By Walter Broeckx
Arsenal team at the start: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Iwobi, Aubameyang
On the beach: Cech, Koscielny, Elneny, Guendouzi, Willock, Saka, Lacazette
A first dangerous attempt from Liverpool after some 6 minutes when Salah tries to flick a shot but the ball goes wide. Arsenal keeping Liverpool mostly out of our penalty area. Mane tries to choke Lichtsteiner with putting his hands around his neck and gets away with no card. Iwobi intercepting a pass in midfield from Liverpool but his left footed shot was saved by the keeper. The resulting corner was flagged for offside when a dangerous ball was whipped in. Mustafi who tried to make contact was not offside. Arsenal win the ball back on our left flank. A move between Iwobi and Ramsey and Iwobi gave a cross from the left that was turned in by the sliding Maitland-Niles. GOAL! 0-1 to The Arsenal after 12 minutes.
Salah runs with the ball and a sliding from a defender seems to save the ball but it bounces favourable for Firminho when Lichtsteiner wants to clear but the ball hits Mustafi and falls for the Brazilian striker who can easily tap it in. 1-1 after 15 minutes.
Arsenal lose the ball and Firminho starts a solo run and he can score again. 2-1 after 16 minutes. Again a defenders mistake when we lost the ball in midfield where we shouldn’t have lost it.
Ramsey almost with a shooting chance but a defender could nick the ball away from him. Mane with a shot but an easy take for Leno. Leno then first on the ball when Liverpool try to play a long ball. Robertson pulls Maitland-Niles down who was on a promising run on the flank and gets a yellow card. Mustafi with the header after the free kick against the crossbar but he was also offside. Oliver then letting go a few high feet. This heats things up a bit and Torreira needs some treatment after a few strong challenges. Still 2-1 after 30 minutes.
Arsenal clear a corner but Liverpool use the long ball again in and Salah sends the ball in front of goal and Mane scores. 3-1 after 32 minutes.
Xhaka gets a yellow card for a late challenge on Robertson. Ramsey needing treatment after a contact with Wijnaldum. But he seems ok to continue. Maitland-Niles with a shooting chance from outside the penalty area but well over. Ramsey also has a shot but also over. Arsenal going forward a bit more and Liverpool counter and Salah goes down easily waiting for the contact as he can do so well and of course Oliver points to the spot. Salah scores. 4-1 after 46 minutes. Leno had a touch but couldn’t keep it out.
If you give goals away so cheaply like we do there is no point in hoping to get anyting at Liverpool.
Koscielny came in the team at half time in the place of Mustafi. Mane wiggles himself through almost but Sokratis and Leno can stop him. And then Leno stop Salah. Our defenders look too slow. Kolasinac goes down easily but he isn’t Salah. Ramsey with an effort that goes wide and then Aubameyang misses but the flag went up for offside. Leno with a good stop on a dangerous cross from Liverpool. Arsenal keep persisting in playing themselves in trouble near their own penalty area with playing too many short passes . Liverpool players don’t make fouls according to the ref. Not even a clear foul in our own penalty area…. Still 4-1 after 60 minutes.
Leno with a good save when Fabinho is clear and the flag stays down. Kolasinac then uses his arms a bit and of course Oliver puts the ball on the spot. Every contact from Arsenal is punished but the other way round Liverpool can use their body completely without being called back. Firminho scores from the spot. 5-1 after 65 minutes. The more replays you see the more you see how Lovren throws himself forward without that much contact….
After 70 minutes Lacazette comes on and Aubameyang goes off. Iwobi on the left flank but Ramsey with not enough contact on the ball to put it over the line. Meanwhile every millimeter offside from Arsenal is given but at the other end not. Surprise…. the ref gives a foul in favour of Arsenal! After having wrapped it up completely with two penalties and giving us nothing the moment of leveling the field is there I guess. After 80 minutes Guendzou comes on for Kolasinac. Not even a corner leads to getting in the Liverpool penalty area.
Lacazette goes down in the penalty area but hey what do you expect: right nothing given. There was a clear kick against his foot. Probably the cleares penalty decision of the night. Sokratis gets a yellow card.
