By Bulldog Drummond
The always entertaining (if extraordinarily eccentric and flat-earth like) Football is Fixed website seems quite sure that matters involving Leicester also involve match fixing. Sadly their policy of not telling us how they have reached such a conclusion makes it hard to spot any reasoning or logic in their drawing of conclusions and these days the site reeks more of tin hats than anything else.
But of course with all the secrecy surrounding refereeing and the refusal of English football to acknowledge Uefa’s concerns about the unstoppable rise of match fixing, one never knows.
Back on planet earth, Leicester have been doing well. If we take league, league cup and FL Trophy matches into account they have been excellent both home and away they have won 10 and lost one (away to Liverpool) in their last 11. Just looking at league games it is six league wins and one defeat in the last seven.
They are also scoring a couple of goals a game or more (there were five against Newcastle and nine against Southampton in the match that Football is Fixed felt was indeed fixed). Matthew James is their only injury. For Arsenal, Physioroom have rather amusingly included Xhaka in the injury table, and then declared that he has no injury, while Ceballos was declared as having a small injury.
It is interesting (at least to me if not anyone else) that under Wenger Arsenal did rather better in the league than we are doing under Emery, and yet under Wenger Arsenal seemed to have a lot more injuries – so many in fact that the manager’s training techniques were blamed.
Against Leicester this century we have generally done quiet well in the league
| 26 Dec 2000 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 6-1 |
| 20 Jan 2001 | Leicester City v Arsenal | D | 0-0 |
| 25 Aug 2001 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 4-0 |
| 23 Jan 2002 | Leicester City v Arsenal | W | 1-3 |
| 06 Dec 2003 | Leicester City v Arsenal | D | 1-1 |
| 15 May 2004 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 2-1 |
| 31 Aug 2014 | Leicester City v Arsenal | D | 1-1 |
| 10 Feb 2015 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 2-1 |
| 26 Sep 2015 | Leicester City v Arsenal | W | 2-5 |
| 14 Feb 2016 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 2-1 |
| 20 Aug 2016 | Leicester City v Arsenal | D | 0-0 |
| 26 Apr 2017 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 1-0 |
| 11 Aug 2017 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 4-3 |
| 09 May 2018 | Leicester City v Arsenal | L | 3-1 |
| 22 Oct 2018 | Arsenal v Leicester City | W | 3-1 |
| 28 Apr 2019 | Leicester City v Arsenal | L | 3-0 |
But the two defeats in the last 16 games have in fact come in the last three, and both been away from home. And each time they have scored three. In fact in all of the last four games there have been three or more goals.
This is going to be tough. Maybe we could play a keeper, nine defenders and Martinelli on his own up front. The Stats Zone give us
Leno;
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Chambers, Sokratis, David Luiz, Tierney;
Guendouzi;
Torreira, Willock;
Ozil;
Lacazette, Aubameyang
Sports Mole go with
Leno
Bellerin, Sokratis, Luiz, Tierney
Guendouzi, Torreira
Pepe, Ozil Aubaymeygang
Lacazette
Talk Sprot on the other hand try this rather unusual combo
Leno
Mustafi Sokratis Luiz
Bellerin Tierney
Willock Guendouzi
Ozil
Lacazette Aubamyeyang
And here is a little thought. The Guardian leads with the statement that ” Arsenal are close to disarray, with a woeful away record,” which you might not disagree with. But the point is, when they do a preview of a Tottenham or Manchester United away game, do they also talk about a woeful away record?
I suspect not, but they should if one looks at the away table.
| Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
| 12 | Arsenal | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 5 |
| 13 | Manchester United | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 5 |
| 14 | Watford | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 5 |
| 15 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 3 |
| 18 | Burnley | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 3 |
| 19 | Everton | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 1 |
It might seem a trivial point, but it is just part of the ceaseless, endlessly repetitive knocking of Arsenal, in a way which other clubs do not get subjected to. I don’t know why the Guardian and other “outlets” do it, but do it, they certainly do. All the time.
