals, 3 and 2, as they didn’t want to play in next round against a team led by a mafia-like boss. That’s how bad the state football is in right now, it’s in intensive care.

  66. maybe smting radical
    like wenger take the team off the field after next “ref’s gift”

  67. Al,

    Exactly, they will come and blame Wenger who do no tactics, Arteta for not being a beast, anybody, anyone, but dont ever mention the ref, ever!

    If I was an Arsenal player (Ozil) and I was kicked and cheated like that, and our fans kept on blaming me, I would definitly ask for a transfer, and then when asked by his fellow friends at other team, he will advise them not go join us.
    but no lets blame Wenger!

    I am hating this, when is this gonna end? Ok I can get it the ref making a one big mistake, but what was that? He was great in the 1st half, what happened?

    And when is the Uefa gonna move to stop this diving?

  68. So boys just in from the game we threw it away , shame we were playing well but silly mistakes are costly . However we will still qualify and I don’t think we were going to win the group , so no harm done but disappointing I know

  69. Anderlecht must feel crap tonight, though. The ref spots them two goals, and they still can’t win!

    I actually thought the ref did very well in the first half. The second half was horrible. Just from the top of my head…Flamini should have had a yellow card for booting a guy, not even called a foul. Two or three Anderlecht players should have had cards (at least one for revenge on the Flam foul). Santi was whistled for breathing on a guy, and Arsenal got away with a few fouls in midfield. He just totally lost control, and fortunately only Borre was getting violent. The first goal was as offside as they come, and I still don’t know what the penalty was for. It may have been a penalty, but if it was, the replays weren’t convincing in the least. I’m willing to change my mind on further evidence…but even if it was a fair penalty, the Arse still scored more legal goals.

    I’m so close to giving up football, since the results aren’t decided by the players.

  70. No point whining and moaning. We said wave the banners and no one bothered to do it. Now everyone is moaning again. Man up and act.

  71. Yassin
    just check in an hour all videos from arsenalHateTv with all those morons specialists in nothing
    and they call themselves arsenalFanTv

  72. Third goal:
    It started with a foul on Rosicky ( handball)
    but before that, there was a blatant foul, just before that. I think Ramsey was flipped.

  74. Lesson: We should be more ruthless in matches we had control.

    Anyways, we are The Arsenal and we don’t do anything easy.

  76. jon, I could’ve waved banners, but I don’t live in England. Sorry for letting you down mate.

  77. But I will say this; at 3-1 (given the cheat offside goal) we should have been more diligent and PROTECTED the 2 goal advantage!

  79. apo,

    I agree. But momentum shifted a lot after a free goal and a soft penalty. Bad reffing has big psychological effects on both sides (Anderlecht looked a different side after their first two) that we shouldn’t ignore. Reactions are inevitable, and with the margins being so small between sides at that level, they can make all the difference.

  81. Ok am gonna ask a question:
    Maybe the refs had bad view in both goals, but what is the job? Of those extra refs? And how could the assistant not see the offside when he was coming back, and then it was yards away?

    And I still insist, had the ref given the foul on Ramsey, that 3rd goal shouldnt stand anyway.

    @Apo, Damilaire,

    Yes we should have been more ruthless and defended the lead we had, but still, they got the goals with ref assistance. So still no matter what, they scored illegal goals.

  82. Well done to the Refs! That’s six points they have taken from Arsenal so far this season, clearly Mike Riley’s coaching is paying off.
    Yes we should have closed it out but its hard when you play 12 men. What I find most disappointing is that a lot of this seems to come at home, when was the last time we ever got a “home field” decision?

  83. Disappointing result.
    Lesson: We should be more ruthless in matches we had control.

    Anyways, we are The Arsenal and we don’t do anything easy.

  84. @apo

    You’re dead right on that one. The linesman was 100%incorrect on the first goal, but Arsenal shouldn’t be conceding twice more at that point to a relatively cruddy Andrelecht side. Blaming the linesman for an offside goal is a cop out. Yeah, he screwed up. The club fell apart afterward though, and that’s on Arsenal.

  85. @Apo, just to add one more point. The point you make just shows what a hell of a player Arteta is. When he left, everything changed.

  86. @El Gringo (10:04pm)
    Nailed it. It was another game after that goal! We were too nervous not to lose the three points.

  87. but when it’s happening game after game?
    no reaction no chance of changing smthing cos theres just no regulation for that
    GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME

  89. “we should”…”we must”…”we are THE ARSENAL”
    and boys try to show that they are arsenal in the first half and three goals

  90. Hmm still blaming refs and pigeons. Can’t accept the fact that u can’t defend to save your lives. It would have been good if they scored fourth that way Wenger would look even more stupid for not buying a defender

  91. AKB’S please fuck off!!!. You are doing causing as much damage to this club as Mr Wenger is currently. The man’s lost it and will play Sanchez into the ground it’s only matter of time.

