Bulldog Drummond continues his review of the Arsenal v Chelsea game
The most important thing of course is that we score against Chelsea. Because if we don’t it will six league games without scoring against them – equalling our worst record ever in the PL, which is six games without a goal between 1997 and 2000 against Liverpool!
Last season it was 0-0 at the Ems which more or less gave Chelsea the title. Although of course we did actually score in the Community Shield thanks to the Ox, back in August at Wembley.
And come to think of it, we won that game. But it doesn’t count. Cos it’s not a Trophy. (Well it was for me, but one has to bow to the superior knowledge of the aaa and their friends in blue). [Are you feeling all right Bulldog? – Tony]
Anyway here’s the table and form….
| H | O | M | E | A | W | A | Y | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Form | ||||
| Arsenal | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 15 | +16 | 44 | WLWWDD | |||
| Chelsea | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 15 | -3 | 25 | WDDWDD |
In the form column the latest games are on the right. So although it is indeed true that Chelsea are unbeaten in the last six, it is actually four draws and two wins (10 points) against Arsenal’s three wins and two draws (11 points).
In other words, even during their “Great Improvement” (rather like Mao’s Great Leap Forwards) we’re still edging further ahead.
Chelsea have won two games away from home out of ten. Arsenal have won seven games at home out of ten. Arsenal’s goal difference at home is +10. Chelsea’s away goal difference is -4.
Four of Chelsea’s six league wins this season have come against teams in the bottom eight, with the others against a Crystal Palace side that was losing a spot of momentum and an Arsenal team reduced to nine men, while Chelsea were boosted to 12 by the support of the referee and a sending off so insane that even the ridiculous FA had to give in and rescind it.
As for the teams, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil should both be fit and Mohamed Elneny will probably be on the bench, maybe making his debut in the next round of the cup. Eden Hazard is back in training and might start or will at least be on the bench.
I can’t do the physioroom injury list at the moment because something very odd has happened to their site as they are showing only Jack as an injury. Until a week ago each time I checked their list accorded with Untold’s records, so I don’t know what they are up to.
There is another site that does injuries – premierinjuries.com but they’ve gone the other way…
| The man | The injury | The gruesome details | Returning… |
| Santi Cazorla | Knee Injury | Lateral Knee Ligament Sprain – LCL Injury | 01/03/2016 |
| Jack Wilshere | Calf/Shin/Heel Injury | Fibula Fracture | 27/02/2016 |
| Francis Coquelin | Knee Injury | Medial Knee Ligament Injury – MCL Injury | 07/02/2016 |
| Danny Welbeck | Knee Injury | Knee Surgery | 07/02/2016 |
| Mesut Ozil | Ankle/Foot Injury | Foot Injury | 24/01/2016 |
| Alexis Sanchez | Other | Lacking Match Fitness | 24/01/2016 |
So they have Ozil and Alexis coming out of injury, but include Coquelin because he’s not match fit – which is a bit different from being injured. I wonder if Santi will be able to force his way into the team when he comes back?
Anyway onto the discipline table and would you know it, we is bottom of the league. Actually I do like this approach because it gives
- Caution 4 pts
- Denial of a goal scoring opportunity or dismissal for 2 cautions 10 pts
- Violent conduct, serious foul play, spitting or offensive and abusive language 12 pts
Surprisingly it is provided by the FA so one point to them for doing it. It does seem to accord with the experience of our referee analysts too which is why I thought the FA might suppress it. But maybe the FA are no longer friends with PGMO? Now that would be something.
But I don’t think Stoke had 12 points added for the offensive language of their crowd when they played Arsenal, but they should have done. That would be fun too.
However look not only at Arsenal’s position at the foot of the table but just how far behind we are. WBA are twice as indisciplined as Arsenal – but have you ever heard that on Sky? Chelsea are 70% more indisciplined than Arsenal. Even Man U just one place above Arsenal are 38% more indisciplined than Arsenal.
