By Walter Broeckx
A match against Newcastle who had just done us a big favour by beating Chelsea. Newcastle also a team that had the same numbers of points as Arsenal at kick off. So not an easy match it seemed. And ref Mason at the whistle….
Arsenal team that started against Newcastle: Szczesny, Bellerin, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Flamini, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis, Welbeck, Giroud. On the (cold) beach: Martinez, Ajayi, Coquelin, Maitland-Niles, Campbell, Podolski, Sanogo. So two young kids over there.
The opening minutes the tempo was not that high. But Arsenal was in control without creating much openings. The first real fact to mention was Tiote who in his usual style planted his studs in the chest of Alexis. Not even a foul, let alone a red card of course. The first real chance was when an Arsenal corner was headed on to the crossbar by Per Mertesacker. But it was a first sign of the things to come.
A bit later a great interception of young Bellerin who playd the ball to Giroud. Giroud played it deep to Alexis and it look a bit wide, but it gave enough time for Alexis to pick out a cross to the on-storming Giroud who headed it perfectly under the crossbar. 1-0 to The Arsenal after 15 minutes.
And Arsenal doubled the lead minutes later when a great combination between Gibbs and Welbeck and the latter finishing with a nice chip over the keeper. But ref Mason didn’t want that goal to stand as a Newcastle player had fallen over on his own and he found that this was against the rules of great sportsmanship.
A bit later another almost goal when Alexis lobbed the ball over the Newcastle defenders but the volley on the turn from Welbeck went just wide.
Alexis away and a clear push in the back just inside the penalty area, the assistant signalled it and the ref….put the ball outside the penalty area. Not with only 1-0 on the score board must have been in his mind.
Meanwhile some hacking left and right and certainly Alexis was a target. Rotational fouling was present at its best and the ref seemingly unable to spot it. Newcastle got a few free kicks generously given by ref Mason and on one occasion Szczesny had to make a great double block. Well done from our keeper who had not much to do for the rest. In between Bellerin was the only player to get a yellow card.
We could have scored more in the first half but we crept a bit back in the last 10 minutes of the first half and so allowed Newcastle a foot in the match.
Newcastle tried to continue this in the second half but there were no really serious situations in front of Szczesny. Alexis with a great dummy to start a counter but then was brought down on the half way line. No card yet again…. But a bit later Alexis once again at the start of a goal for Arsenal. His wonderful pass was taken in his stride by Cazorla and he stayed on his feet under a Collocini tackle and finished the ball with a nice finish from a not that easy angle. 2-0 to the Arsenal.
Arsenal now really on top and apart from another yellow card for an Arsenal player we were in the driver seat. Bellerin going away on the right and his low cross was expertly finished by Giroud at the near post. What a wonderful attack and once again Bellerin very much involved. 3-0 to the Arsenal after 58 minutes.
Cazorla with another free kick that almost went in, but Mason was doing his best to give Newcastle a few free kicks and from one of them Perez could head in a goal. 3-1 after 63 minutes.
A little shock but Arsenal replied with some chances but neither Flamini, Cazorla or Gibbs could score the 4th goal. So the worry was what Mason would pull out of his hat. For the time being only Wenger pulling something out of his hat by bringing Podolski for Giroud with some 18 minutes to go.
Arsenal now hanging back a bit an trying to do something on the counter. Bellerin with a great escape but Alexis couldn’t hold on to his cross. Another break between Alexis and Welbeck but Collocini made a great interception. Finally a Newcastle player going in the book when Janmaat blocked Cazorla off the ball.
Coquelin came on for the much targeted Alexis but there was still a late twist in the match. The day wouldn’t have been complete with pigs flying over the Emirates. Because lo and behold with only two minutes on the clock Welbeck was brought down in the penalty area and Mason gave a penalty to Arsenal. Let me repeat: Mason gave a penalty to Arsenal.
Birthday boy Cazorla was behind the ball and he finished off the match with a real Panenka-penalty. This is oh so wonderful when it goes in but you can look stupid when the keeper doesn’t move. But the Newcastle keeper was lying in the corner looking at how the ball trickled over the line. 4-1 to the Arsenal.
For the second time in a row. I think we played some great football at times, defended when we needed to and worked hard and were determined to not get the ref or Newcastle in our way.
Great match, great score, great football. Great Arsenal!
thanks Walter.COYG!
From what I noted down quickly.
First half by Lee Mason:
3 Wrong Major Decisions.
1. Red card not given to Tiote for stamp on Sanchez.
2. Penalty not given for foul on Giroud by Tiote.
3. Wrongly disallowed Welbeck’s goal.
1 wrong offside.
1 incorrect yellow card to Bellerin (Dummett was already leaning towards the ground)
7 wrong fouls in total in first half against Arsenal (with possession and without possession).
Second Half by Lee Mason:
1 yellow card not given for foul on Sanchez by Colback ( Shirt @ shoulder tug)
1 yellow card not given for foul on Flamini by Ayoze Perez ( sliding tackle from behind)
1 yellow card not given for penalty foul on Welbeck by Dummett
1 wrong corner against Welbeck.
1 wrong foul against Sanchez without possession
1 wrong foul against Welbeck.
1 wrong foul against Podolski
in total 3 wrong fouls.
and overall very bad positioning. There were several times during the game that he came close to blocking view of players receiving the ball and came close to the interception of through balls by Arsenal players around Newcastle’s box.