  92. Apo
    That gift for their first goal was the turning point, and the penalty sealed it. The non replays by sky tells you it was a dodgy penalty at best. The team couldn’t do much to be honest, take those two goals away and there’s no way Anderlecht was coming back into this match. Like El Gringo said, the ref’s performance has a direct influence on players. You can see it from that borre guy, how he went on stamping on players at will, he knew the line the ref had taken and knew he could foul as much as he liked. Everytime we see this, any side we come up against will have at least one player that’ll start behaving as if they’re playing in a rugby match, even players not renowned for hard tackling. Hell even the timid Chamakh kicked lumps out of our players in a way that’d have made a thug like real madrids Pepe green with envy. That is a result of the ref giving players the licence to do as they please.

    I’m not sure if it’s just me but do I detect sarcasm from an AAA type’s comments? Anyway, if you’re not going to hurt from such obvious robbery then you should not call yourself a supporter of this club.

  93. AKB’S please fuck off!!!. You are doing, causing as much damage to this club as Mr Wenger is currently. The man’s lost it and will play Sanchez into the ground it’s only matter of time.

  94. and then the refs shows the boys that football itself is just doesnt mean anything

    and it’s not the first time
    not the only one
    and NO …other teams not as “lucky” as arsenal with so many refs wrong decisions

  95. Spot on Grant. These thickos get boners when we beat teams like Burnley and Sunderland. When the real teams turn up I want to see the scoreline. As Maureen rightly said, specialist in failure

  96. wenger do not loose anythin
    he BUILT…
    and he is the only one in PL who done it
    BUILD SOMETHING…. not buy, not chit
    but BUILD

  97. Our defense let us down today. The game had no business ending as a draw.
    Was that down to Arteta’s substitution? Monreal small size or poor techniques as a make-shift center half? Not making all our substitutions defensive ones? Our boys’ relaxing before they crossed the finish line?
    Anyhow, we still can finish 2nd and that, really, was our more likely position in view of BD’s superior goals’ gap

    Come on boys!

  98. Obviously my sarcasm remark was before I saw that the weevils were well and truly out of the woodwork. Sociopaths.

  100. Al, I’d refrain from using the lack of the replay as evidence that it was a bad call. It looked a pretty clear penalty to me, and it doesn’t sound like AW or the players are protesting it much either. I think they were gifted one tonight, not two.

  102. AL to be fair to fairness they did threaten in the first half and poss should have scored at least one , even though we had plenty enough chances to put this game out of reach !

  103. Steve0,

    Monreal protested more than I’ve ever seen him. He’s an honest player too, if he knows he’s made a foul, he just waves his hand and walks away. He was furious, which indicates that he didn’t think there was a foul.

    Also, we know the networks often fail to show times when Arsenal are on the receiving end of bad calls, so suspicion is reasonable. Of all the cameras Sky had access to, do you really think they could come up with only two shots, one from far away and the other that didn’t even show the entire incident? Surely there are other more conclusive shots out there…why the heck didn’t they show them?

  104. 1) We conceded first goal from offside. So, Anderlecht’s come-back was built upon a poor referee’s decision.

    2) Monreal should have been sent off – perhaps not so much for the foul on Mitrović (it was a clear penalty) but for touching the referee during protest. Never f…ing touch the referee!

    3) Apart from Gibbs – to the certain extent, that is – our defending was terrible during the whole night. There was no sign of defensive shape.

    4) Alexis is a world-class player. I’m still thinking whether comparing Alexis to Suarez is more stupid than comparing Welbeck to Sturridge. Our boys are actually likeable.

    5) Chamberlain is a brilliant player.

  105. Bottom line when your 3- nil up to the bottom team in your group you don’t then conceded 3 at home, do you !

  106. I think the club or the manager has pissed off someone very powerful in the corrupt football underworld, and a clear message is being sent. This season, the “mistakes” by the officials in almost every game of ours have been shocking, and 99% of the bad decisions have been against us, home or away, premier league or champs league. I’m still waiting for them to even out.

  107. @AL
    November 4, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    I won’t and can’t argue with what you say about the penalty being the reason for Anderlecht to get their heads up…but we should have have dealt with with this better!

  108. @AB
    With minimal mental effort, you can avoid sounding so stupid.
    You can play as well as you want, but if your opposition is gifted goals and decisions which lead to goals, there’s not a lot you can do. The players are human beings, not f*cking robots or PlayStation characters.

  109. @Alex, sorry, i have just seen your comment, yes its always like thay on ArsenalFanTv. Damn man, when I just remember the Nani red card incident and how their fans responded, and compare it to those you mention above, or commenting above.

    @Shakabula,
    Agree, but what defensive sub do you mean? There was only Bellerin out there. I think the problem is that our subs didnt move enougj like welbeck did and close their defences, but still, he had no other choice, Welbeck and Ox were exhausted, so he had to take this risk and try finish the game.

    @All,
    the penalty, when happened, Monreal hands were away from their player, and now way were his legs going to touch his. And if the ref had the same view as we did, then it should have been a straight red? Goal scoring chance? Why dis he not give it? Cause he didnt know what happened.

    I will not blame the ref this time, I will blame the uefa, where is the video replays? Why not banning the divers, and let them get away winning?