| Team | Games | Cautions | Reds | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion | 26 | 53 | 3 | 246 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 27 | 54 | 0 | 216 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 25 | 45 | 3 | 212 |
| 4 | Watford | 24 | 44 | 3 | 212 |
| 5 | Stoke City | 28 | 39 | 5 | 200* |
| 6 | Sunderland AFC | 25 | 45 | 2 | 200 |
| 7 | Norwich City | 26 | 41 | 3 | 196 |
| 8 | Liverpool! | 28 | 46 | 1 | 194 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 25 | 47 | 0 | 188 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 25 | 39 | 3 | 186 |
| 11 | Southampton | 26 | 37 | 3 | 178 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 27 | 44 | 0 | 176 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 26 | 40 | 1 | 170 |
| 14 | Everton | 28 | 35 | 2 | 162 |
| 15 | Manchester City | 27 | 40 | 0 | 160 |
| 16 | West Ham United | 24 | 31 | 4 | 158 |
| 17 | Swansea City | 25 | 39 | 1 | 156 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 26 | 36 | 1 | 154 |
| 19 | Manchester United | 25 | 38 | 0 | 152 |
| 20 | Arsenal | 25 | 25 | 2 | 110 |
* Plus 10 for offensive chanting at the Stoke Arsenal game.
Mr Wenger said before the weekend, “Even if Chelsea are not in the best position, look at their squad. It’s a big game because of the quality of the players on the pitch. We play at the Emirates and know how important it will be to win this game.”
And by and large the feeling is for another Arsenal home win – 2-1 is the pundits favourite score it seems.
Here’s some of the funny ol’ bits and pieces the papers like to present…
- Arsenal have won 7 of their last 8 home matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in their last 3 home matches against Chelsea in all competitions.
- Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 7 matches against Arsenal in all competitions.
- Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 matches in the Premier League.
- Chelsea are undefeated in their last 6 matches in the Premier League.
- Chelsea are undefeated in 9 of their last 10 matches against Arsenal in all competitions.
And …
- Mesut Ozil has never scored or set up a goal in seven appearances against Chelsea.
What’s interesting is that a lot of the reviewers have spoken about “Chelsea’s defensive woes” using exactly the same language as they used earlier in the season about “Arsenal’s defensive woes.” How odd!
An anniversary of a different kind
Here’s what the Daily Express was saying just one year ago…
Anyway back to reality we find that
- Petr Cech has kept 10 Premier League clean sheets this season – equal top with Joe Hart after 22 matches.
- Chelsea are 27 points worse off than at the same stage of last season.
Here’s the team (maybe)
Cech
Bellerin Mertesacker Koscielny Monreal
Flamini Ramsey
Campbell Ozil Sánchez
Giroud
On the beach… Pick seven from, Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Chambers, Elneny, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reine-Adelaide, Iwobi, Walcott
I’ve dropped Theo to give him a shake up, and if that happens, I’d bring him on for Sanchez in the second half, which ought to scare the shit out of Chelsea, force them into multiple fouls which the ref will ignore… Oh no, hang on, that won’t work. They do that anyway.
Good preview, it’s really time to fix our record against them. This season really looks different, even with the stones the PiGMOB representatives keep tied to our feet we’re still able to produce results when it matters. I know, a lot of things might still go wrong, but… oh well, I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t an optimist 🙂 COYG!
Funny how Mr Pawson ref’d the West Ham vs Man City compared to Arsenal vs Stoke bookings and imo a softish penalty (hope I got the ref right) also hope we are not playing against 12
COYG
I think the lads are going to be up for it. Wonder if ElNeny will start?
Come on Arsenal, Come on.
The final and upward push starts here – come on guys , show us your stuff ! 3-0 for me .
Up the Gunners !
What no red cards for Man Utd ( Fellaini’s elbows ? Rooney – well , just being Rooney ; Man City (Toure’s lounges ? And the rest of their defensive tackling ! ) or Spurs ( for Vertongen and Rose’ leg slashes & pushings and pullings ?)
The refs must be blind or incompetent or bent !
Slightly OT.
If what I read is true then Mourinho has made a written application for the Man U manager’s position before it’s even become vacant.
How sick is that!
The lesson .
In the days of the Wild West, there was a young cowboy who wanted more than anything to be the greatest gunfighter in the world. He practiced every minute of his spare time, but he knew that he wasn’t yet first-rate and that there must be something he was doing wrong.
Sitting in a saloon one Saturday night, he recognized an elderly man standing at the bar who — in his day — had the reputation of being the fastest gun in the West. The young cowboy took a place next to the old-timer, bought him a drink and told him the story of his great ambition. “Do you think you could give me some tips?” he asked.