Its all about who score first. When we score they open their defences and we could score more. When the opposition score first, they park the bus and use fouling to stop us.
The Ox was awesome and so was Welbeck. Sanchez has to be protected. He is going to get injured if they keep on tackling him like that. Giroud was brilliant and so was Bellerin.
Lets do it and climb the table! COYG
OUR DEFENCE WITH BOSCIELNY LATEST DEPUTY DEBUCHY REALLY LOOK STABLE.THANX TO GENIUS WENGER WHO KNOWS HOW TO MAXIMIZE PLAYERS TALENT.
I said it before and glad that’s how you saw the incident too Walter; the shove on Alexis in the box should have been a penalty at least, not sure what colour the card would have been. But the sky pundits chose to ignore that incident completely and focus on a ball that Welbeck misheaded, with eyes closed, against his hand which was down by his side and not raised….
Another Newcastle player stamped on Sanchez’s foot near the corner flag in the second half, and mason didn’t produce a card of any colour. Let’s not kid ourselves, or let the result fool us, that was a ref on a mission. We could and should have had 3 penalties, while Newcastle should have had at least two players sent off. Out of the five possible scenario only one came true, and only because it was so blatant mason would have damaged his reputation further by not giving it especially as he knew it wasn’t going to change the outcome. And also when he knew giving it was not going to harm Newcastle’s chances any further; two minutes left on the clock, sure if that incident had happened around 70 minutes we would still not have got that penalty, good reputation or not.
Meanwhile three Chelsea players dived trying to win penalties, with two booked (Cahill was the third player to dive but was already on a yellow so ref spared him). And predictably it was hull who played for the last half hour with 10.
wenger out, still.
If even armchair pundits like many of us can spot rotational fouling, what else is to say about the quality of the refs in the PL?
Yes AL, Cahill should have been sent off for a potentially leg-breaking tackle. Funny the commentators acknowledged that, compared to the Alexis incident. And yet, the ref let him off the hook. Disgusting.
A very exciting performance by our guys, four excellent goals and some class play!
In contrast Mason was not surprisingly incompetent and under his “control” Sanchez was targeted by thuggery once again. Have the refs been instructed to allow open season on Sanchez? – seems like it every match.
Once again the PGMO representative was not up to doing his job.
Anyway, a very enjoyable performance and three valuable points!
AL – Chelski diving for penalties – nothing unusual there!!
Well done to the defence that was widely mocked by the commentators I was listening to. Debuchy and Per didn’t put a foot wrong. Bellerin was only caught out once or twice in defence, and was excellent going forward. Very impressive for a 19yr old.
All the midfielders did well. The Ox showed his versatility in the middle. Sanchez ran his socks off as usual, and was very creative. Cazorla looks like he’s getting his old form back, and his first goal was brilliant.
Two fantastic finishes from Giroud, plus he played some excellent passes. Welbeck should have had a goal.
Despite Mason’s best efforts, we rolled over Newcastle.
COYG!!!
I wonder if we’re still a ‘one man team’ ?
Of course we are only it’s Giroud now.
last year we where a one man team with Rambo.
Up till now it’s been Alexis.
How many different ‘one man teams’ can one team have?
Oh! The fans were singing in support of AW – very nice to hear.
(Must be a polite equivalent of two fingers to the disgraceful behavior of a minority of pseudo “fans” over the last two weeks!)
It’s interesting to note though that Alexis stopped trying to score himself, and instead went for a more creative role, and the change in approach benefited the team tremendously.
Just wait for the next time we aren’t winning by two goals or more. Then all the hatred will be back.
bjt – I proudly did my bit singing “One Arsene Wenger” on the two opportunities I had. Loud and proud!
Don’t know how it came across on the TV but it certainly felt loud inside the ground. Didn’t even hear anything grumbling about it – a bit of a surprise where I sit. Most of the moaning was about the Hull kick off time!
Mason was certainly getting a lot of abuse from the people around me. Of the contentious incidents:
– Didn’t see any stamps (other end?) but don’t doubt they happened.
– “Goal” looked fine.
– Welbeck penalty appeal was in front of me and seemed a nothing incident.
– Shove on Sanchez was other end so couldn’t tell.
– Welbeck penalty – why wasn’t it a red card?
– Plenty of “breaking up play” and “rotational fouling” fouls which were rarely carded. I think the 2nd card was for kicking the ball away, not for the offence.
Bigger picture, it is amazing what a week’s rest did for the front 4! Thought Cazorla was absolutely outstanding. The Ox’s decision making was poor in his own half – could have cost us. But he was a threat at the other end. Defence was excellent – and getting increasingly excited about Bellerin!
Thought Flamini had a good game.
Yes, the cr*p posters are in the sewer now. Long may they remain there.
“To put any of them in charge of Arsenal is an affront to all who value fairness.
Mr Mason has little idea what constitutes a red card, none over a penalty and yellow cards are a 50/50 lottery.” – copied and pasted from yesterday’s ref preview by Andrew. On the mark, again.
Now didn’t I tell you for a few years that Bellering is an amazing prospect….? 😉 Still a few things to learn but my boy what a talent he is!
Walter, you took the words out of my mouth…I loved the way Bellerin played. Very positive…of course he makes a few mistakes but with his pace he almost always can make it up. You’ve got to think that he could play midfield, too.