Playing against Liverpool alone requires being without any mistakes. We made 2 clear mistakes. But then when you also have to play the ref who gave two soft penalties and didn’t give us a penalty you know you are up for a lost battle. Liverpool was the better team but needed our own mistakes to capatalise and then ref Oliver helping them out with his penalty decisions and then you get what you get.
Arsenal are gifting goals to Pool.
Poor defensive issues shown up by Liverpool. And we have another half to endure.
Why dont we take our defenders out ans play wothout them, since they dont look like they know what defendung is.
Who brought in thosw 2 who keeps making a mistake after another? We have to fix this..unbelievable
and that was a dive.
When two hands round the neck of an opponent does not draw a red card what chance is there of fair officiating?
I’ve been cleaning glassware. As I write this, there are 3 responses in this thread, two by a single person who has little positive to say. I bet when I hit enter and submit, there will be a whole slough of responses, all largely negative.
Menace, chances they will get two penalties from a dive
It’s in the referee’s contracts this year that Liverpool can’t be called for fouls or given sanctions in the form of cards or penalties. There is no point in betting against them winning the league
Its just another game, there are still 15 or so to go. This is a rebuilding year, we are suffering key injuries and defensive lapses, as well as a goal drought for the moment. Is there an Emery out crowd yet? I can see the whiners building up steam…..now that the 22 unbeaten run ended. Here’s where we sepearte the sheep from the rams, lacklustre whiny ¨supporters¨ who moan about every lost point as if it has decided the season…..but never show up to praise the Arsenaql when we are doing well. You losers are entitled babies and NOT true Gooners. I trust that emery will find the solution but it will take time…..so suck it up.
Andrew – the point is what use is there in buying tickets to watch football when it is so corrupt? I thought there was a chance the the PGMOL would be disbanded & changed but as it is still directing the game, it must be time to move away.
I think there is more joy in watching Badminton.
Since the 2009-2010 season (9.5 seasons) when Mike Riley took over PGMO, here is the list of PKs in Arsenal matches vs the Top 6
1) Liverpool – 4 pks, Arsenal – 3
2) Tottenham – 6 pks, Arsenal-1
3) Man City – 3 pks, Arsenal – 2
4) Chelsea – 4 pks, Arsenal – 0
5) Man United – 4 pks, Arsenal – 0
Total – 6 Pks for Arsenal, 21 AGAINST Arsenal
Notes
1) Arsenal and Liverpool each received PKs in the same game (April 2011). Arsenal in the 98′ and Liverpool awarded the equalizing PK in the 102′ (time should have been over)
2) Arsenal and Spurs received a PK each in same game (Dec 2018)
3) In 1/3 of the games (2) that Arsenal were awarded a penalty (6), their opponent was given a PK also (hence no advantage).
4) Tottenham, Chelsea, and United have received a combined 14 PKs to Arsenal’s 1 which was offset as mentioned in note 2
5) There has been a penalty called in 24 of the 96 matches (25%), Arsenal only gained an advantage in 3 of them! The 2 mentioned above (Spurs & Liv), and Arsenal also received a pk vs Man City when down 3-0 last March.
If it really all evened out, the PK split would have been closer to 50/50, than 80 against/20 for
We should remember that the only penalty we have had this season, and the only one included in the above figures with the scum, was for a blatant handball, not for a foul, whilst all the penalties against us this season, did someone say 7, have been for “fouls”.
One the ones awarded to Chel$ki resulted in the wrong player being sent off, and even then, if I recall correctly, the ball was going wide anyway
Has any team had 2 penalties against it in a game twice in a season?
I did not watch the game as I do not have BT and am pleased I did not.
Clearly, our defensive frailty was responsible for us being 3 1 down, but the 2 penalties, if they were soft and potentially dives, that must have knocked the stuffing out of the team.
Surely, the refs need to be better trained to sort out the genuine fouls from overreaction at being touched.
They should also make it clear that a penalty is only when the player falls as a direct consequence of the foul without any assistance by the player.