The old man looked him up and down and said, “Well, for one thing, you’re wearing your gun too high. Tie the holster a little lower down on your leg.”
“Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the young man.
“Sure will,” replied the old-timer.
The young man did as he was told, stood up, whipped out his 44 and shot the bow tie off the piano player.
“That’s terrific!” said the hot shot. “Got any more tips for me?”
“Yep,” said the old man. “Cut a notch out of your holster where the hammer hits it. That’ll give you a smoother draw.”
“Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the younger man.
“You bet it will,” said the old-timer.
The young man took out his knife, cut the notch, stood up, drew his gun in a blur, then shot a cufflink off the piano player.
“Wow!” exclaimed the cowboy. “I’m learnin’ somethin’ here. Got any more tips?”
The old man pointed to a large can in a corner of the saloon. “See that axle grease over there? Coat your gun with it.”
The young man went over to the can and smeared some of the grease on the barrel of his gun.
“No,” said the old-timer, “I mean smear it all over the gun, handle and all.”
“Will that make me a better gunfighter?” asked the young man.
The Old Timer said,
“No, but when Wyatt Earp gets done playing the piano, he’s gonna shove that gun up your ass, and it won’t hurt as much if it’s all greased!”
Think it will be tough today, don’t expect any favours but can see us winning……perhaps Theo’s pace can help us here. The home crowd will be important, but I am sure they will need no invitation to help the players out for this one.
As for the Desperate One his agent has denied Jose sent any such letter to Utd……but believe anything Mendes says at your peril.
The Dull One does seem in a pretty perilous position at OT though, just cannot understand why he makes some good players play like that? It seems the players cannot understand it either. But still expect them to make the top four.
I don’t think he’ll start Alexis as ‘1st game back’ players often take a game or two to get back into their stride. Alexis may well be the exception that proves the rule but I still think he’s more likely to come on later, preferably to get our 3rd goal and making the game ‘safe’.
Also I don’t expect Elneny to start but there’s a chance he’ll come on later if we’re ahead. Confidence is an important part of the game (see Gervinho) and having him finish his first game as a winner could have long term benefits.
BUT I COULD BE WRONG!!!
Mandy, Part of the problem for LVG is that any manager there is expected to use Rooney a lot and although he can be an amazing player, it’s only when he can be bothered to turn up. He’s a bit like a less talented ‘Zlatan’. He does a lot more work than Zlatan but still rarely meets his ‘pay grade’ but when he shines then he is a match winner as we’ve felt on more than one occasion. But he doesn’t shine often…
Brickfields, what about the 2 penalties each against Smalling and Pieters every game, that aren’t given…. It really shows how cr4p the refs are when these guys get away with rugby tactics while defending every single corner…
Agree Andy…..and then the shipping out of potential goal scorers in the shape of RVP and Hernandes.
And expecting a decent, but very pricy nineteen year old to take up some of the slack
Ok RVP is past his best …..but I would have kept him
But what gets me, their MF seems devoid of any attacking intent, their backs don’t seem to get forward, without a decent keeper, they would be perhaps nearer where Chelsea are.
Baffling…..amusing in equal measure.
As I say, still expect them to finish in the top four …just , but what a chance for Leicester , the Spuds or West Ham to get into the ECL,though I expect some of them to falter, the Bielsaball the Spuds play will exhaust them and let them down at a time of the season when we traditionally get
stronger….a lot stronger……
I was a bit disappointed that Leicester drew The Spuds in the Cup. I had been hoping that they both had a decent run In it, which would then have effected their league form for both of them… So the Spuddies end up with more cup games and Thursday nights while the Foxes only have the league to worry about…
Mandy
Saw you mention penalties on another thread. A topic never too far from my thoughts, particularly this year when we’ve such a good chance in the league and when penalties can make such a difference in tight situations.
When I dip my toe into watching other leagues it feels like a very regular occurrence that the biggest teams contesting the title get a lot of penalties, often at key moments. Real Madrid alone probably account for a lot of that impression as they seem to get penalties with extraordinary frequency.
Anyway, if the stats back that up, it’s as it should be. The conclusion of a book I read a while back (Numbers Game?) was that of course it should be like that, for the simple reason top teams attack more than the rest of the pack.