  110. Nekuhan… I just saw that article in the Daily News – what with being out of the country and all. There’s an article about it on the way.

    Walter… it is sitting in the “Drafts” section ready to roll when you have a space in the schedule.

  111. Aha I notice some having had to shut up for a while now suddenly find their voice again. If you cant celebrate with us when we win, no need to come when we don’t win.

  113. @All,
    yes we should have defended better, but so chelsea had to lose points last game. No matter how we played, the points and lost and gained are by the mistakes of refs. So please, yes, the players should take care for their mistakes, still we should have got two additional points due to ref mistakes. When we play Bayern/Barca/Real next round, dont forget that 2 pts were taken away by the refs. And when we lose the title (like last year) dont forget the ref had a hand. We are all Arsenal Fans, we can discuss tactics and mistakes by our players, but never ever accept, no matter how our players played, any wrong unjust decision against our team. We should unite at this point. Maybe today was a mess made by the refs, but its not the first nor the last, and these has to stop ( specially in the EPL)

  114. C4:

    Please. I cannot believe you are even thinking for 1 second the penalty worked against us & helped them. I cannot find any excuse for our terrible organisation & self collapse. Regretably this is not an isolated incident from our team.

  115. Walter how about congratulating your compatriots on a fine come back or are you not man enough ?

  116. El Gringo
    Yes, agree about lack of replays. Can think of a few incidents where sky where not as forthcoming with enough replays ;the case of mistaken identity between Gibbs and the Ox, the goal line technology farce, the offside calls after the city game which we had two incorrect offside flags, and today’s incident. Sky will be able to give you replays on anything, down to a millimeter from 100 angles in the stadium if they want to. One way of concluding if something was dodgy is when you see sky not offering any clear replays.

    It seems ab is beside himself with joy, surely that’s evidence he/she isn’t an Arsenal fan. If he/she is a fan then we can safely conclude he/she is a disturbed individual to be thoroughly enjoying itself in the face of such obvious robbery. We can only wish it a speedy recovery in that case.

  117. Doing the Ref reviews, and showing the results, not afraid of what AAAs say of them, not afraid of other teams fans coming and saying that he is sour grapes (I think its said like that). All that above I believe is man enough for me 🙂
    At least taking 1 goal away is enouhh to call the comeback, a non-comback

  118. @Al,

    Regarding replays you mentioned, Am I smelling Calciopoly? Hope one day somethings will show up, and I read Walter/Tony saying the “told you do” thing.

  119. Demilare

    ‘Disappointing result.
    Lesson: We should be more ruthless in matches we had control.

    Anyways, we are The Arsenal and we don’t do anything easy’

    Ruthlessness comes from above, like any trait that a team exhibits.

    Arsen Wenger is anything but ruthless so you can’t expect Arsenal to be something the Boss isn’t .

    The first goal was an offside clearly, the penalty was soft , but at 3:2 we bring on two offensive minded midfielders/ attackers in Poldi and Rosicky , when restoring some calm was the order of the moment. Both players are poor at defending and before too long Podolski fails to make any attempt at closing down Anderlecht player , who picks his striker with a perfect cross for 3:3. Rosicky’s contribution was to lose the ball in what was a promising Arsenal counter.

    Why would we bring two attacking players late in the game while wining by a goal? Because we are short of defensive players in our squad because our manager is anything but ruthless.

    Diaby is like anew signing every season even though there’s actually only a small chance he will ever play again and be productive , but we continue to pay his wages and hope for the best – not very ruthless.

    Any player unhappy with his situation at the club is allowed to leave regardless if there’s an adequate cover at that position or not – not very ruthless.

    Playing naive attacking football as if that was the only ‘ right’ way of playing football, regardless of the circumstances – not very ruthless.

    How about slowing the game down when you lose momentum. Do some of that time wasting every club in the universe employs on occasion
    We are what we are, and ruthless is about the farthest thing we will ever be.

  120. AL you amuse me , once again I was there tonight supporting my team you weren’t . But unlike you when we lose or draw firstly I don’t whine and make excuses and act like a spoilt brat, we drew fair and square get over it. Your an armchair surporter always will be and as much use to the team as a neutral so why bother your obviously to tight to spend your money on supposedly your Team

  121. Yassin
    Word of advice, do not try to engage this troll. You can see from the glee in its posts that it is over the moon with this result, and it’s clear it’d not be as elated had this finished in our favour. It’s probably dancing on a table top in its hole somewhere. So just ignore, please.

    As for sky, I think it’d be far fetched to think they’re in collusion with anyone. But what’s become so obvious is that they’ve taken the position that they’ll not put any spotlight on any mistake that costs Arsenal. So any official who cocks up will be spared the blushes by lack of or no replays at all. On the other hand, any mistake that seems to favour will be made that week’s talking point. That way they’re pushing their agenda, whatever it is, quietly in the background. One could almost say it’s clever, were it not so blatantly obvious.

  122. Funny how all the AAA’s like AB come out when Arsenal lose or draw, but don’t say anything when we win. Stop trying to rub it in the real Arsenal fans faces like Walter’s, because it gets you off.

