Arsenal vs Leeds presented a new type of challenge. How could you match the energy of a team that was humiliated in their last game, away from home, with the entire narrative was geared in your favor.
Against Everton, we collapsed under the pressure of playing a side that was terrible. It was a worrying performance that had many of us, myself included, worried about the impact this new cultural revolution at Arsenal was having at the club. How could we be so terrible against a team that was dead?
The job the boys had to manage against Leeds was done to a masterful degree. We controlled their energy, sliced through the raucous crowd and absolutely cut Leeds to shreds in the first half. We broke the record for most shots on target in a half of Premier League football since records began (11).
The football was stunning at times. Wave after wave of attack orchestrated by Martin Odegaard. Everyone put in a shift. Lacazette set the tempo again as the deep striker, pulling in younger attacking options with deft one touch movement. Martinelli continued to play like he was out to prove that Auba was binned because he was always coming for his place. Then we saw another masterclass from Saka who seems to have elevated his game to new, unseen levels of eliteness.
The first goal seems to represent everything this Arsenal side want to be about. Some lovely work to bring the ball through the middle, a loose ball, Lacazette being the first to nip in front and win it back, with Martinelli sharp to finish with a blistering shot.
The second goal was equally impressive. Granit Xhaka seems to be taking the hard pass option more often than not, he threaded a sweet ball into the path of Martinelli, the Brazilian had the ball caught under his feet, worked out his footing, then dinked the ball over Meslier for a super deft finish. With that move, our 20 year old, who has only just broken into the first team, overtook £100m man Romeulu Lukaku for goals this season.
Odegaard opened up a run for Saka to make the third. The English wideman, who was very wide, drifted inside, jinked past everyone, lost the ball, won it back, then faked the everyone before striking a deflected shot into the bottom corner.
The second half wasn’t quite as bang-bang, we certainly allowed Leeds to get back from an emotional perspective, Granit Xhaka certainly not showing off his most mature side, after a bad challenge and some dramatics that led to Leeds players lashing out and trying to break Tomi’s ankle.
We also punched ourselves in the face. Ben White made a very bizarre flying challenge in the box. He was nowhere near the ball, that didn’t stop Ramsdale from celebrating it like it was a good tackle, but the referee knew what was up. The penalty went in.
Leeds asked some questions of us. The man needed to address that issue was Emile Smith Rowe. He came on and landed his chance with Odegaard found him with a dream pass threaded through three player, he connected with it and banged home with a one touch finish, it really was something special. It’s worth noting that ESR has 7 Premier League goals to Jack Grealish’s 2. He also has the same number of assists. Aston Villa were onto something, right?
So the game closed out 4-1. We moved our goal difference forward three. We also continued to bolster our attacking numbers, moving almost a shot per-game ahead of United as an average over the season.
All the bores that were criticizing the clubs points totals by pointing to xG and ‘big chances’ have well and truly been put back in their box. As I argued at the time, xG, this season, was a bad faith argument put forward by the type of people that want to tell you every team we beat is shit after the event. Arsenal’s xG was badly skewed by the sort of covid squad routing every other club gets a match postponement for. That also rocked our next two games. When the season finally started, we had to bed in 6 new players under the age of 24.
That is no easy job.
Things were always going to be rocky.
Our path to great football was always going to take a bit of time. xG is not more important than points. It doesn’t tell the story of a developing squad. It doesn’t factor shocks to the system no other team is having to deal with. It also doesn’t tell the story of game state.
Now we’re clear in 4th. The other clubs have to play catch up. The schedule will not be kind to them.
However United / Spurs do, we’re in good shape as it stands. The job to be done in December was to be within spitting distance of top four come January 2nd. We’re on track to deliver on that if we can do some damage against Wolves and Norwich. You have to love that… the back half of the season, if last year is anything to go by, should be good to us.
As I said when I was prodding the xG bores… young players, that are hungry, and really decent… should get better as they play together more often.