Anyway, I had a look over the available pen stats for the prem.
Thirteen and a half seasons starting from 2002-3, and, you know what, the figures are not that suspicious. Of the seven teams in the league for all that period we finished fifth (on pen difference.)
Chelsea 78/37 (+41)
Man Utd 76/36 (+40)
Liverpool 80/48 (+32)
Man City 71/47 (+24)
Arsenal 72/53 (+19
Everton 50/48 (+2)
Spurs 57/59 (-2)
Poor Spurs. They’re the ones who should feel hard done by. But then again, that explanation, which is very reasonable, explains it. We attacked a lot more than them and Everton, and if there’s quite a significant difference between us and the leading two, well, they were probably the two best teams in that period and, it appears, they were sounder in defence. Anyway, nothing that remarkable there. City have done well to get such good stats given they were an unremarkable often struggling team for half of the time in question but, hell, it was a remarkable transformation and they do attack a lot.
So there we go, despite our impressions of being very hard done by, the long term stats which, as usual, are the best guide, suggest not.
But I suppose you could have a little look at more recent but still long term trends. I mean, the refs of 13 years ago are gone, the organisation controlling them is different. Here are the stats for 5 years (from 2009-10 to 13/14)
Chelsea 38/16 (+22)
Man utd 36/15 (+21)
Man city 35/17 (+18)
Liverpool 34/24 (+10)
Everton 21/16 (+5)
Fulham 20/16 (+4)
Sunderland 26/23 (+3)
Spurs 21/24 (-3)
Stoke 21/30 (-9)
Aston Villa 21/31 (-10)
Arsenal 19/31 (-12)
So Mike Riley, who took over the reigns in the summer of 2009, was one unlucky charm for us. From not having a negative score for pens for at least 7 years (it may have been many more), we had five on the bounce.
Now Chelsea, Utd and, probably, City were more successful teams than us in those years, gathering more points and, I expect, scoring more and conceding less than us each year, so by the ‘he who attacks most’ theory they should have been better than us over the long term, but about twice as good at both ‘earning pens’ and not conceding them?… that seems far too much. Then there’s, well, did Stoke, Villa, Sunderland et al attack as much or a little more and defend less desperately?
Anyway, our luck changed last year (7/2) and has stayed better this year (2/0), so, who knows, maybe it’s just about being better attackers and cleaner defenders now, maybe if there’s a key call today we’ve the exact same chance of getting it as any other team.
Rich, over the 13.5 seasons I’m pretty certain we’ve been more attacking than a number of the teams (most of them even) above us in both those tables.
The Chavs have never been a particularly attacking team (in this period) but they have had quite a few attacking players that also like to dive.
If the rules were strictly applied Theo would get at least 1 penalty every game. If they were applied fairly (rather than ‘strictly’) he’d probably get about 1 every game or two but he knows he won’t so he really tries to stay on his feet and regain the ball (as can be seen from a number of his best goals).
Whereas Hazard knows that if he trips over his own feet then he’ll get a penalty……
Interesting stats Rich.
Just seems we don’t get the pens we should, quite a few this season being a case in point.
And that we have not had as many pens as some this year…..but that’s perception rather than backed up by stats.
Have to be careful with Hazard today!
Rich – check article 43333 (I think, from memory)
Andy Mack
Oh, I agree, don’t worry. Not about Theo deserving a pen every game but with us attacking as much as anyone over the years.
The figures in those first five years of Riley are simply ludicrous, and totally in keeping with the way we have been refereed in that time. We almost literally have the same stats as two notably ferocious defensive teams who were heavily focused on defence in that time and who, undoubtedly, attacked a whole lot less by every measure. Our pen stats are those of a team fighting for their lives to stave off relegation, not a team who finished in the top four each time.
All that before you even consider when penalties occurred. My guess, based only on memory and the like, is that not many of ours occurred against top four teams; a lot of those we got would have been when a couple ahead or a couple behind, very few would have been the best ones to get-i.e for a late winner, on a day we were struggling,etc.
While with those against us I’d guess it has been more like the reverse, with quite a few coming vs top four teams, pens that have involved sendings off, late ones which altered the result,etc
I laid out my case the way I did as I thought it was the best way to present the facts on this occasion. Was going for pure stats instead of my normal mix of ‘I think that’ and an attempt to back that up with examples, so thought the tone I took went best with that.