    Why should Walter congratulate a team that got a draw not out of merit, but poor decisions by the referee?

    Not sure how any real fan can accept this injustice by the ref and then gloat about the result to fans that truly support the team.

  123. All the goals, apart from Ox, were at the other end. Clearly we weren’t shown replays of the penalty (and I think the first goal).

    Pretty poor – but sh*t happens. Far better to have this happen in this game than against Burnley, for example.

    Anyway, I enjoyed the first hour.

    My concerns are around the substitutions.

    1. Arteta wanted to come off – was clearly gesturing from the moment Ox scored. The management took an age to sort it out during which time we conceded the first goal.

    2. What was the point of taking off Welbeck and the Ox AT THE SAME TIME for Rosicky and Podolski? Removed our height and our pace up front – while also removing the opportunity of making a 3rd attacking substitution if Anderlecht had equalised earlier. We had hardly any possession after that change.

  124. As for Vince/Grant – a bad 30 minutes and you come out with utter bilge! This result is very unlikely to have any lasting impact. We were very likely to finish 2nd before this match – and that remains the case.

  125. Al

    ‘That gift for their first goal was the turning point, and the penalty sealed it’

    I realize you’re upset and hurting right now, but are you really saying that the fifth richest club in the world should collapse at home to a bunch of kids and a few mediocre journey men from an average football league( sorry Walter) ,at 3:2 with minutes to go ,at home because they might’ve gotten some bad calls leading up to Anderlecht’s second goal?

  126. Jerry it’s his country ,fair minded good sports do that Whinney girls like you make excuses . By the way big Arsenal surporter were you there tonight , thought not surprise , another all mouth and trousers wind bag !

  127. We will qualify, but is second place, and true to form will face Real Madrid in the knockout round. You heard it here first…as if you need to.
    What happened tonight was shocking, yes yet another ref mistake against us, but you do not give away such a lead to anderlecht at home.
    Wenger needs to do a lot of work on the defence both now and possibly in jan. The defensive situation we are in is not great and costing us in games like this.
    I praise the team when merited, only fair to go the other way after this game.
    Arteta is clearly a serious injury concern, I wonder if cabaye could help out?
    Wenger needs to take a very close look at the way this game went and do whatever needed to prevent a repeat, that was not acceptable

  128. Apo 10:36
    I agree to a certain extent, but we need to remember this isn’t a one off. These players are so used to getting robbed weekly that they expect the worst when they see the slightest hint of a bad call against them. We may not appreciate the effects on them, but I doubt they’d be positive. I’m sure they’ll start fearing the worst. From enjoying their football carefreely they start treading carefully, pulling away from tackles, etc, lest they make it worse. I saw at least 4 or 5 hands go up for offside when Anderlecht scores their first goal, showing they saw this was a wrong call. A few minutes later they see Monreal punished when he probably was the one who was fouled, at that point I’d like to think the only thing on their minds was wishing for the match to end before another wrong call is made against them. It affects them. You could see how they became jittery each time a long ball was lumped forward. I know you know all this Apo and don’t doubt your support one bit, but just trying to explain what might have been going through the players minds. Players like Sanchez have been brutalised with nothing done that I’m sure at such a point they’ll wishing for the match to end before anything that can ruin their career happebs. Of course Sanchez is a fighter who’ll fighter to the end, but looking at a match from such a view wouldn’t be good. You know I bet many of our players must heave a sigh of relief when 90 minutes is up and they have not had a career threatening tackle made on them. From the unpunished thuggery we’ve seen it surely must feel that way for them. Once you are in that mindset it’s gone from your control.

  129. Once again poor refereeing has cost us points – and encouraged the scum of the earth to crawl out from under whatever dung-heaps they inhabit to perpetuate the evil crusade against AW in particular and Arsenal in general.

    The sooner we have the introduction of video technology the better – but then those who want to control the leagues will then not be able to manipulate results.

    Have we had a fair ref this season – doesn’t seem like it?

    To one particular troll – I wonder does he know the phrase “Stand Fast”?

  130. @Tom,
    No it should not, we defended, all agreed on that.still we lost two points due to bad refereeing, again!
    @Pete, Vaild points, but maybe Artera was more important than what seemed to be.
    as for Welbeck, no here the problem was that Podolski didnt trouble their defences by closing them down fast (had to say it), and third goal could have been saved had he closed the Anderlecht player (As Tom mentioned above).
    As for Chamberlain to Rosicky, Ox stopped running as he was very tired. I will not blame Wenger (on that defencd and not the score and lost points), I will blame the players for it.

  131. The second goal looked like a penalty to me, I was central behind the goal and it looked to me like Monreal had an arm around the Galatassary players neck. No complaints on that one.

    The sooner Kos is fit the better.

  134. Hey, this draw didn’t change anything as far as final standings will be in the end. Goodnight fellow AKBs. And may the sewer rodents have the worst possible nightmares they fully deserve.

  135. Sadly, our ground is where refs go to prove they are not homers
    But we should not have thrown away such a lead under any circumstances. Wengers comments suggest controlled fury, and rightly so. Who this fury is aimed at is open to interpretation.