More copy and paste, from the BBC website (apologies in advance Walter and Tony for this)
“Danny Welbeck thought he had doubled the lead with an 18th-minute chipped finish but his effort was ruled out for a foul on Daryl Janmaat, a harsh decision judging by television replays.
Welbeck was unfortunate with an ambitious 32nd minute volley that flashed narrowly wide of Alnwick’s post.
Newcastle were fortunate not to have Cheick Tiote red carded for a horrible early challenge after catching Sanchez in the stomach, referee Lee Mason missing the incident.”
So, even the BBC thought that disallowed goal should have stood, apart from Alan smith and Co on sky sports. Secondly, if mason missed the kick by Tiote, can we expect the FA to retrospectively ban Tiote? (not that I care about it that much as it’ll just be weakening Newcastle for their next opponents, but just want to see if an offence against our players now count in the eyes of the fa).
I’m starting to think Pardew is a decent guy actually; he didn’t try to find any excuses (like redknap junior and co) and just conceded his side were, and I quote, ‘taught a lesson’ today. This coming on the back of his comments yesterday to the effect the Emirates stadium ought to be named after Wenger for the unbelievable work he’s done there. Way to go Pardew.
Anyway, great result, off to town to have a celebratory drink!
@Pete
I clearly heard “One Arsene Wenger” – you guys were in good voice!!
Have to agree that Bellerin is really starting to impress.
Santi’s got his mojo back.
Giroud’s somehow improved his game practicing with one leg !!!
Alexis is a one man Tornado.
How many players out tonight?
I know we still have a bit, some would say a lot, to prove against ‘the big boys’ but this squad is looking real real quality.
As players come back, as confidence grows I hope we can now go on a roll, only problem is there seems to be no let up with the media/PGMO agenda to have us kicked off the park every game.
Another disgraceful performance from the ref.
Mason OUT!!
Riley OUT!!
PGMO OUT!!
Has Taylor been demoted yet?
Quincy
Good point about Taylor; does anyone know if he is reffing in the EPL this w/e?
Just got home – and yes there were two long “One Arsene Wenger” songs near the end.
It was good fun and a very positive crowd from the off.
And… we found the AAA man – and we’ve got a photo of him. He will be revealed shortly on Untold.
But for now, let’s enjoy two 4-1s in four days. Obviously I didn’t see it but those pundits on Sky must be having heart attacks.
Well done wenger, the team, and the fans for their conspicuous show of support. We beat twelve men today, Newcastle are a team on form with a lot of momentum, so a very good performance and result.
Great to see another talented youngster coming through, as well as some excellent performances by the regulars. And looked solid at the back for most of the game.
Waiting to see motd, but have been told that Chelsea got their usual ref favours, and that cahill has taken on the mantle of shearer, Gerrard and Rooney……ie the most ref protected player in English football, have been told yet again he should have been sent off but the ref thought different. We shall see very soon.
As for Taylor, he is fourth official in the Swansea spurs game, Walter has said this does not mean a demotion unfortunately.
Cant wait to hear MOTD somehow turn a convincing 4-1 Arsenal victory into a lucky win that’s just ‘papering over the cracks’.
Just like to add my respect to Pardew.
Nice one.
Mandy
“Waiting to see motd, but have been told that Chelsea got their usual ref favours, and that cahill has taken on the mantle of shearer, Gerrard and Rooney……ie the most ref protected player in English football, have been told yet again he should have been sent off but the ref thought different. We shall see”
Will we get a true representation of the game though?
Showed all the incidents that have been mentioned.
Cahil very lucky not to get a straight red for his initial challenge that got just a yellow.
Pulled up for a blatant dive and not booked. HOW?
Definite red for Hull though.
Lets see what the pundits have to say.
Pundits.
First focus on Hulls red. Agree ref had no choice.
Agree Cahil should of been sent off for initial challenge.
Agree all dives should of been cards so basically Cahil remaining on the field of play was a miracle.
All good then.
Begs the question why they don’t see it like that when our players are on the end of challenges and bad decisions like that?
We’ll find out if there eyes remain as clear when summarising our match.
From Arsene’s conference:
>> on Ramsey and Koscielny’s injuries…
> I have a better idea. Ramsey will be out for a few weeks and Koscielny as well. They will not be back next week.
—
Jamebug? Wasn’t it Jambug? Just curious.
I don’t know who at the BBC wrote the following:
> Birthday boys
> Santi Cazorla became the fourth different Arsenal player to score on his birthday in the Premier League after Yossi Benayoun, Robert Pires and Paul Merson.
> If I had to celebrate one of those birthday nights out, it would be Merse every time…
—
It would seem to me, that whoever wrote that, is not an Arsenal fan. Why Merson has to dish out so much crap as a pundit, …?
Comments about us all good.
Rightly highlighted Bellarin.
Rightly called out tiote for his assault on Alexis.
So I will have to eat my words.
‘MOTD’ and ‘Fair’ in the same sentence. Would you ‘Adam and Eve’ it.
Still, doesn’t alter the fact the referees made really poor calls, in Chelseas favour, and against us. No change there then !!
Gord
Thanks for that. Computer glitch and had to re enter info. Didn’t even notice.
That’s what happens when I post stone cold sober !!
Gord
Would have to be Bobby for me, if only for the fact he’d obviously bring his mates Titi and ‘Le Boss’.