The biggest obstacle that could get in our way is going to be injuries. We lost Tomi to a calf injury, a player that was exceptional again. Cedric is not even close to like for like. If any of our players is out for an extended period of time, we’re in a bit of bother. But we’ll see. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and hopefully we can make the one game a week work for us.
It’s basically two years since Arteta took over. I think he’s accrued the 5th (someone telling me 4th) most points during that time. Since last December, when he started to get at team that looked like one he wanted, he’s amassed the joint second most points, totaling 79. He’s brought through a generation of young players we all love. He has The Emirates rocking like never before. There’s a bit of belief in the system.
There will be plenty more rough days left this season. We’re probably going to have some Everton moments that rock you to the core. But I’ve seen enough to believe that we’re fully on the right path to head back to the top of the game.
Anyway, have a lovely day. Stay safe. Wear a mask if you’re on public transport. Be healthy.
P.S. Big shout out to Rob Holding who had a racist nicked for abusing our bench.
AFC Forever The reason for all of this VAR crap is based on one simple fact. our referees and officials are just not good enough. The inconsistencies are there for all to see. Kane’s assault on Robertson was a red………….100%. Anyone who knows anything about the game would know that. Bloody hell, a ten year old would know it. Robertson was given red after a VAR check and review but Kane’s assault, which could have ended Robertson’s career only brought a yellow card. I sometimes listen to the ‘ref watch’ during games and their interpretations are sometimes utter rubbish. Common… Read more »
Let’s remember folks most of these refs never played the game at school and if the did they were always the last to be picked in the playground.
Because they never got the feel for the game from a young age, it’s just all theoretical mumbo jumbo to most of them.
Would love to see a few of the xi given a rest for sunderland. Dont really give a shit about anything but the prem this season
Top 4. Its been too long
Thank Pierre. Always remember oldham. Still think my point holds up.
As an aside……
Anyone else love how Chelsea have 768 players out on loan and could only pick 6 subs today?
The trick to a successful child trafficking business is to keep just enough close on hand .
Nigel Tufnell
“Maybe list some of theirs, instead of hating on our own beloved keeper.Yeah. Real fans love him. Proud to say it too”
My advice to you is stop being so immature….it’s not a competition to see who loves ( or hates) the club, manager /players the most.
Johnno
Was a good point , Ferguson was one game from the sack …literally , and Robins scored with that header in the 3rd round i think , and they went on to win the cup …the rest is history ..
Also i agree that watching Arsenal play when we are on our game is really enjoyable, slowly but surely the one and 2 touch football is returning to our game and it’s great to see
Good to see Pedro sticking it to the dissenters in these comment streetz. Of course, when it was time for post-match discussion after Utd and Everton; there was a section-wide Pedro blackout but I digress.
It’s been good to see Gabi shining in the last few games. I don’t think his recent exclusion had anything to do with managing injuries. Hopefully he stays a more regular fixture in the matchday squad.
WIshed Liverpool were that open when we played, flap door was gaping.
Brought pleasure watching Kane not convert for win but must say really poor officiating overall. Absolute pen on Jota not even touching on the red card debacles with one given. Guess being Englands captain has benefits. VAR can be so ridiculous at times.
Why wasn’t Kante red carded against Wolves?
Johnno,
I see this comparison being made between Arteta and Ferguson often but I don’t think it’s quite the same.
He was already a successful managrr at Aberdeen, with evidence that he could achieve major honours, having won domestic and European titles there.
We don’t really have much to suggest Arteta will be a success besides faith and recent wins.
Graham that was the most obvious handball since Suarez at the world cup.
Was the last man…. wolves were robbed. The rich get richer.
Why not at least look at it again. This officiating is an embarrassment.
