Sooooo… VAR. Let’s talk about that. Looking kind of good, no? I’m watching Sweden vs Korea at the moment. There was a massive penalty shout, the ref missed it, he realised it might have been an error, he runs over to the giant screen and calls it within 30 seconds. Minimally invasive, accurate, and it might have given Sweden a vital 2 points they may not have picked up.
Like I’ve always preached on here, don’t fight technology, just work out how to use it better. How anyone can deny that augmenting human decision making with replays is anything outside a good thing is beyond me. If you can change the fuel and the tyres of an F1 car in 8 seconds, you can certainly work out how to get a decent replay into a ref so he can make an accurate decision.
Sure, there are going to be mistakes, but if you can reduce that number by 75%, the game is better for it. It’s simply not an argument to say football is better with more errors. I’m glad to see that FIFA are getting it right. Hopefully, the Bundesliga and the Premier League can work out how to take it to the next level.
World Cup has been pretty interesting. Mexico dropped a dazzling display yesterday, beating the champs 1-0. Mesut was rumoured to be out of contention before the game, his meeting with wannabe dictator, Recep Erdogan, was not met with enthusiasm from German fans nor Joachim Low. When it came down to it, Joachim Low couldn’t let the bromance die. It’s like a better version of Wenger and Alex Song. Still, it didn’t help. The Germans looked pedestrian and were cut to shreds by an inventive Mexico. Leaving Sane at home looks quite the error at this second.
We were all Swiss for an evening, watching Xhaka and Lichtsteiner work hard to equalize against a star-studded Brazilian side. Coutinho scored an outrageous goal after the Swiss let him roam free on the edge of the box. Arsene Wenger apparently quipped that Lichtsteiner wasn’t quick enough to get forward, a bit of a barb at the new regime. I thought the 34-year-old had a pretty decent game looking after Neymar and Marcelo down his side. Xhaka had a ponderous first half, his mobility really is an issue. he was playing in a pairing with Behrami who looked to be more of the enforcer. He grew into the second half as the Swiss took to beasting Neymar.
Can you imagine the headlines around Neymar this morning if he’d been English?
- Neymar’s new hairstyle inspires a flock of shite performance
- Neymar spent $565 on his haircut, shame of Brazil
- Neymar refused to listen to teamtalk as he preened wild haircut
I gotta say, I loved that both Neymar and Messi had later freekicks they botched. Ronaldo really led the way for pressure football. That said, he did well picking on De Gea at his absolute weakest.
Back to Ozil and Xhaka. It’s not a unique view to think these two are the most under-appreciated players in football. It’s comfort intellect people belch out to make themselves feel like they’re part of a special club. Opening an Opta stats pack and picking two numbers you like doesn’t paint a full picture. If you’re genuine in your view that both of those two showered themselves in glory last season, you need to get out the spreadsheets. Ozil was average last night, Xhaka was ok… we should expect more from both next season if we want to push on. There’s no second reality in football, you’re either doing it, or you’re not. Both of those guys didn’t do it last season, stop trying to alter our 6th placed reality.
ENNNNNGGGGUUUUURRRRRLLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDDDD play today.
I don’t have any real expectations for anything special. That said, I do like the cut of Southgate’s jib. I think he has interesting opinions on football, I don’t think he’s stupid and he’s clearly fine doing things his way. Hopefully the boys drop an exciting performance against a strong Tunisia side.
They should ban African Nations from the World Cup.
A bunch of frauds and pussies.
“A bunch of frauds and pussies.”
And chicken lovers!
Tunisians showed a lot of heart and courage but they were too limited against a promising and then disappointing England.
VAR-Y good – lol
it was terrible tonight – anyone would think the VAR team were anti-english
“anyone would think the VAR team were anti-english…”
Anyone stupid.
london gunner
It was a free header…..dipshit
Yeah the VAR was shit, some of the grappling on England players in the area was slap in the face obvious.