With all the negativity around the club I see a thrashing at Leicester.
Long live the WOBS.
Wenger is holding us back they said….
I said like many others : No, Wenger is making us fight above our weight.
Getting rid of Wenger surely wasn’t the wisest thing to do it seems…I hope the WOB feel happy about the football we see.
https://www.facebook.com/GiveMeSport/photos/a.608037745910107/3024056570974867/?type=3&eid=ARAMtE-9fC-ykOBQYQfN3hq4sPsxnvCEI0HngORCqP9cJsQD-Ex_SC0GPygSO2pQ2uuEUZ1UAFuvRyXC&ifg=1
This is a heat map of our match against Vitoria in the EL. but it looks a lot like what I have seen in our PL matches. Just playing the ball around in our half or just around the half way line. No invention, no creativity, not going to the oppossitions goal….
I rather lose with Wengerball having 30 shots on goal but loossing on the odd counter attack than now having no shots on goal at all and seeing nothing from an attacking point of view. And that with 2 possible deadly strikers in the team….
As always some Arsenal fan(atics) thought the PGMOL just hated Le Prof now if they know they know but because they don’t know they won’t know. I dont hate Emery i just don’t like his tactics but if he brings in back the wingers Belerin and Miles he will servive but if he doesn’t he is doomed.
OT: VAR
Sports Nova is running an article, saying that the managers of the Top-6 EPL teams met with 😈 Mike Riley yesterday. Some of the teams and some of the managers were mentioned, there was no mentino of Arsenal in the article. Arsenal is only a “TAG” at the bottom.
Why are people reviving the WOB BS? Even with irony there does not seem to be even one practical purpose for doing this.
It’s so unnecessary and counter productive. DON’T DO IT!!!
If you have Wenger yearnings go into a dark room and self flagellate.
Gord
Top 6?
So I take it no seat for Spurs or Man Utd then ?
Walter @235
Exactly we have been saying that for years that Wenger is a genius keeping us near the top for 22 years against all odds but theses idiot WOBs at AFTV Gunner blog Legroan etc always ridiculed Wenger that he is keeping us back.
Now we are proven right will these idiots accept their mistake and say sorry to Wenger.
Not only was both ManU the team and the ManU manager mentioned in the article, I think they were mentioned more than once.
It was the “expected” (historical? some other adjective?) Top-6.
—-
I popped up the commentary on the spuds game early. The spuds had a yellow card with their first fowl on 2m. By the time both teams had 2 fouls, they both had 1 yellow. But, before the spuds got their second foul, they inflicted a treatment on their opposition with the PGMO idiot again seeing no reason for discipline.
Spuds 1 -0 up and the Blades equalise but VAR rules it out for off side about half a millimeter 5 passes before the shot at goal.
Absolute cheating PGMOL at it again.
Surprise surprise VAR has worked in Spurs favour yet again.
Sheff Utd goal ruled out.
OT: Spuds
I see the spud leg breaker scored on 58m..Sheffield United score to tie it up 2m later.
I see that I can’t read. It was a spud which needed the first treatment. Oops.
Oh look at that. Sheffield’s goal has been erased. VAR strikes again.
Sheff Utd equalise again.
Lets wait and see what VAR can do about this one ?
OT: Spuds
Is VAR going to erase another Sheffield goal?
VAR having a look. Well of course they are.
Another of those ‘offside by a toenail’ decisions. It’s impossible to tell exactly the positions of the players at the precise moment the ball is struck. I understand that Hawke Eye is developing some sort of 4D software to measure to a fraction of an inch.
It was close. Only 5 yards on side so the goal has to stand.
Surely they could of found something else. Maybe an illegal cross wind ?
VAR has just 10 minutes to snatch a victory. Sorry, meant Spurs have just 10 minutes to snatch a victory of course.
The point where the ball is kicked is probably more than 5mm wrong so the lines drawn are going to be wrong if outside 5mm. The whole system stinks because the reason for no goal is that Spurs didn’t have time to reset their defence before the next phase of play.