Pierre, If maturity means this: Digging up every stat that puts Arsenal and it’s players in the most unfavorable light. Also looking for and listing plays, that were ALMOST errors that cost us but didn’t actually cost us a goal, let alone points, so basically meaningless at this point. Then I don’t want to be mature the way you are. It seems miserable. Why would any gooner want to be like that? I talk about bad things like that, but about our opponents and rivals. Now that is fun for me. Also those Alison errors I mentioned cost Liverpool goals… Read more »
VAR is a good example of any government department There’s no problem that a room full of drippy career bureaucrats can’t make worse, they draft in more bureaucrats to solve the issue of incompetent bureaucrats But all we get is twice as many bureaucrats, twice the costs, and the problems they were drafted in to solve, only get worse…. Moral of the story, whatever the problem, the answer is rarely more bureaucracy Stop voting for more government and more state control over our lives, it doesn’t matter how much money we give them, they’ll just find different ways to squander… Read more »
Real madrid want to sign haaland and mbappe
I want to laugh at them but id be more interested in taking a few more youth players for them to build up the cash
China1
My biggest joy is watching Martinelli carrying the ball towards the goal and scores!!!
Rich and Graham62
You are both right
Football has always been a game of small margins. This makes incompetent match officials match winners. As you say, these aren’t even debatable mistakes. They are clear & obvious. Just like the stamp on Tomi’s face. As I said, if I was going to fix a result I would get at the official doing VAR. We once had betting syndicates turning out stadium floodlights remember. We need transparency & that comes with accountability. Dean would have been sacked years ago. They simply can’t be trusted to referee a kid’s game.
Nigel the reason I describe it as whitewashing the start of our season is because the season started when it started, not after the transfer window closed Nobody forced us to complete our business 3 games into the season. Tomi couldn’t have been bought a few weeks earlier? Was he that unattainable? Ode is the only new player who we probably couldn’t have signed earlier and frankly he didn’t start the season brilliantly anyway so I’m not sure how much difference when would’ve made in the opening 3 games. His uptick in form took a good few games to come… Read more »
Nelson yeah it’s a basic kind of joy right
It’s that childhood kind of joy
“Nobody thought being 4th now was possible”
I have since the start of the season, Johnno. Said the squad had it in them, but asked questions of Arteta, which he is currently answering.
Hope we continue in this non handbrake football and we should continue to improve, especially when Xhaka has left the building.
I’ve been saying for a long time that we have the 5th best squad in the league (Utd 4th). So 4th has always been attainable to the extent that we play to the realistic best level the squad is able to and we get a bit of luck with Utd (or any of the top 3) having a bad season. So far United have been off the boil so that door has remained very much open. If utd are turning the corner now they could be too much for us, but all we can do is continue to focus on… Read more »
The next 3 games are all very winnable and IF we do we will be flying into the city game. Ofc if we don’t then we could be in for another wobble
And to be clear if Spurs finish above us we have underachieved (or conte has over achieved).
How many players from the Spurs team would walk into our first team right now? 3? I don’t rate their squad much at all these days and their best player is also having a stinker
We shouldn’t be below them after 38 games
Also rich the vaccines can stop many people catching covid but don’t provide 100% guarantee against it (or reinfection)
But they do provide a lower probability of catching it when compared like for like with people who are unvaccinated. This is why the number of infections was broadly stable for months and didn’t see exponential growth as was the case before the vaccines were rolled out.
Ofc omicron is a spanned in the works because it has a greater chance of evading the vaccines, tho thankfully is typically a milder disease
Chelsea were denied their request to postpone the Wolves game despite seven positive cases.
I suppose Rich might conclude they too got “screwed “ by the PL.
Good for you Tony. Bless you for being an optimist on this cruel world. Not many of you left. IAT – Robbie. – I hear you. However I never intended to suggest that they are comparable managers – merely that if the greatest club manager of the modern era could take time to get things right at a bigger club with more money (relatively) was underperforming and was that close to the sack – then we need maybe need to let arteta play this out while he is showing improvement. Also I was really trying to compare today’s bitter stubborn… Read more »
Now that we have the tempo it is time to lock in. Add a top quality midfielder and striker in January
To guarantee that sweet numero quattro.
Jonno, no need to bless me just because I have an opinion and stick to it.
I believe it’s called having courage of your convictions.
Something I’ve always believed in.