You’re welcome Jambug.
—
The Daily Mail is running a story about future football of the EPL.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2872955/Premier-League-Friday-night-football-2016-no-overseas-games-vows-chief-executive-Richard-Scudamore.html
There will be football on Friday night, and no overseas games. That from Scudamore. I don’t have a feeling for whether Friday night EPL is good or bad, I don’t want the EPL to start playing outside of England and Wales. And it would be nice if Scudamore and Blatter found a different jobs as well (and I don’t mean that either of them should try to take the other person’s job).
I would also go with Pires Jambug. He has Arsenal in his blood. Nothing wrong with Benayoun, but he was just passing through. Merson I don’t know what is in his blood system.
Anyone thinking ManCity is still playing FFP games, with their extension of the “loan” of Lampard to ManCity (from left hand to right hand)?
Gord
Merson has Blue Blood in his veins, West London Blue !!
I just noticed that the “foul” that lead to the Newcastle goal was a foul called by the ref that he couldn’t see as he was standing with his back to the “foul”.
Number one rule for any ref: never, NEVER give something you didn’t see. Not that Mason mind the rules of course
All these dives today and not heard ‘cheat’ ‘disgrace’ ‘send him to Siberia’ once.
I suppose it’s just not quite as bad when it’s not an Arsenal player.
Can you just imagine the ‘shit storm’ if we had 2 players booked and one ‘let off’ for diving? It would be a National scandal !!
Jambug, that would make sense. Blood is often blue-ish, when it lacks oxygen.
Hmmmm….Pundits not liking the diving but actually laughing about it.
How times have changed. Or is it teams ?
OT: Other youths doing well
Atletico Madrid just signed a young man (19), who is just out of heart surgery.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30464385
An 18 year old scored a hat-trick in the Championship.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30356696
Congratulations to both young men!
Now we need to see some Arsenal youth getting hat-tricks in EPL or CL. 🙂
If you want to know if it was a foul when Welbeck scored you can look at the reaction from the Newcastle players in the area. Not one claiming a foul.
In reading a fair amount about Wenger, he does not seem to believe in either scoring a lot (if it is possible in a game), or in a need to score early. I have read scientific papers which are trying to analyze football, which suggest that the ability to score early in a game is a measure of power.
This season, Arsenal is tending to be able to score late in the game, when they need to. Which would be opposite of what the physicists assume is “power” in football.
I have read articles which talk about Mourinho doing things with respect to their change room which are beyond what is required for referees at Chelsea for home games.
Might a team in the EPL do things to the visiting team change room, to increase their chance of winning? Sure, Gord is paranoid is an obvious response. I am playing devil’s advocate here, is my response to being called paranoid.
There are 3 modern families of anesthetic gases. One family, is composed of a single member and has been around for a long time, that being nitrous oxide (laughing gas, N2O). It is said to have a slightly sweet odour. There is a family called fluranes (highly fluorinated, organic compounds). They are non-flammable. But there seems to be a set of posssible side effects which would telegraph that something odd is involved. And then we are left with another single member family, the heaviest non-radioactive nobel gas, xenon.
It was a surprise to me, that xenon is seeing use as an anesthetic. I did know that xenon does participate in some chemical reactions (for example, xenon hexoxide is one of the few, non-nitrogen bearing explosives). But it apparently is a useful anesthetic. It apparently is going to become widespread in Europe, as with proper air handling equipment, it is quite recyclable.
But, if you know the visiting team is slightly anesthetized at the beginning of the game, and/or the beginning of the second half, it would give the home team a slight advantage. 🙂 And who is going to test for xenon exposure?
Ahh. the wonders of science. 🙂
Protect Alexis from thugs+refshite!
Mason and Taylor OUT!
The beautiful game prevails!
oh, sorry,
and Adams and Tiote caged (literally)!
Quite amazing, motd quite critical of a couple refs , including the Chelsea helper, and even critical of our ref today……is it the telegraph, untold, or stirrings in the pgmol? Will cahill even get his karma before he maims some unfortunate player?
Surprised how much motd focused on Chelsea infringements. A bit of a first lately?. But not reading anything too positive into it!
Good to see them bigging up Bellerin he is going to be some player
I have no idea what the formal relationship is between Emirates247.com and Emirates. But Emirates247 has a report on the game. There is no hint in the report, that subpopulations such as the AAA exist, or that they might be involved in the negative advertising.
http://www.emirates247.com/sports/football/arsenal-dazzle-at-emirates-in-final-home-game-before-christmas-2014-12-14-1.573289
To me, this is a cop-out. Wenger and Arsenal have their hands tied. Their sponsor, especially through channels they own or control, can say whatever they want.
Does Emirates Airlines believe that “Arsenal Supporters” actually caused the problems at the Stoke train station? Does Emirates Airlines believe that there is a group of supporters, who have as a goal, to force Arsene Wenger away from Arsenal because he is not producing enough?
I watched the game on NBC stream and i had a very pleasant game. Lee Dixon was the commentator and he and his partner were very pro Arsenal, when they deserved it, and talked at when not, but pretty fair and neutral commentry.
//
I actually thought, what? We got a penalty?
All in all the ref, although making the usual mistakes, was not totally anti-Arsenal today, i wonder if this is the start of a little more fairer reffing?
Untold having an effect at last?