Such bollocks really need to come from corrupt decision making.
I see it is Kavanaugh here to screw up the day. I wonder who the twit in Stockley is?
XI:
Leno
Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Kolasinac
Torreira, Chambers, Guendouzi
Ozil
Lacazette, Aubameyang
Beach: Martinez, Tierney, Sokratis, Pepe, Willock, Martinelli, Saka
Chambers gets a go in midfield, and the lineup seems to have more young people (I could be imagining).
COYG!
Can we have a minutes silence for Spurs please after yet another dismal result.
They could finish the weekend in 14th place in the table.
I expect them and their manager to be well and truly slaughtered by the media. Or maybe not.
Looks like Chambers & Holding are our central defenders today. That’s a first and one to please the fans.
Predictably Arsenal get the first foul assigned to them. How long before we get the first yellow as well?
COYG!
Now this one is a better team selection hopefuly he doesn’t f… up in his substitutions.
Well guys, I have to go work outside for a bit. I’ve got 6+ inches of snow to move off the 1500 foot long driveway. You’ll have to cheer for me.
COYG!
Guendouzi could have given a pen but Ndidi definately had ball to hand contact. The new law says penalty. Why did VAR not pick it up? Corrupt PGMOL turning blind eyes at anything that suits.
Shearer is plundit here & hates Arsenal & referee Uria Renee.
We could be losing 2-1 (first half) on penalties, but the ref is being fair to both teams (so far)
Little doubt who the better built, better managed squad is at the moment. We’ve got some talent, but no balance. The international break really couldn’t come at a better time for us, here’s hoping that allows the manger (whether it’s Emery or someone else) a chance to figure out how to look at least adequate defensively without completely blunting our attack.
We have lost this one but i can take it in. We lost Honourably.
Good goals by Leicester but some officiating needs to be addressed. Bellerin gets a card for a Vardy dive & VAR is silent. Chilwell gets into Pepe & the ref ignores the blatant unsporting behaviour. It’s how it is.
Lost honourably??? You are joking of course Kampala.
Time to say Adios Unai. P45 on your desk.
Arteta and Freddie.
There is no defence this time quite literally. The players are so short of confidence. Still playing backwards even when losing. No idea.
It was sad to watch and listen to Alan Smith and Bill Leslie as well just to rub it in.
Exactly Walter. However, for me Emeryball is similar to the kind of football we played in the final Wenger years. King of the indecisive sideways football. Wenger needed to go as does Emery now, but I always argued that emery wasn’t the right man for the job. Under Wenger I felt the team had become complacent and lukewarm, what it needed was someone with fire, someone who had a reputation for winning and being aggressive at it. I felt we could have done more to go after Diego Simeone or Antonio conte. Today’s performance wasn’t too bad but I think we just have to acknowledge our deficiency in quality, something I doubt a coach like Simeone would stomach. A coach worth his salt coming to arsenal now would say I need players x,y,z or at least y,z. If you can’t give me that then by all means go after the Emerys of this world. If we let Emery go, we need to go in hard for a manager like Allegri
Not a very confident delivery of play from our boys. What’s going on? Our Coach cut a very pathetic figure towards the end of the match in a rain soaked overall. Can anyone make a sense out of what we are watching in AFC’s playing style?
The PigMob has had its filthy hands in every one of our matches but does it account for all the results we are having? You could have a very bad day at the office and still walk away from it believing that you did the best you could under the circumstances. Are our team really playing to all their strengths and that it was all a ‘bad day at the office’?
Twelve matches, five draws, three losses and four wins in the EPL. Looked at like this, one is tempted to say we are not doing so badly but with a minus 1 goal difference there is a cause for concern. 6th on the table means we are still among the ‘big six’. For how long?
The Untold call on today’s match that it would be a big asking to expect an Arsenal win is straight on the money. That prediction actually made me to lower my expectations of the outcome and am a bit less perturbed about the result. The Arsenal Board must look at how things can be fixed very quickly or brace up for more anti-Unai sloganeering in the media when the matter could be taken completely out of their hands.