  136. At the start of the match the big screen showed the full list of our injured players, as if to remind everybody how many there were and what big players they are. I detected some fatigue in the Arsenal play today and it’s no wonder. And there were a few times when our players were brought down and it took them a few minutes to get up. I was quite worried.

    I hadn’t realised about the off-side goal and the non-penalty till I got home and heard about the TV coverage. But of course the players would have known it and I agree it must have been demoralising.

    There is another factor. The Anderlecht fans were incredibly loud with drumming and chanting and that must have spurred their players on. The Arsenal fans chanted quite a few times but they got a lot quieter as the match went on and the Anderlecht fans got even louder. So our players didn’t really get total support and theirs did. And needless to say there was a lot of moaning from some Arsenal fans on the way out. Be a supporter, I say!

  137. For the record, at the final whistle there was a brief, not very loud boo, followed by applause for the team – played well for 60 minutes. Clearly, everyone was very disappointed – but you have to keep your focus on the bigger picture. Most fans (those in the stadium anyway) get that. Unfortunately, supporting a football team results in good and bad experiences. This was a bad one. But it is really not the end of the world.

    Similarly, on the walk back to the tube, there was no ranting and raving. The minority populating the miserablist sites (and occasionally this one) really are a minority.

  138. Pat – obviously you and I exit in different directions! Subdued yes, audible discontent definitely not (apart from that brief boo at full time).

  139. @AB,

    How do you know who was and wasn’t at the game? All people that go to the game do not need to brag and be narcissistic individuals to other fans. Arsenal is a global club. I give more respect to the fans across the world that pay the red membership just to support the club, even though they may only get to go once or twice a season, then fake fans like yourself that hate everything about the club. Everyone agrees the defense should have done better, but at least the real fans will not dismiss the impact of the ref providing an offside goal.

    Please do the club a favor and give up your seat to other real fans that actually support the club. Why do you even go to games (if you really do) if all you do is complain about the club?

  140. A Referee buys a box of laundry detergent, and it says on the box, “20 uses”. A day later, the Referee calls the laundry detergent company and says” I bought your product and the box says ’20 uses’, but all it does is my laundry!

  141. Think this game shows how important Arteta can be…..and if he is becoming as injury prone as it looks, it is vital he has a replacement from within or without. Arteta seems to be pivotal tactically a and in terms of tempo? Was the formation changed when he went off?
    Have a funny feeling there will be repercussions from the , ref shite withstanding.

  142. Well, I was at the game tonight, and from where I was sitting, I can state the following:

    1) I clearly didn’t see the first Anderlecht goal properly as I thought it was sloppy defending from us, and I was worried Monreal might have been sent off! However, conspicuous by their absence were replays of the first 2 goals immediately after they were scored so they may have been ‘dubious’;
    2) I initially thought that the 2 key points in the second half were the Anderlecht injury just as Arsenal were building up a head of steam, and Arteta coming off having been immaculate until his injury-enforced subbing off (at 3-1), after which defensive shape seemed to go to pot, particularly on the right hand side;
    3) I think Arsene Wenger’s first sub was originally going to be Walcott until the first ‘goal’ and the Arteta injury forced his hand differently;
    4) Van den Borre and Mitrovic spent the second half kicking at Mertesacker’s ankles without punishment until the last 5 minutes of the match, when Mitrovic was finally booked. Perhaps the reason the ‘BFG’ couldn’t win the header for Mitrovic’s equaliser was because the impact on his ankles prevented him from jumping properly to stop the goal.

    At the final whistle, I felt deflated and naively thought that for once, Arsenal’s players dropped points through their own mistakes and indiscipline, until I got home and watched the highlights, where what do I see?

    1) The first Anderlecht goal was scored by a player who was at least 2 yards offside! How on earth could neither the linesman nor the goal line official see and/or give the offside?!
    2) No clear replays of the Anderlecht penalty hinting that it may not have been as clear cut as I assumed.

    My deflation turned to frustration and fury at this ‘officiating’ which contributed to the home team’s mentality, which was weakened further when Arteta was replaced by Flamini.

    This game was a ‘perfect storm’ where:

    Blatant offside goal + injury-enforced substitution resulting in loss of shape + complete lack of yellow cards for persistent niggly fouls + physical impact of such fouls on Per Mertesacker + other questionable decisions from ref and players = 2 points dropped…

    Memories of the ‘Phil Dowd 4-4 draw’ anyone?