After being sent off, Robertson took extremely long to leave the field of play. Surely there needs to be some sort of time limit for a red carded player to exit? Anyways Im glad they feel hard done by even if it was against Spurs.
Speaking of Spurs, their next 3 fixtures palace, soton & watford are all winnable so we need to keep at it. I think they might stumble against palace as they have been formidable at times, Paddy V just needs to get them consistent
“ Add a top quality midfielder and striker in January”
How bout we keep Laca till end of season and made twist his arm in to a new deal? Lets be honest here, the lads work rate is unmatched and he genuinely makes everybody around him better. If he does decide to leave then it is what it is. And more midfielders? AMN cant even get a crack in this team, then you have Mo after him, so unless we have exits planned i cant see us getting someone in MF
Maybe*
“By all means let’s talk about those first 3 games, but the season does not wait to begin until conveniently after you are ready for it. We all know when it starts and there are a couple of months to prepare for it. If you’re not ready or prepared to beat Brent Ford then that’s our fault and nobody else’s“ Nice try China but the die has been cast, and no matter what else happens during this season the three points lost at Brentford will be forever spoken of as the difference makers in the table come May. Chelsea’s bench… Read more »
Robertson was seen laughing at the yellow, as he walked away from the ref. Consequently, it was good to see his face when the card was changed to red; all blood and thunder then. I’d like to see more fouls like that getting red cards, as well as the cynical fouls City especially make after losing the ball to a counter attack that prevents the counter progressing. In rugby union the ref will tell a captain that his next player to make a foul will get a yellow. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first foul for a player after… Read more »
It’s not a new thing either for the governing bodies to look at, Reyes was kicked off the Old Toilet pitch by most of the United team. Reyes was their target for that day and it pretty much broke him after that.
Tony
Didn’t you see the Kane tackle then ? That was a straight red , just like Xhaka would’ve been sent off when he crunched Raphina . Its the consistency that’s lacking , the refs are incompetent , hired by the corrupt Mike Dean .
Steveyg87 Laca is great but might get injured. AMN has not yet proved he can hold that midfield. Look at impact of Thiago at Liverpool constantly keeping opposition unsettled with quick transitions at pace. A good midfielder working with Odegaard will be lethal.
Ours top 5 scorer of this season –
ESR – 7
Auba – 4
Martinelli – 4
Odegaard – 4
Saka – 3
It’s good to see our midfield scoring. Only if that Auba’s count was 10, we would have a better point tally.
Laca is not the answer. We need a CF, goals gets you points.
Kegunner
The team is starting to settle without Auba, bedding in new players for 2nd half of the season might not be such a good idea. If we are going to push for Top4 I feel its Jnited rather than Spurs that we will be slugging it out with.
Missed Kane’s foul although saw most of the game. Don’t disagree about the inconsistency issue with refs, Devine and VAR in general. Both need top be improved with a new breed of elite refs from around the world. Pierluigi Collina from Italy was considered elite, so set the bar at Collina as the base level a ref needs to ref in the PL. Top candidates from global leagues could end up at an academy to graduate from for the PL and other top leagues. Get stats involved in decision making and managing players and situations as well as the basics.… Read more »
Mb
Quite correct, goals get you points. Its also no coincidence that since we let Giroud go, the team has gone backwards. Laca, like Giroud brings other players in to the mix unlike Auba who cant hold up play for shit
Lol, now being english matters while comparing two goal keepers.
Peirre made much more sense. Ramsdale could go and make us invincible again but as of now – Allison is a better keeper. He earned it by winning CL, PL.
For the League Cup game I would love to see our most promising youngsters start or on the bench at least.
Leno
Cedric Holding Chambers Tavares
AMN Elneny
Pepe Patino KTH
Balogun
Subs
Okwonko
Tierney
Rekik
Salah-Eddine
Biereth
Xhaka
Hutchinson
Edwards
Flores
Steve
Yes we need someone who brings in both the Auba’s and Laca’s quality up top.
A 35m Jota would do us good, I hope we get someone in January.
