Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team
"I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art." A Wenger
By Tony Attwood Now here is a twist and a half. It is being reported in some of the stranger quarters in the footballing world that our Mesut is saying that for him to sign a new contract Arsenal will have to sign Julian Draxler of Wolfsburg. Of course it might be the case that …
Read More “Özil asks Arsenal to sign Draxler as part of contract deal and other tales”
WEST HAM UNITED vs. ARSENAL COMPETITION: English Premier League MATCH NO. 14 DATE: 3rd December 2016 VENUE: London Stadium (London, England) MATCH OFFICIALS: REFEREE: Craig Pawson 1st LINESMAN: Harry Lennard 2nd LINESMAN: Ian Hussin 4th OFFICIAL: Lee Mason First Half Fouls, Advantages, Cards, and Penalties Time Foul by Foul For Description & Decision Points 03:38 …
Read More “Ref Review: West Ham – Arsenal: an even bias score, miracles do happen”
By Tony Attwood Imagine that you go out of your front door tomorrow morning and find armed police and the military patrolling the streets where previously there was no such activity. Carefully you drive to work, noting the army digging bunkers and erecting barricades, patrols at every junction. You slow down to look for …
Read More “Football journalism has become a walled wonderland inherently incompatible with reality”
By Sir Hardly Anyone It is often said that Einstein commented that the definition of madness is doing something, finding it fails, and then doing it again. Einstein never said any such thing, but that doesn’t stop people claiming that he did over and over without checking the validity of their claim. It is in …
Read More “All the Arsenal transfers you might have missed and some that may yet happen”
By Walter Broeckx The future is the video ref. As we have been saying for many many years now. And in the FIFA Club World Cup they are busy testing the system. And from images I have seen I think it is a great way of getting rid of the bad behaviour we see on …
Read More “The video ref in action: a practical example of video refereeing in the Club World Cup”
By Tony Attwood All it took at the start of the season was a defeat by one goal at home to Liverpool and a goalless draw away to the champions (at that point yet to fall from their perch) for the aaa to orchestrate their “Wenger out” chants at Leicester. Which means despite all …
Read More “It’s not the defeat that counts, it’s what happens next”
By Walter Broeckx Arsenal with an almost unchanged team from the one that beat Stoke last Saturday. The only new player from the start was Hector Bellerin who started at right back. Gabriel who started at right back last weekend moved to the middle to replace Mustafi just as he did when Mustafi went off …
by Tony Attwood Mr Wenger has been in upbeat mood of late, saying, for example, “When you look at the teams around us, you can see that the margin of difference between the teams has shrunk a lot. So the way you respond in every single game is absolutely vital. “What is for sure is at …
Read More “Everton v Arsenal: the teams, the psychology, and Wenger copying Chapman”
By Tony Attwood Last month every media outlet this side of Proxima Centuri told us at least 15 times that November was Arsenal’s worst month. Only one outlet (this one) gave the reason why November was Arsenal’s worst month. The reason is that whereas in the olden days, the fixture list was drawn at random …
Read More “Everton v Arsenal: a case study of changing managers”
by Andrew Crawshaw Referee – Mark Clattenburg. Age 41 from Durham and FIFA Accredited Assistant 1 – Simon Bennett. From Staffordshire and FIFA Accredited Assistant 2 – Richard West. From East Yorkshire Fourth Official – Mike Dean. Age 48 from Mersyside This will be our third time this year we have had the ‘pleasure’ of …
Read More “Everton v Arsenal Tuesday 13 December 2016. The Match Officials”
Wenger May Not Be Special But He’s Definitely Something More … By Tai Emeka Obasi. Arsene Wenger is a man many get away with insulting, cajoling, taunting, etc… just because he’s too modest to dwell on unnecessary inanities. Few seasons ago, one man who hates the Arsenal manager with so much passion to promise …
Read More “Wenger May Not Be Special But He’s Definitely Something More …”
By Walter Broeckx. Test. Checking the cables. Is the internet working properly? CAN YOU READ ME? TEST 1 2 3 ? Okay. We read you over here on our side. Loud and clear. Cut the capitals will you. Welcome dear readers for our live match, er…, draw report of the CL draw today in Nyon, …
By Tony Attwood Topping the group in the pre-Christmas Champions League is something that a lot of fuss was made about, until Arsenal did it this year, when the story suddenly changed to one in which it was pointed out that we could be drawn against opposition that was just as tough as if we …
Read More “What are the actual benefits of topping the Champions League group this season?”