Redtruth
Can you be more polite thanks
RLC is a decent midfielder. Should be starting for this English side. Too bad he’s a chav cunt.
Tripper looked pretty average. Shift young to the right & play Rose or Bertrand(he is there?).
Tunisia go through all that trouble in qualifying then stink the place out in the Finals………………..Pathetic weak mentality
Trash trolling from you Cutter
Though loftus cheek did OK when he came on, to me he looked a bit porky… Needs to lose half a stone I reckon.
And whats with these anti african team comments from that idiot Red
Calm down Red, that’s better for your health my friend
It was so obvious Tunisia played for a draw ..silly wankers.
Though loftus cheek did OK when he came on, to me he looked a bit porky… Needs to lose half a stone I reckon.
A quick Google has him weighting less than Xhaka. Not that any of it matters
He weighs less than xhaka does he….. Next you will be telling me that he weighs less than özil.
He weighs less than xhaka does he….. Next you will be telling me that he weighs less than özil.
Not a chance that lad is nothing but skin and bone and blanket.
Group G is by far the weakest in the tournament.
it pains me that England won but Tunisia were too timid to explore the weakness in the English defence. what was Walker doing with his elbow up. I don’t like england and I don’t think they will go far beyond round of 16 but Kane did well to bury the only chances that came his way. England deserve the win but looked uninspiring.
A win is a win is a win.
As per the Premier league website
Loftus cheek
Nationality England
Age 22
Date of Birth 23/01/1996
Height 191cm
Weight 88kg
Xhaka
Age 25
Date of Birth 27/09/1992
Height 185cm
Weight 82kg
Rumours we’re signing Leno tomorrow
Southgate got out of jail thanks to Kane.
Why oh why did he keep Dele Ali on for so long?
He could hardly move.
Take the result though and amazingly got my prediction correct.
That’s from Bild
I just gave it a quick Google. Still though 6kg more? What a fatty
England ground out a win
How long have we been wanting Arsenal to do that ?
From an Arsenal supporter.
Thank christ for Harry Kane.
Karim
Saw that. Announcement tomorrow apparently, Torreira still talking (but we don’t want to disrupt his WC).
Ornstein says as much anyhow
Heard Torreira agreed terms we just need to do a medical. Caglar might be done soon too. Might have to wait until the world cup finishes before other business is done like Gelson. Also heard that we may have made a move for Fabian of Betis but it looks like he’s going to Napoli. Don’t know how legit the story is but I love the player he’s class
Would like to see Vardy against Panama.
Drop Sterling.
Ali won’t be fit.
Graham
Agree. Vardy needs a run out
Vardy might have buried those first half chances
Agree. I was hoping to see Vardy being subbed in to make us more incisive up front. Hope we do not underestimate Panama and I hope that we are a bit more clinical up front than we were today.
Just saw someone tweet that Emery is a big fan of Lacazette.. Rates him highly
Guess no one told him you can’t have two 50m pound strikers in the same team
Guardiola didn’t want lacazette….or Mourinho….or Klopp…….or Conte.
Beavis at it again.
People ridiculed him for the Ronaldo comments, well there’s a brace to shut a few up. 😀
Just saw someone tweet that Emery is a big fan of Lacazette.. Rates him highly Guess no one told him you can’t have two 50m pound strikers in the same team
He also said he wanted to build the team around Auba
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-make-hector-bellerin-one-12738585
No real message about the sponge
Oh dear Lord
Guess who it is saying Lacazette is one of Emerys favourites. None other than John Cross.
John Cross who has a track record of always getting his facts wrong about Arsenal.
John Cross who spews so many made up stories that there has been a movement amongst Arsenal fans on Twitter to block him en masse.
This is the guy Receding Hairline is believing.
I will listen to John cross a 1000 times…even listen to his dog a few times before I take anything u have to say seriously Gambon
You are a joke
Someone wanted Lacazette so there u have it.. Apparently all players not signed by Pep Klopp and Conte are not good players
Such wisdom wasted on a blog
Simeone not someone… I think I officially hate phones now
“He also said he wanted to build the team around Auba”
What happened to building the team around Ramsey?