Part of the problem with the refs is yea they’re mostly shit and yes PGMOL is corrupt as fuck. But another issue is think how little the pool of pro refs must be. It’s not like players where you e got literally half the young boys on the planet who want to grow up and be a player. That talent pool is probably the biggest of any in the world bar none. But who wants to be a ref? At my school 80% of the boys wanted to play football but I can only think of ONE who wanted to… Read more »
It’s not even like there is money on glory in being a ref
You get paid a comparatively tiny salary to do a difficult job and get abused by players managers and fans once a week. It’s such a shitty job lol
No wonder they become corrupt as fuck to serve themselves!
They should tie the PL ref salaries to bands associated with various bands of players in the league to entice more people into the profession and make it respectable The top 3 refs in England should be able to earn 150k per match based on them meeting certain performance related criteria which should be measured by an external and independent body. See how quickly refs get their shit in order after that KPI would include not only making correct decisions (as adjudged by the independent board that has representatives from clubs and fans, not only an internal ref old boys… Read more »
I believe the refereeing issue with VAR is clouded by the overriding concern to not ‘undermine’ the ref on the pitch. This is a ridiculous, self-harming position. If you gave the VAR official greater autonomy to suggest to the onfield ref to have another look when an error could well have been made, you would get more correct decisions. Just as in rugby, I would stop the clock when the ref runs over and has a look. If you don’t want to stop the clock then be transparent about how long the VAR interrruption has taken and add it on… Read more »
This Arthur Cabral striker looks menacing with a powerful foot.. Martin Odegaard is
redeeming himself in my opinion, he was class in the Leeds game if we add another striker
for him to find a pass to teams would fear us
Agreed Bob
December 20, 2021 07:40:45
Bob the problem is most of the time spent on var is by and large a pointless waste of time Either the issue at hand is readily observable and a correct decision is reachable after 2-3 replays (30 seconds max) or it is not clear or obvious and falls under the contentious grey area where no amount of rewatching replays will make it any more conclusive. But whenever the latter situations arise they just sit there watching something unclear again and again as if it will somehow magically become clear when it patently will not. All of those such cases… Read more »
That too China! I was factoring in the time the ref jogs over to the monitor and to then view the replay!
Tom Once the league re introduced their upgraded COVID protocols then the as to how clubs prepare, travel and indeed how the league look at matters changed dramatically First team players, support staff and club officials have in effect been moved into a separate bubble. Academy players can be bought into that bubble but have to in effect self isolate. Chelsea had youngsters that would have been added to the squad but couldn’t call on them because they hadn’t been through the protocols . The other point Tuchal made is that the league expected the likes of Koranic who has… Read more »
Bob The lack of consistency in decisions is insane, I don’t think it’s corruption, it’s straight up incompetence They don’t help themselves, at the start of every season a bunch of drippy bureaucrats gather in the room, and decide how they’re going to “improve” the game Last season they decided that if the ball hits a players hand in the box, then that’s a penalty 2 games in and they realise how insane that is, then a game later they change it back to what it was, with the arm needed to be in an unnatural position, or the defender… Read more »
It’s like when people are discussing what colour paint it is Either it’s obvious and everyone can say it’s blue, or it’s not and it falls into the poorly defined ‘blueish – green’ ‘greenish – blue’ ‘turquoise’ category. Each person says it’s one of the three and all are right and all are wrong. Stop arguing about it for 3 minutes a piece and accept its contentious because no one ever changes their opinion after watching 15 replays by watching a 16th time. Just like I’m telling you it’s a blueish green and you’re telling me is a greenish blue.… Read more »
I agree Rich, I don’t believe it’s corruption, it’s incompetence with a heavy dose of misplaced self-protection.