As for the last paragraph, I don’t think for a second we have the same chance as other teams of the key decisions going our way.
Anyway, time to buckle up. Normal nerves. Normal belief there’ll be no generous gifts which can be so helpful in these games. Normal fear we’ll get screwed. Fingers crossed it’s just a bit poor instead of a lot worse.
@ Andy Mack January 24, 2016 at 12:02 pm – We have seen them not given , as in the words of the expert commentator , ” There’s not enough contact in it in my opinion !” , but doesn’t give his opinion if it was a foul or not .
Just like being a little pregnant !
Come on gunners.
Flamini!!!
Glorious dive!!!…
Hahahahahahahaha
It’s always maximum punishment against our players. Saw Demichelis get just a yellow v west ham yesterday in similar conditions…
Are we ever going to play a match with 11 v Chelsea at all????
Following some commentaries while looking at numbers.
I gather Flamini should have seen yellow. McNulty has lost the reason for laws, as he think Clattenburg is correct because it is too early in the game to give a yellow.
Sports Mole shows a pic Alexis posted to Instagram, of himself “on the beach”.
Uggh, a man short already? It’s going to be a long game.
COYG!
just logged on to see shot head costa score, for fuck sake its gonna be a long climb with this referring what you guys have said…
Blatant dive from Costa (what a surprise) but am I the only one seeing his foul on Per before the pass, which lead to Mertesacker being late?
Bit early yet, but if we don’t get back into this soon I can see Sanchez coming on for Walcott
Vince
You are correct, but Costa is allowed to cheat.
From what I’ve seen, it was a clear red card. Costa would have been one-on-one with Čech if Mertesacker hadn’t stopped him. Flamini was at fault as he let Willian to make a pass.
Yes it was a foul, worthy of a red. But the point is other teams are allowed to get away with this sort of thing(city v west ham yesterday). Arsenal players arent allowed any room for error at all, not even a millimetre.
Chelsea might be shit, with everyone beating them left right and centre but when they play Arsenal they win. And each time Arsenal either concede a penalty or have a player sent off with 80 minutes or so remaining. I fucking hate this league, the media and all the so called fucking pundits who can’t be man enough to call a spade a spade. No point in following this fucking corrupt league. We’re English we’re not corrupt my ass, anyone that can’t see this is either an idiot or needs to go get their eyes checked.
More like this…come on gunners.
We can do it with 10 men.
Josif you must be watching a different match.
Forgive me for making a logical conclusion but Costa would have had a clear goal-scoring opportunity. He is a c.nt but he is not stupid to dive when he could have scored.
Its a clear dive. If Mertesacker had, ….no Flamini!!!..
Clear dive by Costa, no contact at all by Mertesacker. We are probably robbed again. Thanks Mr. Mark “Best Ref in England” Clattenburg.
Don’t worry, we can still win this.
Josif
no … i think he is pretty clever as all chlencie fuckface bitches…
and 10 men arsenal is a proof of that
Some question among various commentary as to whether Mertesacker touched Costa. I don’t know, I am just reading about things.
The BBC is certainly doing their best to get as many AAA twits into the commentary as they can.
COYG!
Josif : That’s where you are wrong. Costa, like a lot of players, are trained to take a dive in any situation, the fact that he could have a goal-scoring opportunity doesn’t matter at all…
But anyway, how can you seriously say that wasn’t a dive. The replay clearly shows absolutely no contact, and he actually even took a step after Per tackle before falling to the ground
I have to say that I thought Costa cleared Mert and his momentum after landing caused him to fall.
Josif – Costa fouled Mert before he ran on to get the ball & then dive without being touched. The bastard is a cheat & the Ref didn’t see the initial foul. The assumption when a guy rolls like Costa is that he was shot.
It’s unbelievable, the commentators look at the replays who clearly show that Costa dived blatantly and say that the ref got his decision spot on. How can one lie with a straight face like that?
It was a clear dive.
Proof: look at Costa do a flying squirrel impression after he passes Mertesacker.
I’m usually a bit relaxed over the referee, but this looked like a dive to me and Clattenburg was conned
Serge – Costa dived. He is a cheat. Don’t get fooled like the PGMO try to fool everyone that they are fair. The initial foul on Mert in the center circle shoud have been called.