An extraordinary illustration of how influential a referee can be on a match, and how effective the media are at rewriting history to exaggerate a pre-conceived narrative. The influence isn’t remotely subtle any more, year after year of dubious penalty calls one way and never the other. Three penalties in one match, two dubiously given, and one definitely incorrectly not given.
I think I’ve had enough for a year. I’m an intelligent human being and, frankly, the way this sport is run is an insult to my intelligence. Good luck Arsenal, you’re going to need it.
The penalties were depressing. Basically, the three big decisions in the match went against us. And, we have a some key injuries…Having said that, we didn’t do enough to win the match. It’s fine to point out that we were hard done by but we should look at this as another motivator to get better. If there was smugness and complacency after our 23 match unbeaten streak, then this should point our noses down at the grindstone and help us get stronger.
Don’t lose sight of the choke hold on Lichsteiner by Mane in the early 5 minutes of the game!! Two hands on the throat of an opponent!! That should have been a straight red and the whole game would have been different. There is not a single mention of it on MOTD or in the news.
The amazing selective blindness goes on.
This year we have seen a new type of foul, namely assault on the neck of an opponent, which referees consider worthy of the award of a free kick, but not even a yellow card. (In my view, they are highly dangerous and should be sending off offences.)
I refer to the pulling of Guendozi hair and the throttling of Much stronger. What do they have in common? – both committed against Arsenal, of course
Lichsteiner.
Omg, which fans are you talking about? Don’t you think your anger/frustration is directed wrongly? These fans are not the Liverpool beating our team black and blue oh. And save you, there’s little whining going on here.
Guys give the refs a break, we’re not fooling anybody, everyone knows we were owned by Liverpool yesterday. It’s a measure of where our team is today. the trick is to quickly close that gap. I must say I felt we were closer than yesterday showed, but I believe yesterday showed what Emery had long said, and I hope it showed him how not to go about some things. Hopefully we are better off for the experience.
It’s ok mate you sacked Wenger and got your club back !
Strange that when Torreira is down injured and requires treatment BT sport provided no replays to reveal what happened to him. I’m sure the director in the gallery has all the footage they need to inform the viewers of what’s occurred on the pitch but chooses instead to show again the goals whilst the game is paused.
It is difficult to rationalise the sense in even watching this farce. Enjoy your handed to you on a plate glory Scousers, in the words of the great human and champion John Terry, you ‘deserve it!’
Sean Dyche last week condemned diving and said it should be eradicated from the game. Setting an example for the kids that play the game should be a priority. He forgot to mention the continued systematic fouling of our players, the blatant time wasting and lack of regard for our players’ safety by the referee. Two of their players should have been sent off, Cork and Barnes and an assault by Westwood on Kolasinac wasn’t even deemed worthy of a yellow card. Yesterday Harry Kane, captain of England, the media darling and awarded an MBE for who knows what, dived and was rightly booked, Salah again dived for his penalty, Lovren dived for the second penalty, Maddison dived for his penalty, but fortunately for Cardiff missed and on it goes. As much as I don’t care for Dyche and the way his team plays, he is correct in his statement. I appreciate that we are not averse to diving , falling over or simulation whatever you prefer, either and it is embarrassing to see players fall to the ground on the slightest touch. The media have only themselves to blaim for this culture, pundits like Savage started the ‘ if there is contact go to ground’ so pressuring the referees to award phantom fouls. Keith Hackett, a former head of referees, was asked to confirm on the radio the other day by Alan Brazil that Salah hadn’t dived against Newcastle as he and Simon Jordan disagreed. Hackett said on air to the amazement of Brazil that in his opinion it was definitely a dive and also Mark Halsey came on air to confirm later that he thought that Salah dived.
In our game yesterday we defensively were all over the place and there are many mitigating circumstances, injuries and a lack of top quality defenders in our squad, but at 3-1 coming up to half time we weren’t completely out of the game. Lacazette had a clear penalty turned down in the second half and who knows what might have happened. Unai Emery,tongue in cheek, mentioned VAR in his interview about the penalties but conveniently I don’t think that has been highlighted in any media outlet. Millwall fans sing ‘nobody likes us but we don’t care’, it seems that the referees and media are singing the same song to Arsenal.
