Good morning.
VAR was in use at Wembley yesterday. Anthony Taylor had a chance to prove its benefits before its introduction to the league next season but he blew it big time. If he couldn’t see Kyle Walker’s headbutt on Alireza Jahanbakhsh deserved a straight red card then what hope do we have? Brighton should have been playing against ten men for an hour. That decision let Brighton down, it let football down. Taylor really is a poor referee.
Well done to under 18’s. Another 8-0 victory, this one was against their Reading FC counterparts. Excellent! One more match to and if they win it, the league title is there’s and they’d have pipped Toots to it too. Toots have a game in hand, which is against Chelsea, over our guys, a game they must win to ensure the two way battle goes down to the final day of the season which is later this month.
No such situation for the first team but we’re still in a must win scenario. Not for a league trophy, but for the finances a top four spot brings with it. We need three points today and probably three points from every match we play between now and the end of the season. A tough ask, not impossible though. Toots, Utd and Chelsea will probably drop points and in all honesty, I expect us to do the same. We’ve just got to drop less than the others.
Richarlison is Everton’s danger man. Sigurdsson too and there’s Theo Walcott, who is rumoured to be on his way out in the summer. Everton’s results had been awful at Goodison Park for most of the season but that all changed when they beat Chelsea in their last fixture. However, during the the first half it was all Chelsea. The only thing they couldn’t manage was to score. It’s hit and miss as to how the Everton team will perform today, which is similar to Arsenal really, especially away from home.
Torreira misses out again as he serves his last of a three match ban. Koscielny and Xhaka are doubts but Ramsey is reported to be fit and ready to start.
Five away fixtures left, all tough too. We’ve got to get out there today and show some steel. Turn our away form on its head and start winning. There’s a few million pounds at stake, a chance to finish the season ahead of that lot down the road and a chance to prove we’re a team on the way up.
That should be motivation enough and that’s before putting the Arsenal shirt on their backs…
Coyg’s.
Good morning Rico, lousy day here, fog and now heavy rain.
Much as I dislike both Walker and Taylor that decision, to award just a yellow card, was backed up by VAR. Having watched the incident several times I think the “butt” was marginal at worst for a red card. It’s one of the reasons why I’m not in favour of VAR when it comes to subjective decisions.
MWG without doubt this afternoon. We have some of the family round for lunch, so I’ll be recording the game to watch, in peace, after they’ve gone.
Time for my kitchen duties now, potatoes to peel, sprouts to prepare, carrots to scrape, table to lay, wine to uncorked. Busy! Busy! Busy! 😉
Morning Andorra, Cicero.
I bet if Xhaka had done the same, he’d have been off. Red card imo, as soon as a player reacts and sticks his head in another’s face, he’s lost it. But yes, it shows that is always comes back to who is watching the incident.
Morning all. Nail-biting this morning Rico, I’m tasked with making some Carrot soup so I hope the ingredients and the resulting combination (guaranteed when you follow the recipe?), matches our performance today.
Here’s hoping for that elusive, comfortable away win.
COYG’s!!!!!!
Morning Rico and all. I agree about Taylor. Ghastly little man. After Walker, the architect of AMN’s broken leg, had played the hard man once again, a mate text me. Amid the expletives, he also said that Xhaka or Papa would have gone for that.
I have to agree with you both. The game itself was bloody awful.
Morning Adam.
I wish they’d stop playing the semi finals at Wembley, it’s ridiculous really and belittles the final.
Andorra, unless you are using carrots fresh out of the ground they’ll be a bit lacking in flavour. May I suggest you add a teaspoonful of chili oil to the mix. can’t do any harm, well not much thatis. .😉
Where has my gravatar image gone?
Oh, it’s back!
Afternoon all.
I turned down the opportunity of going out to lunch so I could watch today’s game. I hope I’m not going to be disappointed!
I reckon a 2-1 victory to the chaps in red would be an excellent result. A draw wouldn’t be the end of the world, well, not quite. A defeat would be an absolute disaster. So, a must win game then?
I’ve a hunch that citeh won’t win the final. It’s only a hunch but………!
Dull, miserable and cold here, only good thing is, it’s not raining……..yet.
An after thought…….a pinch of sugar always enhances supermarket carrots. I realise the thought police will be stalking me for writing “sugar” but sometimes rule breaking is the only way to go😊
Sugar in veg?? What is the world coming to…. 😜
I’m not agree with the line up
Ozil, Mkhitaryan and Iwobi in the same team…. I hope it works.