  143. I have a feeling that the match review you guys put up will concentrate mostly on the bad refereeing. I love this site and visit it very frequently. I want this team to succeed. But I am yet to see one honest criticism of the team after they’ve had a bad game on this site. Today’s match calls for such criticism from everyone involved with the club. The officiating was poor no doubt. But 3-0 up at home, you’d expect the team to finish off the match at that point. Ramsey was just not got enough today. I’m yet to see a post mention something like that (which is the unfortunate truth in cases like today). I’m yet to see an article on untold analyzing the players we have and what we lack and what we need to buy. There is no article here on what Arsene could have done better in the transfer window (and a sensible one….not one where the writer urges him to buy the costliest player available), like maybe looking for a CB or a DM. I’d understand if that is a conscious decision at Untold. But if that is not the case, then some of the writers here would seem to be in denial about the game. I’m sorry if that sounds blunt, but that’s what I’m feeling right now. I love Arsenal and I love this site. And the lack of one honest post match review here is getting me more dissapointed after already not-entirely-positive/bad results that the team has been getting these days. Well that’s my humble opinion. I really hope that this team can start winning soon and go on a run and remain fit. And buy a CB and a DM. There is no denying that need one.

  144. Maybe Vikrant, but defensive collapses have been a feature for too long, bent refs aside.
    We have to be wary of making excuses for what we saw this evening, it was unacceptable, as wenger said in his post match interview. Basically, the team switched off, Arteta leaving had a very …very worrying effect on the team, which I fully expect to be dealt with in Jan. Arteta is a vital player but in the wars at the moment, almost as if wenger does not fully trust flam so alters the formation accordingly, if that’s the case , it was with disastrous consequences.
    I sense a tipping point…..this team, CEO and perhaps manager have to get a lot wiser to what the refs we get are up to, maybe to take it on a bit more….and we have to get a lot wiser defensively…..our squad depth means players are being deployed where not suited, and that has cost us.
    This is perhaps the most critical I have been of the team on here, but some things I saw in that game really did not sit well. We really shot ourselves in the foot, helped by the usual standard of refereeing we get.

  145. I’ve just come home from the match. The officiating seemed ok in the first half but when the kicking started particularly on Alexis, The officials seemed to lose eyesight. I thought they played well by widening the game and opening our defense. I had no idea that the first goal was offside but I was annoyed at the booking of our player for the penalty which was ‘bought’ by a lean on the defender and then a dive.

    The fouling by Anderlect was not being picked up and some of it was nasty. I honestly thought the game was being gifted as an early Christmas present.

    Disappointing but not surprised.

  146. Let’s not overreact. Last season Arsenal had one of the best records of all in terms of fewest points dropped from leading positions.

    This season we have dropped points when leading against Leicester (drew) and Man City (drew) in the League. Also let slip against Southampton in the League Cup – albeit with a weakened team.

    Injuries – and consequently a non-settled side – are not helping.

  147. Agree Pete, but thought we were naive at times tonight, and have seen that before after they scored, ref assisted, we should have interpreted the situation and closed things down a bit. Last season, wenger would bring on extra defenders to close things out….this season, we have no extra defenders, that has to be a criticism.
    It will not make any difference, we will still qualify second, but saw the return of bad ….and not needed habits in this game….especially after Arteta went off. Arteta is an injury waiting to happen this season, others need to take leadership, that did not happen this eve.
    This team have enough critics, what we saw this evening just plays into their hands, and what we saw this eve did not need to happen, it really didn’t!

  148. After the third goal went in I was thinking we’ve looked dynamic fluid and difficult to defend against while at the same time being very concerned about being hit on the counter attack. 3 nil up we should have killed the game yet we had the fullbacks bombing forward and Ramsey running ahead of Welbeck.

    Where was the instruction to keep our shape and hit onthe counter. We were a shambles. Poor Chambers forgot his defensive duties and got exposed tonight. We have no presence in front of the back four.

    I’m afraid Arsene must take the blame tonight, he should have tightened things up at 3 nil and especially at 3-1. Walcott could have been used to hit them on the counter. Hugely disappointing and very worrying.

  149. After dying in a car crash, three Referees go to Heaven for orientation. They are all asked the same question, “When you’re lying in your casket, and friends and family are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say about you?” The first Assistant Referee immediately responds, “I would like to hear them say that I was one of the great Assistant Referees of my time, and a great family man.”

    The second Assistant Referee says, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and teacher of the Laws of the game who made a huge difference in the children of tomorrow.”

    The last guy (the Referee) thinks for a moment, and then replies, “I guess I’d like to hear them say, ‘Look, he’s moving!'”

  151. As always we will qualify and the sewer rats hate that, but thats a reality as one of the big fives that’s what we do just wondering where the other giant is!?
    Bring on Madrid and we are the last priemier league team to win at the bernabue,sewer rats im betting £500 if we don’t qualify to the next stage put your money where your mandibles are if not keep shut the fuck up.

  152. You’re welcome Brickfields!

    I would like to thank law18.net as the source of the jokes I posted.

    I am sure Wenger will work on the team in preparation for this weekend, and the best result possible (winning with a clean sheet).

    COYG!

  153. @Brickfields!

    I’ve had 4 deer regularly visiting the farm this year (all female or fawns). I’m guessing a mother, 2 fawns, and a daughter from last year.