Yilch,
no the difference is not just the results. In fact comparing the last 50 matches of Wenger and the first 50 of Emery we got more points in the last 50 of Wenger.
But in those last 50 matches we mostly had most possession, most shots and most chances. The one thing that didn’t go our was was the goals. But in those days we got caught on the counter a lot. That means we were attacking. Now we usually have fewer shots, fewer possession and can hardly create a chance in a match. If you look up the stats of those matches under Wenger and now the difference is very big.
I know that the results were frustrating but our football was still way better than what I see nowadays. And we started with the intent to go for the win. I really don’t know the intention we have at the start of a match.
@Walter, I think your stats about us dominating matches in Wenger’s last 50 is rewriting history. My assessment is that we just shaded matches in Wenger’s last 50. Remember we only got one point more in Wenger’s last 50 than Emery’s first 50. Emery can also be given the benefit of doubt seeing as this is a new team in a new league for him. In as much as I think he hasn’t done a satisfactory job, neither did Wenger in his last 50.
On a different subject, could we tempt Enrique to leave the Spanish national team? He would understand the pressure to win in a big club liked arsenal
@Walter, what did you think about Guendouzzi’s pull on Soyuncu in the box, seems like the refs and VAR let us off there even though at the end of the day we didnt make it count
Based on the current level of cold hard facts of Arsenal’s standing in the EPL, it is my view that the AFC Board would have no justification for sacking Unai after today’s poor results. But they do need to be heard making the right noises and come out publicly to back him while stoking the fire of accountability underneath. COYG.
Yilch as I was having a family dinner I couldn’t watch the match. I recorded it but to be honest I really don’t know if I want to suffer the pain of the match again. I might have a look at MOTD but even that I don’t know. I need a bit of a breather. Lucky there is an international break right now…
Aniejwe day another loss or draw which we should get accustomed to witnessing under this manager. He has no idea of what is going on and the players look lost. How long before the star players start to think about moving on?
I used to sneer at those who thought they knew better than the manager, based on their Fifa gaming skills. After the last few games I’ve become one of them.
This isn’t good, I can’t remember if Arsenal had a negative goal difference before? Please UE let start playing attacking football again, win or lose let put fear back into our opponents. Under AW opponents park the bus but I don’t see opponents doing it against UE team.
All those who are calling for the managers head will be disappointed as according to David Ornstein, one of the most reliable for Arsenal ‘gossip’, Emmery has the full backing of the board until the end of the season when an assessment will be made.
@Mick, I totally agree the manager should be given till the end of the season before the decision is communicated. However I think the decision should already be made by February and if it is to let him go, then contacts with suitable replacement should commence.
Also, I think you should be careful about goading those who want him out just because you read in the papers that he has the board’s support. In the final Wenger days Tony continued to Wenger out proponents, claiming they’re a small minority who have not been able to make any significant effect on club decision making in years despite repeatedly calling for Wenger’s sack. Then booom, from nowhere Wenger gets sacked and who does Tony then blame? You guessed it, the small, minority, insignificant nuisance that’s the WOB
*continued to taunt
I suspect that many of those who forced AW out of the club will no longer admit to it. It’s a typical modus operandi for people who think they know better but then get proven wrong.
Yilch
Why you come on here baffles me.
Your views are nearly always in direct contrast to our hosts and a majority of the regulars.
You constantly snipe at Wenger on a blogg that obviously had an overriding admiration for the man right up to his departure.
You are like a Tory at a Labour rally constantly moaning about what’s being said.
It’s just weird mate, plain weird.
Whatever floats you boat I suppose.
Yilch
You accuse me of goading for a perfectly reasonable observation yet you persistently come on here with usually opposite views to most as Nitram has pointed out.
Now that’s what I call goading.
Man U and Wolves heading for wins thus pushing Spurs into fourteenth place.
I doubt the media will be crucifying Spurs like they are us.