Commentators don’t even ‘see’ the initial foul!!
Menace
Yeah I watched it again at half time, a dive
why was Mertesacker not concentrating on the tackle and instead checking the linesman ? stupid decision. and why take off Giroud ? another stupid decision. there are so few tackles on Chelski players, they are playing thru us with ease …….. long way yet, just hope we can get back into this……
I think wenger made a mistake taking giroud off, he’s our leading goal scorer, should have taken Walcott off.
Giroud was carrying aninjury – thanks to Sakho of the Dippers.
So there was no contact?? Sorry for agreeing it was a red (switched off immediately after the incident and then read Josif’s comment… Still not watching btw). This is unacceptable. The refs know Costa is a cheat, he cheated last time against us, and yet they are quick to penalise us without having had a clear view of what took place, involving a serial cheat?? That shows they were very keen to do us, waiting for the slightest opportunity. The media lapdogs endorse it, we get screwed and are supposed to just accept that?? Fucking joke.
Ooooooooooo…..
Come on.
Menace commentators chose not to mention the initial foul.
I haven’t seen the replay of the incident, I’ll wait after the game to see it.
Anyway, Diego Costa should have been booked for punching the corner flag and before that for an open dissent after an offside rule. That’s two yellow cards not given.
If Fabregas dived when Koscielny barged at him, he should have been booked. If not, then Clattenburg should have pointed to the spot.
Red or no red, how does Costa get to the ball in the box with 3 defenders around him? Piss poor. You can’t switch off and you can’t let their only offensive threat score. Period.
Al
I agree with your post except that the media are not just lapdogs, the are full partners in the FA/PGMO crimes!
Like you I am very angry just now – I shouldn’t be – but we always get severely cheated by the Chelski/PGMO combination & I am ready for a good rant!
Mikel only a yellow?
@goonersince72 : Because Kos was kicked by Costa on the initial cross, and the defense took a few second to reorganize itself
Flamini!!!!
kindly just fuk off clatterberg and costa you cheating twat. plus the fuking linesmen
You don’t deserve to play the game if you are looking to send your fellow professional off by simulation.
Unlucky lads, we could have still won, but we missed the chances we had.
I stand by my previous post. There was only one goal in the match. Should Costa have scored?
A sad day for the game & EPL. This has put English football back another 10 years.
If Referees cannot see contact then don’t give a red card.
Sadly predictable.
There will be media silence from some, others will have a good old laugh about the hold Costa has over Arsenal.
Howard Webb will say Costa did dive but the ref was right to show red.
Poor individual performances will take the focus, the AAA will love the Spuds even more.
Yes, our points haul in the last three games has been below what they targeted.
Yet, we are very close to the top, and have players coming back.
But one fact remains
WE WERE CHEATED AGAIN BY CHELSEA AND THE REF TODAY
I hope the club embarrass the FA and PGMOL by getting that card overturned but lightening does not strike twice, at least not if it is in any way in Arsenals favour
Chelsea both games, stoke, southampton, wet brom,etc…
To all Arsenal fans, if we are not going to stand for this now, dont come end of May and say we lost the league because of Wenger, player X, injury Y,etc…..
To me another 3 pts lost…
BTW, the red card, should have been a penalty call for a handball in Chelsea penalty box, so instead of us gaining advantage, they did. But surely no one would notice as no replay was shown.
Great effort. You wouldn’t have believed it was 10 against 11 second half. Every game Arsenal play they have to climb a mountain.
So fifteen games to go, three points off the top. This squad, minus Sanchez, has kept them at the top since Sanchez was taken out at Norwich.
Bellerin is starting to look superb. What was starting to happen between him and Sanchez when Sanchez came on, you think, wait a minute here, this could go places.
In my book, if Arsenal FC don’t react to constant referees’ mistakes at our expense, they are accomplices. As simple as that. Bloody Tony Pulis has guts to call Mike Dean to complain about the treatment and to publicly say how that helped him.
Read this as you want but from my point of view, forged after years of watching politicians, business people and others making shocking deals, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s all down to the fact Arsenal FC have accepted their role of a naive beauty in FA-PGMO-Sky fiasco called Premiership.