    Last Sunday during the lunch hour, I had 11 deer on the lawn while I was there. I have been trying to get the deer to NOT regard our stand of fruit trees as “home”. I had “chased” the 4 away an hour or so before, they came back with friends. 🙂

  154. Jerry
    Don’t waste time on that cnut called AB. He’s a twisted individual, a sociopath and sadistic liar. He never went anywhere, I can tell you that. Look at his 9:54 post where he claims ‘just in from the match’. This is barely 14 minutes from the final whistle(even less if we are to allow at least 2 minutes to compose his post). Sure most people who actually attended were still finding their way out of the stadium at that time. Unless his house is right next door to the entrance to the stadium, don’t see how that is feasible. And before he starts lying to us he left early Anderlecht equalised in the 90th minute, so what business would he have leaving well before that. Even if we’re to assume he left after their second, which came 16minutes from the end, that’d allow him only 28-30 minutes to get home, compose and post his first comment, a record I’d say, given that just negotiating one’s way out of the stadium will definitely eat a considerable chunk out of this time. For this to be possible then his seat in the stadium would have to have been right next to the exit (which might explain why he saw nothing) and his house right next to the stadium. It’s all lies.

    If Walter and others who look after the blog had the time and willingness, they could just put his IP address he was posting from into one of these freely available IP address location tracing tools which will give location of an IP address – not to publish the results online but just for their info to prove this idiot is lying – and I can guarantee you the location will not be within 14 minutes walk from inside the Emirates. If his door is 100m from the gates to the stadium then I’ll hold my hand up and say I got this wrong.

    He’s a twisted individual who gets off from winding people up on the net and whatever else. Just hope someone like that doesn’t live on my street. He clearly isn’t worth the time, and am only posting this longish comment as he and his cronies are usually doing this kind of thing on here and to warn people off engaging online trolls because 1)they’ll not go away, and 2) it’s bad for your health. A research conducted this year concluded trolls are sadistic individuals “that exploit “hot-button issues” to inflame and exploit users’ emotions,
    “If an unfortunate person falls into their trap, trolling intensifies for further, merciless amusement. This is why novice Internet users are routinely admonished, ‘Do not feed the trolls!’,” the study warned.”
    (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/online-trolls-are-psychopaths-and-sadists-psychologists-claim-9134396.html)

    I’m not trying to paint myself as a troll-sleuth but I work in IT security and can easily pick up this kind of behaviour from a mile away. You can clearly see from the way he was throwing in his snide comments soon after the game, hoping someone would bite. I’ve never seen so much glee from a supposed fan who has just been out to watch their side on a cold wet and miserable night -presumably having forked out a considerable amount of money to do so – and after witnessing their side getting robbed of a win from some poor officiating. You’d at least expect them to be seething, not chuckling with glee. Something clearly doesn’t add up. I don’t publish this blog so can’t really say who can or can’t post on here, but if it were down to me I’d be banning trolls like this one in the interests of the public’s health.

    Aside from this minor irritation, I don’t see what the fuss is all about; Anderlecht did to us what we did to them. The main difference is they required a massive dose of the officials’ help to do so, and that we took three points instead of their one. And those questioning the substitutions, I say did they question when Podolski came off the bench to score the winner two weeks ago? Don’t think so, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

  155. Now the question is… What are those two dummies on the goal line doing???….

    Shamelessly awarded an offside goal.

    Big bum bora not booked for persistent fouling.

    Bemba was not booked when we got the penalty.

    Hmmmm…..

    But of course, its all arsenals fault. We have a soft belly. We don’t have a dhee ehm. We ….

  156. @ Nekuhan November 4, 2014 at 5:32 pm – Thanks for the links . Hope it snowballs and the creeps are dealt without mercy . Not holding my breath though !

  158. Hate to say it but the blame lies at Wenger’s feet. How he allowed us to start the season with only two centre backs is beyond me.

  159. @ Gord – That’s awesome ! I would love to have deers on my porch anyday !
    I do get a steady stream of different and colourful birds , including a huge owl and on a few occasions a family of hornbills .
    Bats , frogs , snakes , monitor lizards , squirrels and civet cats often show up to eat the fruits and themselves !
    And I ‘m nowhere near the wild !
    I take their visits as a compliment and not as a hindrance .
    Unlike the AAAA who are a nuisance here , but give me great pleasure , nay I lie, manifold pleasure , in swatting them.

  160. Al you plonker I live at Highbury Square and Birmingham too , I thought that would cross your mind but a bit slow , big mouth.

  161. I don’t know how many of you watch matches with a TIVO recorder or some other recording technology. Also it seems to me broadcasting in england is quite biased since I got enough footage of Monreal’s foul, and played it a few times.

    Clear 100% foul.

    That’s just to get it out of the system. 100 – fucking – precent – foul.

    But that’s not the issue. The issue is that we cannot make up an alternate reality. You listen to Arsene’s words after the match – he was FURIOUS with our defence. And rightfully so.

    The last 20 minutes was a display of – I don’t know what to call it, but it’s the opposite of “character”. it’s giving a team, which if played in the PL, would have probably fought in relegation battles, a 2 goal fightback in the course of 32 minutes (the first was 2 km offside).

    But again, that’s not the issue. The issue is that a team like Andergarments, even with the help of a referee, the holy ghost, and US Seal Team 6, cannot be allowed to attack us in a way which would allow them to score the next 2 goals.