//
This team can perform, and look at who was playing allows us to wait(“patiently”) for them to start on the run to take us home, and hoping that today was that start.
@Mandy Dodd
I think the campaign to get Manu back to the top has started. Chelsea will suffer in the coming weeks.
Very entertaining game again. Well done Arsenal and Arsen Wenger.
I think it’s high time Arsen Wenger came out forcefully and protected his star player Alexis Sanchez.
In short succession we saw Cahill, Adams, Melo and Tiote put in a red card challenges on Alexis , and not a single red card was issued.
Now Melo’s tackle was of course outside of PL jurisdiction but the other three were not.
If we consider the fact Alexis has been our best player this season and one of the best three players in the whole league, it should be in the league’s best interest that he is protected.
Arsen Wenger doesn’t have to come out and say that there’s a anti- Arsenal bias going on, but he can certainly come out and say that Sanchez is being targeted and sooner or later he will get hurt.
Protecting the league’s best players should be in everyone’s interest, as they raise the league’s profile , profitability and international watchability.
I can’t honestly imagine Mourinho silently standing by if Hazard was getting similar treatment , or any other PL manager for that matter.
SAF was doing it when he thought Ronaldo wasn’t getting any protection, AVB was doing it when Bale was getting hacked to pieces by the likes of Charlie Adams and Co.
Coincidently both aforementioned players were divers of the highest order while Alexis is not. As a matter of fact he is probably the most honest player in the league and when he goes down, you know there’s been some real contact.
By not taking any action Arsen Wenger is failing to do his job of protecting his players.
To be far to Mr. Mason, I think he was unsighted and couldn’t see Tiote’s follow through, burying his studs in Alexis’ midriff, in which case the league should step in and punish him retroactively.
I think you could have a valid point, Para. Perhaps the love-in with chelski was partly driven by a desire to see them match/beat our invincibles record, and now that it’s no longer possible the media are starting to scrutinise them while shifting their ‘support’ elsewhere? Either way it’s still a very positive thing to see the chelski cheats called out on their cheating, they were getting bolder and worse. And frankly speaking I would prefer anyone else but Chelsea for the title.
Following up on Tom
—
Mike Riley: If you see any player approach an Arsenal player, close your eyes. Then you can honestly say you didn’t see the incident.
so does that mean they win tomorrow?
wooo looking forward to watching the match now! GOYG!
Tom
Your post above comes across as having a go at Wenger, and that’s really uncalled for. You say Wenger (and it’s Arsene, not Arsen; getting his name wrong once is excusable but 3 or 4 times is not) by silently standing by is failing to do his job, didn’t you see him take on mourinho a few weeks ago precisely for what you accuse him of failing to do? And you even leap to mason’s defence in the process! Anyway, it’s not really surprising you’re one of two to only actually criticise the manager for something beyond his control, of all the posts above. Just wondering if those that have accused you of being dishonest and disingenuous in the past may have had a point….
Personally I don’t believe Wenger speaking about it in the media will help, they’ll just twist it and turn it back on him somehow. After all, they ‘missed’ the opportunity to really put this in the spotlight after his scuffle with the despicable mourinho; even when the whole world could see what had made Wenger snap that day they chose to focus on how mourinho had got under Wenger’s skin, how Wenger had lost it, etc.
@Al, Tom always writes in code. He has 1/2 AAA DNA LOL
I just like to add, its the job of the referee to protect the players (all the players, not only the best) from being hurt by such bad fouls, its not Wenger job. Still we had to do something to stop those fouls on Alexis, or he will get hurt one day!
Just to add, it’s NOT Wenger’s job to protect Alexis, but it IS the ref’s job to do so. They’re the ones failing to do their job, NOT Wenger. Yesterday Wenger got everything he was supposed to do spot on, while mason DID not. Let’s be clear about that.
Va Cong
I realise that now 🙂
Yassin
OMG, your 4:40 post and mine are almost exactly the same, word for word!
First Monreal, now Debuchy. Masterful performance by both fullbacks when needed. Who says Arsenal don’t have defense? Debuchy had Cisse in his pockets. I still have no idea how our young rightback managed to neutralize a freek of nature like Ameobi and still played forward like the great Cafu. With Bellerin finally came out of the shell, our defense will be competitive once Kos (Bos) and Nacho are back. With birthday boy hitting top form as well as Alexis, Oliver and Danny boy complementing each other very well, things are looking wonderful especially if Ozil, Wilshere and Diaby comes back to the playground.
@ Al everything Arsene says gets twisted into him being a whinger then its glossed over that the players are brittle… sad but true story! 🙁
@ Walter thanks for the info on Bellerin and your prediction seems so true now! Oooh yeah! 😀
After the Galatsaray match I commented that you would not see a Premier League give us so much space. Lo and behold Newcastle do it today, much to my surprise. Hopefully more teams follow suit 😀
Happy for the team, Santi and the result. Its not going to be easy, but hopefully this result gives us the momentum and confidence we need to pick up points. Some key games to come over the coming weeks (Liverpool, West Ham, City, Southampton)
Awesome display, our injured return slowly and the game improves . There is only one Arsene Wenger.