Arsenal will play Everton on Saturday 12.45 pm. That match will be played after our visit to Barcelona on Wednesday night. It’s not happening for the first time – we had played Napoli on Wednesday night before our trip to Etihad (2013-14).
Where is an official reaction?
Chins up everyone.
I thought we were terrific in the second half and showed fantastic spirit. We had more chances than Chelsea and deserved to get the draw but for some reason the ball never seems to run for us against Chelsea, something always happens to bugger our game plan up.
Well done to the 10 men and now I can see us going on a good run starting next week in the cup.
Bjt
True, the media are full partners in crime. As Mandy said, this will now be spinner to say Costa has a hold over us, never mind the way he gets about achieving that, and that he’s cheated us out of six points this season.
Just did a quick scan of the Web, and only a handful of less known publications have mentioned Costa’s dive. Seen a replay on Vine, no contact whatsoever. If we didn’t have a more than willing ref this would not have happened. Cheated again.
I always worry about the pgmol effect when we are top , or take on the mantle of favourites, you just know what is coming.
For all their faults, Chelsea are very adept at parking the bus, so very hard to do much with ten men, though no lack of effort.
Walter, can you tell me why Mikel wasn’t red carded for his deliberate forearm smash in Sanchez throat.
I was chasing numbers more than following commentary today. I support Arsenal.
We had snow (15cm ?) a couple of days ago, and I am still working on my driveway (about 400-500m long, maybe 10m wide). I am going to go outside and clear some more snow.
But, the last comment I read at the BBC site, was yet another Arsenal “supporter”, whinging. He (probably) said the reason Arsenal won’t win is because of the last 3 games. He is not a supporter because of his attitude. But the time frame is about right, I will say 1 week.
Arsenal is perhaps the most skillful team in England. The PGMO is the most corruption filled football officiating organization in Europe. All teams know that given a fair chance and a good bounce, Arsenal can win any game with ease. All teams also know that they will be the recipients of phantom fouls called against Arsenal, and that some fouls their players commit on Arsenal players will be dealt with less severely than they should, and may be ignored outright. Furthermore, they know the The FA will not investigate this. Consequently, teams prepare as best as they can to “not lose” to Arsenal, whereas with other teams they are more likely to play “their game” (assuming they have a game outside of not losing). Arsenal goes to Stoke, and gets a tie. Leicester plays Stoke a week later, and wins.
It would be nice if The FA would discipline PGMO. It would be nice if PGMO would fairly officiate games. It would be nice if Arsenal got a few more good bounces.
Arsenal are still the team I want to win, and I support them.
AAA, whingers and Peirs Morgan go jump in a very cold lake.
COYG!
Watching the analysis & before the goal, Costa kicks Koscelny who falls to the floor, when he attempts to kick the ball. Once again nobody sees it. Amazing!!
Agree Josif, and Wenger is no shrinking violet when it comes to calling out bent/biases/incompetent refs, but my guess, he has either been silenced by the club, or he knows speaking out can either be futile, or even make things worse.
But I do hope they try and get that card rescinded.
Arsenals job is to keep quiet, and in return, be rewarded with lots of money, a top four place, cups…..but please keep out of title races
But we are not out of it yet, not by a long way.
Leicester have some serious fixtures coming up, and City do not look so great.
And the our cavalry is riding into view, one of them arrived in time for the second half of this game
But to win the title, we will have to beat the pgmol as well as opponents.
Game spoiled by cheating Costa and that red from now ‘towing the line’ Clattenburg. Fantastic physical effort from the boys, but just nothing went for us in the second half. Come on AW, appeal the sending off.
Menace, a link please to the Costa kick, if you have any
Walcott needs to change his boots, slipping around the pitch.
Wenger the perennial looser against Chelsea.
Wenger is just a crap manager. Sorry but there is no other way to describe him.
Give Wenger the full team of Barca or Bayern he will bottle it against Chelsea.
What a disgraceful manager. Ohhh
Wenger out.
Message for Peirs Morgan “FUCK OFF.”
We are all disappointed at the Arsenal missing this opportunity to maintain their EPL lead BUT it is after all ONLY one game and there are some great opportunities to regain their position coming up. What worries me is that we seem to be shooting blanks recently, even with 10 men, against a team that defensively has been weak in defense all season.