What happened to building the team around Ramsey?
I always assumed it was a typo to be honest. Probably meant to say Auba and really good players instead of Ramsey. No mention of your boy Ozil though. Can’t be good for his depression that
“Özil is a world cup winner and was probably their best player, does that exempt him from criticism….. Of course not.” Which year? Ozil has been nothing but consistent and you know it. If he was no one would question him. Why don’t they question KdB? Cause guy has been an absolute force for number of years now. 8 or even 9 out of 10 games he will be top class. Ozil for instance could do it in around 2 of the 10 games. Simple question though. Why do people celebrate KdB but have been critiquing Ozil for several years… Read more »
couldn’t help but feel that if Wilshere was there we’d have won easily
Raptora You’re joking, right? I don’t know how a person watches these two players, reads Le Grove and asks this question. One, DeBruyne has a cannon of a shot and looks to shoot as much as he looks to pass; this makes him a dual threat in a sense and highly effective; in contrast, Ozil has no shot and almost never looks to shoot, rendering his play all too one-dimensional. Two, where Ozil fades wide against better opponents and does not look to get into the most dangerous areas and take defenders on — settling instead for sideways, largely meaningless… Read more »
Fantastic goal from Mertens, btw. We should have signed him four years ago. Good player.
The negativity towards England here is incredible.
I always thought negativity in the press was an issue for the boys, but fans like you feckers just rip them apart.
Bam, Probably this part mixed you up: “Ozil has been ANYTHING* but consistent and you know it.” I am, even more than you, convinced of how much a better player KdB than Ozil is. Anyhow, question was towards Pierre, since he brought up how commentators don’t trash talk KdB. I know that he meant how this is in contrast to what they do with Ozil since Ozil is a favorite of his. Well probably no one says a bad thing for Kevin because he has a place in any top team in the world, while Ozil doesn’t. Matter of fact,… Read more »
Raptora Got it. My bad. Yeah, for me that’s another example of a question that makes you wonder what some people see when they watch football. How do you watch football regularly and wonder why people view DeBruyne and Ozil differently? Like, it’s patently obvious why. In the build-up to this World Cup — indeed on Sunday morning, the morning of Germany v. Mexico — there was talk within German media circles that Ozil wouldn’t or shouldn’t start. And this talk is not new. If DeBruyne were German, do you think anyone anywhere would be talking about him not starting?… Read more »
James Olley reporting that Arsenal are confident of signing both Leno & Torreira. Next season is going to be so much fun. For the first time in a long time, watching and discussing Arsenal is going to be genuinely enjoyable.
Simple question though. Why do people celebrate KdB but have been critiquing Ozil for several years now? Honest question.
Ozil was the best no10 before he came to Arsenal lol
“Ozil was the best no10 before he came to Arsenal lol”
So good that the best team in the world decided to sell him. And to a trophyless for 8 years team. Come on!!!
Simple question though. Why do people celebrate KdB but have been critiquing Ozil for several years now? Honest question.Ozil was the best no10 before he came to Arsenal lol
________
Because of performance on the pitch
For 3 years in RM he’s won with them 1 time La Liga and 1 time Copa del Rey. Season he left they won UCL and Copa del Rey. Then another 3 UCL and 1 La Liga. One would say they upgraded their team that year for many years to come. Anyhow I am not saying he was never a top player. He was for a couple to several seasons. And then he stopped. End of. A problem he’s always had though, is hiding when the going gets tough. People at Real saw that, and sold him. You cannot afford… Read more »
Bamford
I see you are making a bit of dick of yourself with ill informed comments along with a few others.