    They got all revved up, all spirited, and we mentally gave way.

    I’m disgusted because it’s the opposite of what I want to see as the first, the last and ultimate requiste: fighting spirit. In a match where we played SUPERBLY, for 60 minutes or so, this is just infuriating.

    Sorry.

  162. So please when you finally make it here please let me know I will give you a guided tour , show you the marble Hall etc , even have your picture taken with the bust of Herbert Chapman.
    As I say I take supporting Arsenal very seriously hence my two homes I’ll be on the 10-15 am from Marleybone to Solihull, why don’t you come and wave me of .

  163. So what to make of this , I quote
    ” We were very poor tonight , from the first to the last minute ”
    Arsene Wenger………….How very dare you !

  166. Why on earth would I be expected to know you live at Highbury square, if you indeed do? Do you have a clue where I live? Or anyone else who posts here for that matter. How can not knowing where an anonymous poster on an online blog lives be viewed as slow? Surely by expecting me to know that, when I’ve never asked where you live, shows signs of being underdeveloped on your part?

    Anyway I did point out unless you live a stone’s throw from the stadium then I didn’t think you were telling the truth. And I still don’t believe you’re telling the truth anyway; why bring up your second residence in Birmingham? Is this trying to fool the blog admins should they take up my suggestion of tracking your IP address. Your residing in Birmingham is NOT relevant if you were posting from your Highbury square hole, and I suspect your limited intellect is trying to find a way of explaining why your Birmingham IP address would be showing in the logs. I know some fans bought those flats but Idoubt very much you will be one of those. Did I mention you being a sadistic liar? Think this proves my point.

    I don’t wish to distract well-meaning individuals from discussing yesterday’s travesty by providing a sideshow with an online troll so consider this discussion over.

  167. @AL
    November 4, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Perhaps you are misunderstanding my earlier post, and suggesting that I am Trolling?? Me?? I am as staunch AW supporter as you will ever get!!! Even in the darkest days I will back AW!

    Last nights performance was sublime up until the Cheat goal – perhaps until the Arteta substitution. Its not as if we were scrapping for the win (as in our first clash in Belgium). We dominated the game up until that 62nd minute. Being 3-0 up until that point had me with half a bottle of scotch down and singing…to then get turned over like that was somewhat difficult to digest, especially when I could see it coming. Why did I see it coming? Because our midfield lost that intensity of ball possession as well we did not close down when we didn’t have the ball.

    Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but we could have brought on Bellerin (for the Ox) and squeezed our back line or even by pushing Chambers into a holding midfield role. Rosicky (he can do much closing down and chasing when not in possession) for Welbeck (put bodies in midfield).

    Would that have made a difference? who knows, maybe…but it wasn’t to be.

    Now I have to deal with a hangover tarnished by a draw instead of a good win.

    Have I lost faith in AW or our boys?? NEVER!!!!!!!!!

    They will learn from this and we WILL move forward and UPWARD!!

    COYG!

  169. @ Walter, yeah I just so, so sorry again, you wrote it a lot better and pointed out the Arteta – Flamini thing.

    BTW – I am not sure Arteta was injured, perhaps he was subbed to give him a bit of a rest.

  170. Sorry Al one final as I don’t lie or to be called one . Your right we did miss last goal, I wanted to stay for a beer afterwards my lad didn’t ( club level ) he saw the goal celebration on Tv screens looking up from just before North Bridge ( side issue I supplied all the toilets and sanitary ware in the North Bridge building and made deliverys personally, very proud of fact ) I actually didn’t believe it , noise wasn’t that great. So now guess your thinking if we didn’t stay for beer why leave , I desperate for pee thought might as well run for it as not staying because of short distance back , as long as left before main thrust. Hope that cleers up all

  172. Sadistic Liar Cool , by the way where do you live ? Would you like to go to a game on one of my tickets, no charge seriously . Southampton game strong possibility , as a way of proving my credentials as a true surporter please accept or if not maybe Bootomee

  174. Bad officiating is only one aspect of the game, the other is the total abnegation of defensive duties by us. Even Wenger was unhappy so I don’t see why we shouldn’t be. If we play like that against a good CL side we’ll get hammered. Not sure what’s happened to Ramsey, he seems to have reverted back to the inconsistent player he was two years ago. I want my Ramsey back!

    @IndianGooner, well said. I fully understand that we are all Arsenal supporters but just occasionally we have to be honest about the team’s shortcomings and not get hysterical and shout abuse at other supporters. Anyway we’ll almost certainly get through the group, for what it’s worth.

  175. Apo
    I think you misunderstood what I was saying, sorry if I didn’t explain myself too well. The first paragraph was me agreeing with your sentiments. The last two lines were directed at someone who I thought was throwing in sarcastic one liners, totally nothing to do with you. You’re one person I’d never ever accuse of being an AAA; hell I think you’re even more AKB than me! 🙂

  176. A lady lost three panties in her house and blamed the maid in front of the husband.
    The maid says , ” Sir , you are my witness , you KNOW that I never wear panties !”

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