Morning all.
Football London reckon this might be our kit for next season. Real or not I don’t know but I like it. A lot.
Patrick Bamford has been quoted as telling Leeds United’s official channel:
‘Do you know what? He (Alioski) said in the changing room, I can’t wait for Sunday. I was like “why?”. He said “because I’m playing against my mate Pepe again”.’
Pepe was stupid that day at Elland Road because he bit to whatever it was Alioski was doing. The oldest trick in the book is to wind someone up in order to provoke them. They want a response and in football, any kind of reaction will always end only one way. The perpetrator walks away laughing whilst the one who reacts heads off down the tunnel for an early shower.
Pepe’s red card was one of too many Arsenal have received this season. I still don’t think Luiz deserved his but Pepe and Leno, of course they did. Gabriel and Xhaka have also been sent off this season for simply being stupid. Having already been booked, our players need to wake up a bit and control themselves. We’re struggling to beat sides with eleven players so even though Leeds are already trying to wind the Arsenal players up, the only way to respond is by beating them on Sunday afternoon and convincingly with all eleven players on the pitch when the final whistle blows.
Apologies after the game are all well and good but they’re worthless. Especially if we’ve just lost a game because of it. The subsequent ban for that player is another negative for Mikel Arteta to deal with.
Officials for Arsenal v Leeds Utd.
- Referee: Stuart Attwell
- Assistants: Dan Cook, Simon Long
- Fourth official: Simon Hooper
- VAR: Andre Marriner
- Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
Stuart Attwell and Arsenal have history, or rather David Luiz and Stuart Attwell as just last year against Chelsea, our Brazilian centre back received his marching orders for a foul on Tammy Abraham.
I don’t think Attwell has officiated an Arsenal League game this season.
But that’s David Luiz, brilliant one minute, a total liability the next and honestly, Arsenal really can’t afford to give Attwell a reason to wave another red card in the direction of an Arsenal player. As said, Luiz was hard done by against Wolves but Leno was stupid, ridiculously stupid. We could have nicked a point, won even with ten, but nine? Virtually impossible.
Against Aston Villa, a different kind of error cost us points. It was schoolboy stuff from Cedric. A simple pass went so badly wrong and had we not gifted Villa their opener, the game might have been more open than it was. Perhaps we might have even found a way to breach their defence as they searched for a goal. Ok, maybe not but Mat Ryan did his job to ensure we didn’t concede another.
Anyway, the moral of this story is stop giving officials a decision to make and get back to winning ways. We’ll have to do without both Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney though as both are ruled out through injury.
See you in the comments.
That kit is old school, and classy.
Sensational.
Morning Rico and all.
So there are 6 sets of eyes on each League game now.
What an absolute joke.
If the extra eyes meant better decision making, then fine, but it’s more a case of too many cooks………
Morning Scott.
Very old fashioned but in a good way. 😀
Exactly, Rico, and that cannon……….wow!!!
A bit 1971 Cup Final kit.
Thomas Partey out again. They need to give him long enough to repair. He obviously came back too early. He managed 45 minutes against manure and was subbed. Then he had a couple of weeks off and he was brought back too early again, subbed off again, same thigh. I know he’s crucial to the way Arteta wants the team to play but he’s not much good sitting in the stands or on his own sofa watching his new mates running around, very often aimlessly, without him.
I wonder if Mikel has given any thought to using Chambers in is role? He could do worse.
Sunny with snow here, still. Be gone by Monday so they say.
I love the old cannon Scott.
Makes sense to me Wavy, Chambers could do a good job in midfield I reckon, although his fitness is yet to be proved after his own injury woes.
Is it the physios/coaches bringing Partey back too soon or is the player telling porkies about his own readiness?
I’ve been saying for a while that Chambers can do the defensive midfielder role, and let’s not forget that Luiz can do it too, albeit at a slower pace.
Scott do you want our premier he has just put Victoria in 5 day lock down only aloud outside to go shopping for food due to Covid-19 but has aloud the Australian tennis open to continue with no fans I guess money talks
Sunny here one minute, snow flurries the next but still bloody cold in the wind.
I hope the hand car wash boys get back to work soon, my motor is filthy.
It’s good to see a bit of new blood in the Stockley Park menagerie, Sian Massey-Ellis deserves the recognition for her many fine performances on the touch line.
Shhh a bit of buttering up can’t do any harm. 😉
Hope they are not pushing her to one side . She has always done a good job ,she makes mistakes occasionally but they are always honest ones.
We’ve had Stuart Attwell once this season and we lost, he handed out two yellow cards to us, but I’m not sure if it was a league game or a cup tie?
Well I kinda liked the raspberry ripple kit but then I always liked the bruised banana kit as I got the original for my son back in the early 90’s, he then passed it onto his brother. I’m not sure if it’s stuck in a cupboard somewhere?
I also loved the gold kit we wore when we won the Double back in 2002, such a shame that that hasn’t been revised, but then I suppose it’s a bit rich to use a gold kit if you are a mid table team?
I’m not keen on the blue sleeves I must say, if you want a yellow n blue away kit keep it simple with a classic yellow shirt, the type that Charlie could have sported. The blue sleeves remind me of the early 1980’s and that awful green n blue kit that is synonymous to me of Vladimir Petrovic
I too like Massey, just for getting Keys the sack. Lol
Kev, I like the raspberry ripple too, but the yellow kit has always been my favourite.