“Pierre is an example of someone who in a certain sense cannot see the world as it is — because his Arsenal-tinted glasses are just too strong, too tinted. ”
Maybe you failed to see my comment earlier when asked by TR7 “de bruyne or ozil”
My reply was
“De bruyne all day long …he’s a different level to the rest”
Arsenal tinted glasses ,yeah right.
raptors on ozil “So good that the best team in the world decided to sell him. And to a trophyless for 8 years team. Come on!!!” So what is your opinion of any player that Liverpool and spurs have signed ,are they all crap because they signed for teams that were trophyless for years and of course have remained trophyless unlike Arsenal who have won many trophies whilst ozil has been at the club.. Mane, firmino, salah,ox, kieta, Fabinho , van dyke or for Spurs eriksen, Sanchez ,llamela,dembele,wanyama , the 2 Belgium defenders ….all crap are they because they signed… Read more »
I have said a few times on here that my choice for CAM for Arsenal would be mhkitarayan as I believe he has a better all round game for that position than ozil and Ramsey. He gives you goals, he gives you assists , he gives you good link up play , he gives you good technique , he gives you a good awareness of space and he will work back for the team…a very underrated player in my opinion who I think is wasted out wide . He can be wasteful on the ball ,unlike ozil ,but that’s because… Read more »
Well done England, in the face of a corrupt referee and no doubt stinging criticism had they not won, they found a way through against a dogged but ultimately there to make up the numbers team.
Pierre, it was re mysticleaves. If a player makes a transfer from Real M to Arsenal that’s a sizeable downgrade no matter how you look at it. One would say that he wasn’t all that hot at that moment to make that step down. “So what is your opinion of any player that Liverpool and spurs have signed ,are they all crap because they signed for teams that were trophyless for years” Tell me a player that downgraded from a top, top, best in the world team aka Real M, Barcelona, Bayern, being supposedly the best player in his position,… Read more »
Raptora “Well probably no one says a bad thing for Kevin because he has a place in any top team in the world, while Ozil doesn’t” Does özil not play for the world champions… Or does that not count.. I would have thought that being champions of the world makes them one of the “top teams in the world” . Should that make özil exempt from criticism… Of course not but apparently de bruyne should be exempt from criticism because he plays for a team that have won one league title and 2 league cups in the time he has… Read more »
Raptora Look, we all know that de bruyne is a quality player and has a better all round game than özil but is he as consistent at the top level as everyone thinks… I’m not so sure. If he had been then why have city struggled the last few years, winning just one league cup and disappointing in Europe. Does the fault lie with de bruyne or is he exempt from blame….. If de bruyne played for Germany Would he have been blamed for the defeat against Mexico as özil was…. No of course not. The manager of Germany should… Read more »
Quite obvious that England need to work on their wing play which was non existant last night. Sterling, if chosen again, should consider himself a lucky man, 2/10 for his performance last night. Would like to see me some Vardy and Welbeck, though I dont see Southgate playing both at once. Special mentions for Henderson who bossed the game and Harry Maguire who was Engurlands best performer and will be priced north of 30mill after the world cup
Up and down performance by England but got the result. Not exactly Spain but a lot more interesting to watch than WCs of the past where there was ZERO creative ability and they literally had to score off of a set piece or else they didn’t score.
Sterling has pace but he’s not as good of a dribbler as he thinks he is. He loses possession way to easily for someone whose bread and butter skills should be dribbling etc.
The manager of Germany should be to blame for setting the team up to be caught on the break regularly and for not rectifying the issue when you could see there was an obvious flaw with the set up.”
I don’t know what he was doing there. Mexico were waiting on a loss of possession and then hitting the spaces. Didn’t help that Hummels/Boateng were taking chances as well they didn’t need to.
“Does özil not play for the world champions… Or does that not count..” When did they become world champions? 2018? Oh it was 4 bloody years ago!!! A lot of players rose and fell in those 4 years don’t you think. It’s a long time in football. And dare I say that Ozil was not the most impactful player even then. He started as a CAM only to get shifted to the wings because Germany couldn’t control the midfield with him in there. From the 18 goals that Germany scored as a whole he registered 1 goal and 1 assist.… Read more »
New post.
This is Ozils final season with Arsenal.
Calling it now.