By Tony Attwood Over the last couple of days I have been asking my colleagues on Untold who work on the referee reports whether overall referee decisions have been improving during the course of the season. I had hoped that with our exposure of referee ineptitude and with the news that there might soon be …
Read More “Over half the important decisions made by Premier League referees are wrong.”
By Tony Attwood First, sorry I am late this morning. After the match yesterday, the underground system was in total chaos, with the gates closed against the crowds at both Arsenal and Finsbury Park stations. No one knew what was going on, no one bothered with announcements. And why should the authorities bother? We …
Read More “The most grotesque appalling display by a referee; the most disgraceful awful fans.”
By Walter Broeckx Again a lot of changes compared to our last match in the CL. But no changes compared to our last PL match. So we started with the same team that won at West Ham United. A change on the bench though as Bellerin took place on the bench after being out for …
Read More “Arsenal – Stoke 3-1: Theo, Özil and Iwobi cancell out Lee’s opener”
By Bulldog Drummond Arsène Wenger perhaps mindful of the contract negotiations with Alexis decided to make Alexis the key part to his interviews yesterday – particularly speaking about converting Alexis from a winger to a forward and how long it has taken. “I think he has found a good mixture,” Mr Wenger said. “He knows …
Read More “Arsenal v team whose supporters think it is cool to boo a player their man crippled”
by Andrew Crawshaw Referee – Lee Mason. Age 44 from Lancashire Assistant 1 – Simon Beck. From Bedfordshire and FIFA Accredited Assistant 2 – Mick McDonnough. From Tyne and Wear Fourth Official – P Tierney. Age 35 from Lancashire This will be the first time this year that Lee Mason has been in charge of …
Read More “Arsenal v Stoke Sat 10 December 2016 – The Match Officials”
By Tony Attwood The Guardian has the story, although it is tucked away as the 17th item down on the home page of its football coverage website. The Telegraph covered it as a possibility back in October but has had nothing since. The Independent has not touched it. CNN has a short piece. Sputnik …
Read More “At long last; legal action against Fifa over maltreatment of workers in Qatar begins”
By Tony Attwood This season there appears to have been a bit of an upsurge in goal scoring with the top six having knocked in 173 goals so far. The difference between the top club and the sixth club is 13 points. P W D L F A GD Pts 1 Chelsea 14 11 1 …
Read More “We can we learn after the first 14 games? A comparison with past years.”
By Tony Attwood In my little piece on the 36 passes that led to the second Arsenal goal on Tuesday I tentatively mentioned the psychological factors involved in making a good team become great, and then greater still. “Tentatively mentioned” because psychological factors are the exact antithesis of the “evidence of my own eyes” approach, …
Read More “The psychology index: how the way players feel influences how they play”
By Sir Hardly Anyone It must be difficult for sports editors when Arsenal win games, and doubly so when they start knocking in lots and lots of goals. Six against Ludogorets, five against West Ham, four against Basel, Sunderland and Hull… What makes it even tougher to take is when a few of these editors’ …
Read More “Arsenal to lose Özil and Alexis this summer as journalists ordered back on the job”
by the Referee Review Team 1: Referee Appointments and Results matchweek 12 Manchester United vs. Arsenal [1-1] Referee – Andre Marriner 1st Assistant Referee – Simon Beck 2nd Assistant Referee – Andy Garratt Fourth Official – Michael Oliver Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City [1-2] Referee – Robert Madley 1st Assistant Referee – Mick McDonough 2nd …
Read More “Referee Appointments and Results Matchweek #12 complete with video evidence”
by Andrew Crawshaw Edward Nketiah was born on May 30 1999 and is a 17 year old Striker. A lifetime Gooner, he joined Arsenal three years ago as a 14 year old schoolboy after being released by Chelsea. At the start of last season he became a first year scholar in our academy and is …
By Tony Attwood Can you imagine what the response would have been if it had all gone wrong last night? Arsene Wenger had the choice: go with a full blooded first team selection and not only aim for a win but hope that PSG stumbled, or put more back up players into the team and …
Read More “36 consecutive passes leading up to the second goal and the feelgood factor rises”