The emergence of Bellerin is a good example of Wengers strategy in regard of the balance between youth player development and ‘ready made player’ purchase. If the ‘spend some effing money’ brigade had got their way further defensive players would have been bought during the summer and Bellerin would still be playing with the other youngsters. As it is he has been given his chance and grabbed it with the result that millions of pounds have been saved which is now available to spend on whichever player Wenger decides is necessary if for any given situation promotion from the academy is not viable. Coupled with the Jenkinson loan which has given his development such a boost we will soon be in a position of having an embarrassment of riches at right back and all at minimal cost to the club. Without the bottomless pit of money available to him this sensible and prudent approach is vital and we should commend Arsene for having the guts to stick to his guns and ignore the demands for him to spend, spend, spend. Wenger does indeed know best!!!
Al
‘Just to add, it’s NOT Wenger’s job to protect Alexis, but it IS the ref’s job to do so. They’re the ones failing to do their job, NOT Wenger. Yesterday Wenger got everything he was supposed to do spot on, while mason DID not. Let’s be clear about that’
Dear Al, yes I’m having a go at ARSENE Wenger with this particular aspect of management in mind.
You saying what you said above is just another example for how little you know about professional football . It is most defenetly a manager’s job to protect , stand up , and speak for his players , since he’s the only one with a mike being shoved in his face twice a week.
In your black and white world, it s perhaps impossible to praise someone for one thing and criticize them for another , but that’s what evaluating things is all about. No one is perfect at everything in life. Not me , you or Arsene Wenger.
How tall is the figurine of ARSENE Wenger you pray to each night by the way?
Tom,
has it worked for Arsène in the past? Speaking up for his players? Demanding protection? Did it work??
Look at the long list of injuries… it didn’t help at all.
The only thing that happened was that the media made fun of him, and said even more that the other teams should stick it up’m as we didn’t like it.
Al
I’m not making excuses for Mason either , but to quote the only resident referee here ‘ the referee can not call what he doesn’t see’ .
Now admittedly I have watched some six or seven games on Saturday without the benefit of replay, but if my memory serves me right Mason was totally unsighted when Alexis took Tiote’s studs in the gut.
If you want to see that as me sticking up for Mason then that’s fine , but that wasn’t my intention in the least.
Mason is a poor excuse for a referee and that’s my opinion of him.
Walter
The only reason it hasn’t worked for Arsene in the past is because he didn’t do it strategically but rather indiscriminately.
Every time resultes went against us in the past ,Arsene Wenger began his analysis with the referee. To his credit, in the last few seasons he has been very measured , too measured, but the damage has been done.
Ask any football fan who the whiniest manager in PL football is and the most likely answer will be Arsene Wenger, when in fact this hasn’t been for a couple of seasons now. As a matter of fact Arsen Wenger is the least complaining top manager in PL football right now. He complains less than Mourinho, Pelegrini and the whole host of lesser managers but he does this to the detriment of his team.
You have got to pick your spots, like at everything in life.
@Al,
hahaha that was word for word.
sorry, I woke up in the night, read the comments, commented and went back to sleep. Yes that is how addicted to Untold am I.
Surely we have the same mind, I know people around here more than I know my neighbours.
yassin someone else apart from Arsene should say alexia needs protection otherwise it won’t work.
@ Tom that has already been established by the media they call him wenger the whinger what do you think he should do so strategically it won’t come out as non whinging?
Did MotD show the foul on Sanchez in the corner of the box (I missed the first part of the game)? Would have thought a wrongly-not given penalty might have made the edit?
So Mason’s key wrong decisions:
Tiote red card MISS
Welbeck disallowed goal MISS
Sanchez penalty MISS?
Welbeck handball CORRECT (although having seen again, a little close for comfort)
Welbeck penalty CORRECT
Welbeck penalty red card MISS.
I don’t see how anyone can say that Mason had a good game? A whole catalogue of serious errors – mostly against Arsenal.
I’m not going to waste my time with the likes of Tom, he, she or it is the type that will blame our players even when they can see there are obvious discrepancies in the way our players and the opposing team players are treated; as an example, for picking up cautions for much much lesser infringements that the other team is afforded. Can he, she or it tell us if he/she/it recalls seeing mason give a verbal warning to an Arsenal player yesterday? Bellerin and The Ox were carded at the earliest hint of a foul. Yet he talked to Newcastle players on at least 3 occasions without carding them. The same goes for the media; Arsenal win one nil and they got lucky, the chelskis win by the same margin and that’s the mark of champions. Wenger complained, with justification, about a terrible decision and they labelled him a whinger, ferguson complained about a correct decision and they called it mind games. Now he/she/it wants us to believe Wenger will say anything that’ll change these spineless cheating cowards’ minds. Crazy.
Pete
No is the answer to your first question. I’m surprised not much is being made of that foul, but it is the type that breaks the metatarsal, and one where we might not see Sanchez line up in next game. There was also a borderline decision against Tiote on Giroud in the box.
@Va Cong,
Someone else aart from Wenger? Like who? The fans? Raising red cards in the game? Banners?
What makes me sad about yesterday win, is that the bad refereeing in the stoke match will go without punishment. Now at the end of the season, the fans will blame the team for this loss and point we lost the league because of it, and other similar ones, and forget about the refs.
Its amazing how refs just act like that so blatantly without caring about what we think. And its more amazing how we Arsenal fans still not get raged about it. What are we waiting for, another Ramsey/Diaby?Eduardo incident to wake up. Are we waiting for Sanchez to be broken, so we can get up. Leta do it now.