Footballers are literally penalized for time wasting. It’s a yellow card offense. Goal keepers can’t hold onto the ball for more than several seconds. The absolute irony that officials are allowed to take 3 fucking minutes to debate whether sometimes nostril hair was offside or whether or no there was really intent in a foul is no less a crime against football than those offenses. Make it against the rules. Give them a 30 second var timer and tell them enjoy.. It’s really that simple
If refs and PGMOL actions are based in part on self protection rather than doing what their job role requires of them then is that not corruption? I think var is incredibly easy to implement properly From the moment the first replay begins the 30 second countdown begins. All the officials in the back room have all of this time to reach a consensus on what the decision should be. On the 30th second the replays must stop immediately irrespective. The VAR lead immediately tells the ref their conclusion – either a unanimous decision which the ref should be obliged… Read more »
Referees should be held accountable.
VAR should be held accountable.
How come a referee can’t distinguish between what is right and what is not right.
Tomiyasu was assaulted at Everton. It was clear and it was obvious. The gentleman in the VAR hub should have seen that.
The fact he didn’t is incredibly worrying.
The incidents of incompetence are increasing.
Yeah Graham such basic failures should result in serious repercussions for the officials. That there aren’t is a clear demonstration of corruption as they protect their own
Make no mistake about it, Martinelli will be targeted by the cynical thugs. They did it to Rambo, they did it to Eduardo. But The Arsenal has Granit Xhaka this time around, & Edu Gaspar knows!! IMO, The Arse would do well to sign another stand over merchant for insurance going forward. Just saying!
Bob Rich. Chris Kavanagh, the man behind VAR yesterday comes from Manchester. This is why Keith Hackett, former head of PGMOL said Riley screws up. Unconscious bias exists in all of us although we often don’t realise it. There is huge rivalry between Manchester & Liverpool, not just in football terms but in geography. Hackett said geography was important. He complained about the high number of Manchester based officials getting Manchester games. Not because they would cheat but because they were subject to local pressures including local media. They had to walk around in a place they just awarded a… Read more »
China, I don’t see it as corruption as there is no ‘gain’ on the part of the refs.
China
100% agree. This is so easy. You could put a ten year old behind VAR. These are blatantly obvious calls not subjective ones or millimeter measurements. Incompetence my arse.
VAR should simply be given to teams in hand , like Cricket & Tennis , quite simple . If the teams think its a pen and its not given, review it . If its offside and not given , review it . 1 review per half to both teams. That way all the diving and cheating stuff will phase out , as teams will know they will get caught on review .
But b N16 “China, I don’t see it as corruption as there is no ‘gain’ on the part of the refs.” How do you know that? Personal gain could be anything. Perhaps they’ve been threatened? Perhaps just sticking one over a geographical rival is good enough. Maybe they live locally and don’t want to create a problem? Graham Poll admitted the pressure on referees at Old Trafford because they knew pissing off Fergie could result in them getting taken off big games. Corruption might be the wrong word perhaps it is just unconscious bias. Whatever it is, it happens far… Read more »
Divine.
That’s not a bad idea. Show the incident on the big screen so no cheating can take place.
Agree to disagree AFCF. One paragraph you talk about Manc/ Northern bias and the next a London team (Kane decision) getting a dodgy decision against a Lancashire based team.The only explanation is that the ref is a City/United biased ref and wanted to sabotage the Scousers -far fetched? The level of incompetence is clear although there may be an unconscious bias when it comes to the Northern based refs(I have no idea whether this is true). All I do know with absolute confidence is that Mike Dean is a c*nt – with that I think you’ll agree, there is no… Read more »
AFCF, you’re sounding slightly hounded, a nasty case of the ‘untolds’ I suspect.
China It’s near enough impossible for anyone who has an interest or indeed an allegiance to a club to view an incident in a game without some sort of bias. I play Skittles with an Everton season ticket holder he was 100% sure the incident on Tomy was an accident. My brother who is a diehard Chelsea supporter was unsure and of course every Arsenal supporter is sure it was deliberate but the reality is the only one who knows if it was the player himself. The trouble with VAR is they have to be 100% sure the re was… Read more »
Bob You do know about the rivalry between Manchester and Liverpool? That was the point you missed. Bob Opinion should always be evidence-based. I’m not wearing a tinfoil hat I am using facts to bolster my argument that these decisions can’t just be excused as incompetence. Keith Hackett used to be head of PGMOL. He has complained about Riley’s appointments for years. He runs something called YoutheRef. He has been critical of the way refereeing appointments are awarded geographically because he understands the pressures of refereeing – he did it for years. When he was head of PGMOL he would… Read more »
AFC
The problem with showing incidents on the big. screen is not all clubs in the PL have them
Terraloon, yes that is a fair point. Perhaps they should be mandatory.