The entire Arsenal defense doing a good imitation of the Steven Gerrard shuffle for their 2nd goal, but it’s the ref’s fault…okay!
To be honest I didn’t expect Arsenal to win and Liverpool at this stage is a much better team than Arsenal. I think they will win the league. But the refereeing was woeful, please bring in VAR.
I believe Arsenal’s defense lacked cohesion due to players keep having injuries and not enough time to understand each other, and it showed in this game. Mustafi just came back from injury, so hopefully he and Sokratis or Kos will be cohesive in the next few games.
What a bizarre conclusion to draw.
Funny, just read a Liverpool site and they’re on about lichsteiner’s elbow on Mane. On an Arsenal site, you guys are going on about Mane strangling lichsteiner. To be fair to the Liverpool guys they acknowledge that Mane’s strangling was probably a retaliation for the elbow that came earlier(6th/7th minute). But strangely on here there’s no acknowledgement of lichsteiner elbowing Mane. Hmmmm
Depressing to see us repeatedly disadvantaged by refereeing bias. Corruption is the only possible explanation.
@tony, I’m guessing you’re referring menace’s and the other guys conclusion that the ref was at fault for this one. Lol
Yes I suppose it is funny if you haven’t really read the context.
Nope
Each game that is played surely proves that corruption in endemic to the premier league.
What is the point of watching? The media are no better. ex footballers like Robbie “the pub drunk” Savage has NOTHING to offer. I now watch most football on TV in this country with the mute button on as the “experts” appear to be watching a different game to me. The referees make bad decision after bad decision and the I am told he is doing a good job. Is this an alternate reality they are conveying? Most games are easy to work out who is going to win after about 10 minutes of play. By this time you can work out which “interpretation” of the laws of the game are going to be used and for whose benefit. Very rarely does this not work.
I am not an Arsenal fan but I do know they are on the receiving end of most of the worst decisions.
The big problem is that the league is now so corrupt that sadly most young fans would not know what fairness is. They think it is right certain team can do as they please and that the rules are “interpreted” by referees for the benefit of whoever wants a certain result. If the PGMOB was open and honest we could see how they make decisions but they are not so this is the only conclusion one can come to.
This year reminds me of Leicesters “fairy tale” year – surely everyone realizes that was fixed don’t they?
So, this elbow they talk of, I’m sure if it existed the TV replays would be on a loop somewhere
I have just watched the highlights on Arsenal.com.
Undoubtedly Liverpool were the better team by a mile, but I must agree with so many here and on other blogs that I visit that both penalties were undeserved.
For the first one, looking at the slomo a few times, I could not see any contact sufficient for Salah to crumple down as he did. He went down to the right when, if there had been sufficient contact, it came from the right, so he should have fallen to the left, where the inertia would have taken him.
For the second, you can see that Louvren simply turned around to follow the ball out of the box and bumped into Kolasinak.
Interestingly, they did not show the double-handed assault the bloggists referred to by Mane, or the penalty that our friends say should have been given. Perhaps, they are instructed not to show anything controversial.
Without the penalties, we would have lost anyway, as I expected to happen, it just made the defeat look that much more comprehensive and leaves a bad taste in the mouth for Arsenal fans and further evidence that bad decisions do not “even themselves out by the end of the season”.
I spoke this morning with a fervent Liverpool friend of mine, who seemed a bit embarrassed at the penalties and regretted that there were no more players like Robbie Fowler who admitted it when he was not touched, although I remember a game against us, when the ref gave a penalty for a challenge by Seaman, I think it was, on Fowler, who then jumped up and ran to the ref to say that he had not been touched. The ref ignored him and they won, 1 0 because of the pealty which was scored.
As has been mentioned by others, I too have had enough. Exactly 50 years since I first got my season ticket, I won’t be renewing. The level of corruption has gone too far. Agreed Liverpool were better than us but what about those teams who haven’t been but have still stolen points as a result of the cheats at the pigmob. The only advice I can offer which has worked exceptionally well for me for two or three years is to check the opposition, look at the history of the referee and If the combination is correct bet on us conceding a red card and a penalty. I’ve won most of my bets this season!