Al
He , she and it already has agreed with the consensus of this forum that we are getting screwed by the referees. But unlike you however, he , she and it thinks that there are ways to control/ manipulate the media or referees better than what is being done currently by Arsenal FC.
Great, great match by all involved. Simply superb.
Coming off like that in what seems to me as the single worst refereeing display since our win in the FA cup – makes it even better.
Mason was out there to get us. Not “influencing” the game – making sure that we don’t win.
Started with Tiote trying to tear Alexis a new lung; followed by not calling any fouls on him; Welbeck’s super goal cancelled; a yellow card to the Ox that seemed like nothing and was in fact nothing; the non-called penalty on Alexis; 2 non-existent fouls in the end of the first half to try and allow Newcastle to get back into the game; just didn’t end. And again – it wasn’t those annoying 50-50 calls that can be interpreted both ways: it was very important decisions that all worked in their favor.
So a big FUCK YOU to Mason you fat bald fuck.
After the very necessary fuck you to our dear ref, let’s talk about us:
Bellerin – man ! what a game he had. Speed, power, talent, attitude. Wasn’t afraid of anyone – and actually that was the collective spirit: No Fuckin Fear. And all of those who said he is still “raw”…
Debouchy at CB, Ox at DMF/CMF – both were very good despite not being very familiar with the position.
In fact Ox in that position was a constant threat – his physical game helps him win the ball, and then he has the ability to just carry the ball through the middle with endless passing options (Yaya Toure anyone?)
Alexis, Welbeck, Giroud, Santi – all had a very good game. And the thing was that they almost made no mistakes in their decisions. And to me that’s the best and most important thing.
See – a player can make a technical mistake; to mis-hit a pass (like the Ox in one of our most beautiful counter attacks) and can over-hit a shot or get it wide; but the decision is right. I can always live with those kinds of mistakes. However, making bad decisions isn’t, and I was happy to count only ONE bad decision (first half, Newcastle attack, Bellerin clears to Flamini who instead of hoofing it, tries a short pass which was intercepted by a Zebra shirt).
And to sum up my summary – Fatass Mason’s face when he called for the penalty – it was as if he was apologizing to Newcastle and saying “well it doesn’t really matter now”; capped up by Santi’s panenka shot. Priceless.
Now let’s all cross our fingers for a dull match @ Old Truffles; Loserpool to lead 1-0 till the very end only to concede a goal by a penalty (which will deflate them a bit before we travel there).
COYG !
WOO HOO ,HOO ! Yes ! Well done the lads . Kept their cool and fought till the end .
Up the Gunners !
@ TommieGun -December 14, 2014 at 11:43 am – Really wasn’t sure who to ‘support’ for tonight’s game , but your scenario seems the ‘logical’ way to go !
Va Cong
Simple. If you think there’s a concerted effort to discriminate against Arsenal , then you have to get serious about trying to combat the PGMO’S efforts.
You have to be prepared , cite factual information and use it against the media or Riley himself.
Examples are abound. Instead of trying to explain why Arsenal have more red cards than any other club during Wenger’s tenure , compile the number of red cards wrongly given to Arsenal players.
Just from memory the last two by Anthony Taylor given to Koscielny and Chambers were by all accounts ( pundits and popular opinion) incorrect.
Or even the example Al has given ; why was there no talking to Arsenal players before issuing cautions?
If you give factual information and ask hard but honest questions while at the same time being brutally honest about our own team shortcomings , then not many will accuse you of whining.
The fact that Arsenal FC totally ignored Adam’s foul on Sanchez is scandalous to say the least.
you do realize that referees are only human, right? Seems every post always has something negative to say about them and their performance. It’s part of the game, yet you always make it out to be the game, the reason for losing or drawing. It’s not healthy for anyone to harp on the way you do. It’s part of the game, always has been.
I’ve seen a few references to Cazorla’s penalty being a panenka. Sorry, I don’t grok panenka.
So, I went looking. The telegraph has an introduction, and Wikipedia has an article on Antonín Panenka.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/11292460/Arsenal-news-Santi-Cazorla-under-fire-over-panenka-penalty.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Panenka
Referees
From TSN
> The hosts should have been further ahead inside a minute, but referee Lee Mason wrongly penalized Danny Welbeck for a foul on Daryl Janmaat before putting the ball in the net.
There was only a single error by the referee in the game?
The Times of India:
> That was a warning sign for Arsenal, who were entitled to feel aggrieved after Mason awarded a free-kick rather than a penalty after Paul Dummett tripped Sanchez on the edge of his own area just before the interval.
Again, the referee only made a single error in the eyes of that “journalist”.
After too many pages of “news” articles searching for “epl referee” and looking at Arsenal oriented articles, I finally run across Metro.
https://metro.co.uk/2014/12/13/five-things-we-learned-from-arsenals-battering-of-newcastle-4986300/
I’ll pick a single quote, the article has many.
> No player will ever be sent off for a bad challenge on Alexis Sanchez
@ Gord – This is one bedtime story you’d enjoy !
http://www.gocomics.com/wumo/2013/12/18
Ernest Reed – you say “you always make it out…”
That implies you have read all our articles on referees. Now there are an awful lot of them, and they are not all the same, and I suspect some of the background stuff which shows that there is something seriously wrong with the way refereeing is organised are among those that have not been read by you.