@mick, maybe goading is the wrong word to have used. I certainly don’t mean to accuse you of anything. I was only trying to say don’t be too excited when you read that the board has backed emery till the end of the season, things may still take a different turn depending on how the season goes. I only cited the example of how things changed in Wenger’s final season.
Yilch
OK, no worries.
@Martin, I do disagree with a few of the commonly held views on the site like how we are not doing better because the ref and everyone else have an issue with us(I believe we are doing as well as our quality dictates we should, as shown by our level when we compete in Europe); or that we’ve been too poor to compete over the years (it’s my belief that it’s been our own decision to spend as little as possible, instead believing Wenger can make champs out of raw talents). There are a few more I don’t deny it. And I express my difference of opinion without insults and with as much logic/ evidence as I can reasonably muster. However I believe untold covers much more than the few areas where we disagree, more often than not I don’t see the need to comment on matters where we are fully in agreement. Except you’d prefer I just come to the comments section and type “yes sir, I agree” or something like that. I only feel the need to express an opinion when it hasn’t been previously expressed, or when such an opinion is being challenged, in which case lending my voice to it ought to strengthen it. Also, I have nothing against Wenger, he’s the greatest we ever had. I don’t know where your “snipes against him” come from. I only believe his last years were not as good as his earlier years. You make many excuses for that, I don’t agree with many of those excuses, and since that is in debate, I’d rather judge based on the only objective facts available -results on the pitch.
Having said these, I have a few questions for you;
1. Why do you always have an issue with persons with alternate opinions on this blog? If I remember well you’ve often quarreled with such people, case in point a certain tomp I believe
2. Do you think it makes for an interesting blog when everyone goes along with the group opinion?
3. Is it strange for adults to disagree on points, argue them logically and at the end if still holding their views, then agree to disagree?
But to be fair, indeed I was taunting Tony there. Just the same way he did often to those of us who argued that it was time for Wenger to go and underrated the feelings of discontent. Only to turn around and blame us for forcing the great man out. I doubt tony would mind my teasing though, he certainly hasn’t spared any opportunity to remind us that we should have been mindful what we wished for
Yilch
It doesn’t change the fact that frequenting a blogg of which you disagree with it’s fundamental views on Wenger, Referees, the Media, Finances, and just about everything else, is just plain weird.
Whatever your views, you are entitled to them, it is why you feel the need to express them here when there are so many other bloggs that would welcome you with open arms that baffles me.
To use another analogy, most people who enjoy Rock music go to Rock concerts, they don’t go to folk concerts and start whinging about every artist that comes on and every song they sing do they, well not unless they just want an argument they don’t.
Is that you Yilch, do you just want an argument or are you trying to save us from Rock music and turn us in to ‘Folkies’ ?
You tell me because given the amount of alternative venues available I think I know why your here, and it’s not to enjoy the music.
But as I said, whatever floats your boat.
@nitram, I do not agree with your analogy bro. The site(as evident by what it says on it’s mast) is an arsenal blog not a Wenger blog. There’s a big difference. Just like CR7 fans don’t necessarily have to be juve fans. Granted a lot of posters on the site are Wenger fans(I am too, I don’t understand why saying his time at arsenal was up has to mean I hate him), but its first and foremost an arsenal blog. So a better analogy would have been going to a rock concert and arguing that cold play is better than green day despite the majority arguing otherwise.
But then again even if a spurs fan came on the blog and argued that spurs were eminently better than arsenal, would you stab him with a knife? I won’t bro
I’d say let’s just agree to disagree
Yilch
I may of done but I don’t remember saying you ‘hate’ Wenger ?
In fact I doubt you ‘hate’ anyone at Arsenal or on here, all I’ve said is that you disagree with just about all the underpinning views of the bloggs founders and a majority of its regular posters and as such I find it weird why you chose to hang out here, and nothing you have said alters my view that I find that a bit weird.
Alas you seem determined to stick around and show us the error of our ways.
I can’t wait.
@nitram, enough about me. Let’s talk arsenal bro