It was a cup fixture I believe, we lost 4-1 to City…
Looks as if Jimmy Anderson will team up with Stuart Broad in the 2nd test in Madras after Joffrey Archer injured himself. It will be great to watch these two legends strut their stuff as a duo again, heaven knows how we’ll replace the irreplaceable? Not only consistency but fitness has gone a long way in their careers. I’m not sure that Wood and Archer will last anywhere near as long…
In other news as Channel 4 see a bumper rise in their supine audience following the inspired decision to show test cricket the woefully woke BBC have gone with cage fighting as their prime sports output. Worth every penny of your licence fee – not…
Ah, thanks for that Rico, the League Cup I assume, can’t blame Attwell for that one…
I’m looking forward to the second test Kev, if it’s anything like the first it should be good. Don’t get me started on the BBC, that Laura woman who is forever trying to depress the nation really gets on my wick.
Yep, the League cup. Disaster that it was..
Mikel Arteta has said he’s still very hopeful that Balogun will stay. According to him, he wants to stay too. Sign the bleedin contract then.
Yeah Rico, we had a similar situation with Reiss Nelson who also went to the wire before finally signing, same agent etc.
It’s a shame because I’m sure that if Foloran had signed that he would have been on the bench and also have played a few league games by now.
I mean if you’re Balogun and you believe that you’re good enough to play, why wouldn’t you look at the Arsenal situation as it is and where it could be in 18 months time where the two big strikers could be gone and you could be the main man at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
No brainier to me…
But because he’s missed a lot of opportunities to cement his position, due to his agent, we could now see Arsenal move for a more experienced striker like the boy at Celtic in the summer and that closes the door to him.
Saka too didn’t he Kev?
I agree, he should see what’s going on and know both Auba and Lacazette days will soon be over. He and Moller could be Arsenal’s future for a long time if they stick around.
Good afternoon everyone
Kev…you wondered why we lost to that shower?? Well I am still asking myself that question. Because that day had we taken our chances we would have murdered them.
After every game I always ask myself……..is there a player within the opposition team that I think would improve our team??? If there is one I need to take one out of our team. Like say for example….after the Villa game I pondered the question….would Watkins have been an upgrade for us today on Lacazette? If the answer is yes then Laca has to be dropped and Watkins take his place.
However, more often than not, when we face the likes of Wolves, Burnley, Brighton etc the answer is no.
At the beginning of every season I always ponder the fact that taking out the likes of City and Dippers the rest are games in which we can take points from. We took 4 points from Manutd. So those are equals. However, with the exception of City, Pool, Manure, Totts and Chavs, the rest of the team I EXPECT to take 4-6 points from each. Not lose against them.
And this is what irks me. We lose games we should have won. And we lose them not because the other team are better than us but because we shoot ourselves in the foot. That is one of the reasons why I dont like strikers who grab most of the goals themselves. That is why I want goals to be shared. Last year Auba scored the majority of goals. And this year he has found it difficult to score and we are suffering. Against Wolves we should have been 4-0 up by the 30th minute. But we did not take our chances and we lost.
Yeah, we didn’t mess about with Saka because he got into the side and made himself undroppable as has Smith Rowe now, it’s really in their own hands isn’t it, taking the chance when you get it, there’s no point in Willock for example whose had a lot of minutes on the pitch, moaning as he has a bit since he’s been at Newcastle, he’s had the chances and not really taken them. I wish that Nelson had been given the amount of minutes as Willock or Willian…
DG you are always going to lose games that you shouldn’t and the reverse is true. The Chelsea fans earlier in the season were probably as bemused at how a disastrously off form Arsenal team which was skirting with relegation should so outplay and beat them 3-1, a result I’m sure that went a long way towards the departure of Lampard…
Arsenal are not great as it is but then this is a unique season in a unique environment where we’re all living unrealistic lives and holding on for the vaccine.
Some of this seasons results have been truly amazing and Arsenal have been on the receiving end of our fair share.
Anfield is no longer a fortress and nor is Old Toilet, it’s all over the place and Arsenal are just as likely to finish 14th and win the Europa Shield or whatever damned name UEFA call it…
Europa Plate perhaps, I actually preferred the European Fairs Cup and I actually also preferred that trophy, but then I’m old fashioned.
So do I re Willock, Eddie too and neither have really blown us away.
Reports that Arteta’s family have been subjected to social media abuse.
Some people just get off on causing doom and despondency. As I said last week knowing how to face defeat is something that our young generation does not have in their remit
Just resd the press conference, Arteta still saying he’s positive about Balogun staying, and that the player wants to stay. Doesn’t add up.
He also spoke about Martinelli, saying he has to be careful with him after the injury.
The Leeds game is massive, we could be in 13th place by the time we kick off.
I read somewhere the 0-0 at Elland Road was the only time they failed to score this season.
Vladimir Petrovic that’s a blast from the past.
Geoff, no thanks-he’s all yours mate 🙂
Evening Rico and the House.
Another Red Card
The u23s are away to Man utd and at H/T are losing 1-0
Down to 10 on 10 mins Red Card to Oyegoke and Pen
Saved by Okwanko but conceeded on 20 mins to a player named Nevile.
Lost 3-0.
Apparently the Oyegoke red card was of the David Luiz variety, aren’t we so so lucky….
In other news there’s strong rumours of Arsenal agreeing a deal with Sporting for their 18 year old striker Tiago Tomas for around £20m, to be completed in the summer…
Looking at pictures of him, he has a very lived in face…
And he can head the ball Kev..
Hi Rick, not a good night for the young guns then.
New post up now