The issue is not that referees make mistakes, but rather (among many other things) the organisation of refereeing is catastrophic and seems set to cause problems, the figures presented by PGMO are impossible to verify and actually look laughable, and our figures suggest that there is a clear bias in refereeing.
Indeed as a recent article pointed out, even the press are starting to pick up on this.
Go back and read some more, and then if you still hold your opinion, express it in relation not just to articles about referees in specific matches but our broader approaches to refereeing.
You might like to start with these
http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/39535
http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/39453
Brickfields
0100 1110 0110 1001 0110 0011 0110 0101 0010 0001
@ Gord – I do hope that means LOL or something to that effect ?
xxx
Brickfields
0100 1110 = N
0110 1001 = i
0110 0011 = c
0110 0101 = e
0010 0001 = !
Some interesting points. Take points like Walters that highlighting the treatment we get by refs exposes wenger and the club to ridicule, but I would also add that an employer in this country is legally responsible for the health and safety of his employees.
Unless there is something going on behind the scenes we don’t know about, it appears the club are way too accepting of all this. The point has been made, what other manager or club would put up with this? Surely there would be no harm in wenger stating that Alexis is being targeted.
It is not only wenger at the club who can, and should be doing more, I expect some action from Ivan.
I am convinced that a veiled threat may have been made to our top four status should too much chirping come out of the club on such matters.
Only conjecture, but wenger strikes me as someone who has been told by his employers to keep quite, and is doing so, perhaps working to rule almost under protest.
Wenger is very very protective of his players, his silence is strange, Ivan’s inaction, if that is what it is, even stranger. Maybe those who believe arsenal are too corporate have a point on this issue.
Utd getting help from the refs again, the second goal well offside.
But, they seem to score with every shot they get, that aside, they look poor.
“Figures Suggest”? You are not suggesting anything Tony, you are implying a deliberate act backed up by statistics that, quite frankly, are not worth the paper they are written on. Many a conspiracy theory begins this very way, LOL. All that I am saying is that they make mistakes and it happens. Get your business done on the pitch and the rest takes care of itself. A bit much, to be honest Tony.
Not a Santi story.
As Aaron Ramsey is form Wales, WalesOnline decided to investigate how hard it might be to replicate Aaron’s strike in the CL. There is a video in the article, I haven’t seen it.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/what-happened-local-cardiff-team-8286521
@Walter – I’m surprised that you think Mason was looking away from the foul. His back & front are the same – it’s only his ears that define his direction!! 😀
Menace, how are we supposed to tell which way his ears are pointing, when his head is so far up his own ass?
🙂
@Tom yes your statement a are fine. How do you project it so that everyone can see evidence and discuss this matter? MOTD? A new channel?
@yassin well fans can show that bit will cameras show that? The main issue is to get other clubs involved with more transparent decisions which have gone wrong. only then we all of these have been highlighted via better footage can we at the end of the season say wait hold on fuck does it even out we just got a tree trunk stuck up our arse!! pun intended…
@Mandy it is indeed very strange about wenger and Ivan. unless wenger knows something like when he was at managing with match fixing. only way is to get highlights of wring incident of all clubs in premier league and show how many wrong calls we get. and show also decisions which had no good viewing angles and ask why? only way is to show on sky or by sport. or news. documentary of some sort to expose the wrong doings.
Or a website showing highlights and a graph of Red and yellows that should have been called for all teams from pro refs and no bias can be shown for a season. like what you have done Walter bit for all teams only then can anything be done.
Va Cong
‘@Tom yes your statement a are fine. How do you project it so that everyone can see evidence and discuss this matter? MOTD? A new channel?’
No new channel needed. Like I said, you’ve got to be able to pick your moments. What better moment to complain about Sanchez being targeted and not getting any protection from referees, than after a comprehensive win ,when even the stounchest Arsene Wenger critic couldn’t find much to complain about.
Tom
“when even the stounchest Arsene Wenger critic couldn’t find much to complain about”
And then you woke up !!!
Jambug
At least I call it as I see it, while you by your own admission; ‘ refuse to ever criticize Arsena Wenger no matter what’ .
I wonder what approach is the more honest one.
Mine isn’t gonna help me get any friends on here but I’ll survive. 🙂
@Jambug is Tom a broken record?
Ernest Reed it is fine if you don’t believe the stats here. They have been built up over a number years by a range of referees undertaking reviews for us and for Referee Decisions. I think they are valid, you don’t. Fine. There are many other sites that you can read that are undoubtedly more to your taste.
I believe Untold ought to look at what happens in Switzerland.
We had an ‘aggression’ on the field this autumn. Don’t have the details, just the fact that the ‘victim’ who was badly hurt will go to court.
This is something that has happened here in the Ice Hockey championship.
I was not interested in the subjet, so sorry if I cannot give you results.
Fact is however that it would be interesting for Untold to consider the possibilities of such actions.
Wonder how a ref not acting on an action happening right in front of him (like the Sanchez aggression saturday) with bad consequences would feel if he has to go to court….pay lawyers…waste time justifying himself, etc etc…after all, maybe the fear of the trouble ahead (being a willing accomplice in an aggression, or being charged with refusal to protect or however it is called to let someone be attacked and just look on) could make them behave.
Maybe it is about time the issue is looked at from a different perspective ?
Anyway, thanks for your very interesting and thourough website, articles, research. I learn a lot