My own view is they should just introduce accountability. Kavanagh should be made to publicly explain his decisions yesterday, so we have transparency. This is the real problem, there is zero accountability, they can manufacture results if they want because the real power of influence is VAR, not the referee.
Laca fulfills a lot of functions in Arteta’s attack system
– hold up the ball
– link up plays
– draw a CB out to make room for others to run in
– hard tackle to win the ball back.
The only thing missing is not effective enough to score goal.
I can understand that Laca won’t accept a one year extension. He’ll want a three years deal and Arsenal won’t offer that to him after experience with Auba, Willian and Ozil.
AFCF ‘the real power of influence is VAR’ – Can’t agree with that.
The ref makes the judgement call initially, which because of the ‘clear and obvious’ accent on the VAR official’s subsequent involvement, has a significant effect on any VAR intervention. The ref also gets to check the monitor for a replay when it is a judgement call i.e. not an offside.
The VAR power of influence if anything ought to be greater, overriding mistakes made by referees in real time and being much more independent from the original decision.
Another trophy fails to make it to the Spuds’ trophy cabinet, shame!
It’s funny about Spurs, but I kind of wanted them to have the distraction of Europe as long as possible before bowing out spectacularly hilariously as they normally do.
I doubt they would be accepting this if it were the CL, and would take it to Cabs, or they would have fielded any kind of team for the 6th game.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/17088844/arsenal-ian-wright-goalkeeper-aaron-ramsdale-celebrates-leeds/amp/
Love this guy, England’s #1!
I’m with you Chris, I wanted them to fail after some more lengthy away trips!
Ref conspiracy theorists love to highlight all the dodgy calls against Arsenal.
They dishonestly omit (or find a dumb way to excuse) any dodgy calls Arsenal gets in its favour (most recently Xhaka blatant yellow card against Leeds).
The weakest of victimhood sauce.
Solution of offside dilemma is simple: if any part of a leg is in line with the last defender, then the player is onside. Simple to judge on pitch, unmissable on VAR, makes for more goals and attacking football.
Is there referee bias?
There are 20 designated EPL referees.
Only one appears to have been born South of Watford and that is Kevin Friend [Bristol]
Most of the rest are born in North West/North East, Yorkshire or Midlands areas.
There is one who is from Australia.
I think Laca will accept a one-year deal if offered. Whether he’ll take a wage cut, I doubt.
Jamie
‘ The weakest of victimhood sauce.’
You speak for me on this matter
Referees get kits if stuff wrong in our favor too, that pats gets left out.
It happens to every team, yesterday it was Liverpool that got done.
It’s the VAR protocols that suck, that’s what needs more work to be done.
**‘ Referees call many things in our favor too, those bits gets left out’
englandsbest
Why would you want Laca to stay?
You’re too sentimental
We need to do better.
Laca has been poor for a striker that cost £45 million with a £180k weekly wages
Dissenter “It’s the VAR protocols that suck, that’s what needs more work to be done.” That is partly true. However, the problem is the lack of accountability. Yesterday you had the referee behind VAR being inconsistent with the protocols. He referred the Robertson tackle to the referee but not the more serious Kane one.That needs to be explained not ignored. This is why the pundits are up in arms, it doesn’t add up. I would sack Kavanagh, he’s a top 16 referee & knows the rules. Zero tolerance for not just the incompetence but his double standards over Kane &… Read more »
If the title race ends tightly Red Side Scousers will be seriously pissed at what happened at the Spuds
Only good thing Is Refs will have to look long and hard at Kane . If Kane can’t get dirty he effectively becomes a spare part . Which will help top 5/6 clubs I suspect