Our biggest threat now will be the Spuds, who seem to be on a roll. IF we can beat them, then we will have taken a step towards our goal of winning the league. The good news is that other challengers will drop points and hopefully we will avoid that.
As someone said, we are competing against 4-5 other EPL title challengers AND the PGMOB, so every game we play against 12 to 15 opponents, depending on how the assistants see things as well. I remain optimistic about our remaining games…..and so should every true Gooner. The aaa will of course celebrate this loss as proof positive that we are doomed….and the media are already baying the news that AFC’s title challenge is over!
@Mandy Dodd
“but my guess, he has either been silenced by the club, or he knows speaking out can either be futile, or even make things worse.
But I do hope they try and get that card rescinded.
Arsenals job is to keep quiet, and in return, be rewarded with lots of money, a top four place, cups…..but please keep out of title races”
If this is true, then I’m going to put my clown shoes on and forget about spending my time on Arsenal. If someone accepts to be a victim, then who am I to spend so much precious time of my life to right the wrongs.
@Mick
Lee Dixon explained that. He didn’t wave his arm at Sanchez. He hit him there because Sanchez is small.
So now we know.
Omgarsenal
spot on brother.
@Alex – talking shit!!!
Can clearly see there was no contact here
Sorry Yassin no link – I’m watching on Starsports in India.
Cannot prove it is true Josif, but just a suspicion.
I know when Wenger used to speak out against refs, things would get worse for a while.
I supposed it is a difficult thing to take on, they would have to openly accuse refs of god knows what, that is difficult to prove, and huge legal ramifications.
There is a hell of a lot of money made in the English game on the perception that all is clean and above board, any hot blooded passionate French manager that rocks that boat would need a lot of proof.
I think Wenger is well capable of taking this on, but the execs….and the owner , who is a money an might take a more pragmatic view.
And nobody likes a whistle blower……just look at the way promising young manager Mike Newell was drummed out of the game for saying a little too much
Really hope I am wrong by the way!
Ah – I see the first of the aaaa (anti Arsenal Arsenal assholes) i.e. Alex, has crawled out from under some slimy stone.
Alex – take your unclean ass back under the fertilizer!
sorry forgot ot push the publish button and came back after dinner to see I forgot.
The match report is online now
And wether the sending off was correct or not just this: no way Clattenburg could have seen it from his position. I would have given a red card also if I was the ref on the pitch.
9/10 for the dive…no contact but honestly can’t blame the ref for that because it was close and it was a very good dive…it looked like contact at full speed…..could rescind the red, though.
No worries Menace, I will look for one on the net.
Asking about what the club should do, but what should we do? go to all other sites, other than this and see how there is no one pissed of the dive….No one.
colario,
That is so true. Mikel had no idea Sanchez will be so small, and even if Alexis were a bit taller, he had hoped to catch him in the throat, not in the face. #sarcasm
Colario:
Lee Dixon is a closet Manu supporter.
//
We know the opposition, it’s nothing new, 11 players plus refs and media, we need to devise strategies against them in order to be successfull when our usual game is disrupted.
//
I do sense they are not going to allow Arsenal to win PL. They will “love” the idea of Leiscester, an underdog winning PL and then shout, “isn’t our PL wonderful? Anybody can win it.”
@Mandy – that’s why I mentioned Pulis. Bloody Pulis who has given nothing but a rugby style to English football has more right to call the ref and gets a different treatment than Arsene Wenger who has been writing the history of English football for 20 years.
But I guess Accomplice FC don’t mind as long as money pours in.
Yes, Pulis is an interesting example Josif.
His teams get away with a lot, especially Bet365 Stoke. Pulis is a leading light in the League Managers Association, wonder if this helps him.
But take your point, if he can open his mouth why can’t Wenger. Can only assume Arsenal are playing for higher stakes, with higher rewards, top four has been very important to the club in recent years.
@WalterBroeckx : Honestly I don’t agree with this. I would agree to say Clattenburg has no way to know for sure if they were a contact or not (and a contact doesn’t necessary mean a foul)
However, a top referee should be able to see that Costa fall clearly started way after the tackle, and that he was throwing himself to the ground in a theatrical way. Based on that, he has to know that was a dive
I just look forward to the day Arsene retires and writes a book about his time at Arsenal, and details his belief and knowledge of underhand corruption ride in England…