So Zouma gets away with his challenge on Lacazette yet Guendouzi goes straight into the book for his.
Where is the consistency? Both deserved a booking and we should have had a penalty.
Silly me, no Iwobi lol
When Mustafi looks like our best player, you just know the rest are pants.. Lacazette aside…
The throw in that led to the Everton goal was a foul throw, the players foot was clearly over the line, but neither the linesman or the ref saw it. Neither did the Muppets in the commentary box.
Cicero, was a clear goal.
Can you replace 5-6 players? Not?
The subs must very astute and happy…
JM no it wasn’t, it was a foul throw. The throw in should have been penalised and handed to Arsenal.
Two chances utterly wasted by Ramsey.
If any part of the foot is on the line it’s ok
lucky we’re not 3 or 4 down, out played and out fought..
This could be 1 nil1-1 or2 nouht
Potter, no part of the foot should be on the pitch, which it clearly was before he released the ball.
That was awful..
This has been painful to watch from start to finish.
How many times have we seen this we still can’t play against a team that presses the midfield. We need time on the ball and if we don’t get it we get lost.
Law 15 As long as part of each foot is on some part of the 5 inch touchline or behind it and touching the ground at the moment the ball is thrown, the foot position is legal. You use two hands. The ball comes from behind and over your head. You cannot score directly off a throw-in
The operative words being “on or behind the line”. The player taking the throw had one foot clearly on the pitch. It was a foul throw.
They do not realize that Ozil does not defend or care to defend. In all the away games, he is one player less. The midfield was always dominated by Everton. So they always have 95% to win any game. The team has little physical freshness. I pointed out that it was a mistake to go to the Emirates at this time of the season. I did not notice the initial team. I understood that only by a miracle would the game be won.
It was enough to watch the last games of Everton, to realize among others, that always strengthen the middle and that the defense is very high, close to the midfiels and pressing the opposing defense. It was not surprising at this stage that there were almost no shots at goal.
I have not seen any illegality in the goal yet. There is no offside in any situation and there is no foul.
No right back since Bellerin injury.
The away games were always our “Achilles heel”.
From an Arsenal point of view that was an appalling performance. No excuses. Just very, very poor all round.
We move on.
Sounds like we were shit and some even tougher away games to come…………………..5th or 6th then !
😆
JM, look at the throw in immediately before the goal and you will see the Everton player Digne put his foot on the pitch before releasing the ball.
Lots of ref influence today. We started with a very weak midfield, and after Guendouzi got booked it was completely powderpuff. Combine that with a clattering challenge on Lacazette which slowed him down for the rest of the game and a booking for Sokratis and our main defender couldn’t tackle.
The timing and precision of the bookings and the fouls given were all at exactly the wrong times for us.
We were just too stretched in the squad today and paid for it with an insipid performance.
With Sokratis suspended for the next two games, unless he appeals and frankly I don’t think he has a leg to stand on, and Koscielny doubtful Emery needs to bring in at least one of our young centre backs.
Are we actually paying the wages of Suarez? If so we are chucking the money down the toilet.
I don’t think they can appeal a booking anyway.
Thanks for the tip Cicero, “kitchen duties” too eh?
I added onions garlic, cumin, salt\pepper, olive oil and basil, chopped the carrots and baked them at 200C for 25mins. Added tinned tomatoes and stuffed the lot in a blender. Delicious.
I DO like chilli as it happens, so I might just add a touch. Thanks.
The Gunners – outgunned from the start and I too thought Özil, Elneny and Mkhitaryan should not have started. The former keeps getting knocked off the ball,
and Elneny is a lightweight imo.
What a disaster! A careless goal and we were outplayed and not up for the fight. I gave up watching after the goal, left the match running and popped in occasionally to se if we turned it around. Fat chance – passing back, sideways and, just far too slow!!!
Have to crack a jar or two tonight.
I have a sneaking suspicion you are right Le CM, IF we can’t generate some desire and attitude, 5th of 6th.
Shit, I’d have a good cleanout.
Mustafi took one of their guys out very late (NO attempt on the ball )and the same with Guendouzi and, Socratis grabbed the guy around the neck, so blatantly.
If they’re going to foul someone can’t they use a bit of subtlety?
New post up now