Morning all.
Having not long beaten Chelsea at The Emirates for the first time in a long while, Arsenal managed to do the same against Swansea but it wasn’t plain sailing was it?
Walcott scored two ‘poacher’ goals, something he certainly wouldn’t have done last season as he’d have still been jogging around on the wing looking pretty, rather than getting his backside in the box and thinking about what to do next and where he should be. Frustratingly, he missed a further two golden opportunities as the game went on.
2-0 up and cruising to 2-1 after Granit Xhaka got caught in possession and the visitors made it count when Sigurdsson fired home past Petr Cech shortly after half-time. Nervous times, well, until Mesut Ozil made it 3-1 with a stunning left-footed strike.
Then, in typical Arsenal fashion of seasons bone by, the score became 3-2. A simple but effective move which ended with a cross from Barrow, a finish from Baston. Our left side looked vulnerable yesterday afternoon. Monreal was all too often left with little protection. Walcott is working hard defending on the right, Iwobi needs to be doing the same on the other flank…
To make matter worse, Granit Xhaka was shown a straight red card for a sloppy tackle on Barrow but imo, in no way did such a soft tackle, if one could even call it a tackle, deserve such punishment. A yellow card would have sufficed but no, the referee, Jon Moss, who clearly dislikes Arsenal, gave the visitors hope against ten men. I’m actually surprised the club aren’t appealing the three match ban which will rule Xhaka out for the fixtures against Middlesbrough, Reading and Sunderland.
If that decision was bad, then perhaps not allowing Ozil, who was through on goal following a swiftly taken free-kick, to continue, was equally as bad. Had Ozil scored, 4-2 would have settled the nerves and the result would have been no more than Arsenal deserved.
Despite the missed opportunities by both sides as the game played out, Arsenal held on and earned a much welcome three points.
And considering the international break and the fact that both City, Everton and the Totts dropped two points, it was a pretty good afternoon for the red side of north London…
Morning Folks…Yesterday was a shift from the norm,seasons gone by would have seen us draw or even loose that game… will TW 14 finally replace TH 14?
Morning all. A very poor game from John Moss. There were also two assaults on Theo, an elbow in his face and an elbow in his back, both yellow card offences, neither given as fouls.
I doubt it Bondex..
Funny Steve, they didn’t show the assaults on Theo on the highlights…
Morning all.
In this case, more than normal, the 3 points truly are all that matter, for mine.
We received no favours from officials, and we played a side we always struggle with, so job well done, for mine.
they didn’t show the assaults on Theo on the highlights…””
Doesn’t suit the all selling agenda , wouldn’t want to create a witchhunt against a nice homely Swansea club. Moss is a disgrace and the longer I stood watching him , the more I thought of the comments I made on the AFC forum before the Villa cup final. :-
Jon Moss , worrying information here. …….. http://footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/
Seems that the right result can be found if the right people want it . We will wait and see if and when the writs of denial start flying about.
Jon Moss is a disgrace. Apart from his far-too chatty rapport with the Swansea players, he seemed to delight in our misfortune. Still, we came through and are showing true grit for a change. Six consecutive wins makes for excellent team spirit. As for TW14 – AT LAST!!!
Agree Potter, he was simply awful. In fact if I didn’t know otherwise, I’d say he was a Swansea supporter…
I still don’t understand why Arsenal aren’t appealing the red card, unless they fear an extra match ban…
Db, he must look back on his last ten years and wish he’d performed like is now long before this season. Why he’s just drifted along beggars belief but if Theo carries on like he’s started this season, then good. About time too.
Morning all.
I think the reason we won”t appeal the red card is due to the games he will miss. Knowing the FA they would bung an extra game on meaning he would miss the game against the bitter spuds.
Agree Rico – it seems as if he has finally grown up and no longer looks like an eager school kid trying to impress his teacher! He is aggressive and direct now. As for finishing – I think we have always known he has that in abundance.
Buon Pomeriggio Lovelies and Hunkies.
A good match report Rico…….but I think that Xhaka’s red was warranted as the tackle was intended to stop the player by foul means and not accidental. That player was too fast for him and imo stupidity took over Granit. I also read that his red card means that he will loose only one match and not three. I am confused in this regard.
I enjoyed seeing Theo popping up here, there and everywhere. Is it because he has Iwobi and Alexis beside him??? And the latter shows him the positions he has to take during the game??
And of course AW will not appeal Xhaka’s red card……as it will mean less than a headache for him knowing that Elneny will get to play plus Aaron coming back.
Steve….in both cases, the elbows on Theo were red ones…..its in the rules…..esp an elbow to the face.
We’re in a positive moment, so I don’t really want to be a little negative, but I will.
We are giving away far too many clear chances to our opponents, especially in the air. Last week we conceeded three clear opportunities to Burnley , today Swansea had maybe five. This is Burnley & Swansea that we’re talking about. Better quality opponents will punish us.
Defensively Mustafi was very poor , and also Xhaka has a bit to prove. From a defensive perspective Coquelin is a better fit for us.
On a positive note we are looking very dangerous offensively, so if we want silverware we’ll just have to keep outscoring our opponents.
How do others feel about prospects at the moment ?
Hi Rico and all
It said on goals on Sunday that the new rule that was brought out this season says it’s a red card
Deliberate fowl where you don’t play the ball is now a red
That is not negativity Kelsey. Its well founded criticism.
Incidentally, besides giving away chances to the opposition we are not scoring the opportunities presented to us as well. Yesterday we hit the post twice plus made Flappy look world class.
Imo yesterday we should have won with an advantage of 4 or 5 goals
Hi Bob, good point about the Totts game..
Certainly aggressive Db, I’ve never seen his veins in his forehead before like in the picture.. lol
Hi Malaga.. Shame Moss didn’t see the ones we were on the end of….
Xaxa? was a clear red card ! Was a deliberate foul.
When he played in BM was sent off 6 (!!!!) times in 10 games.
If it’s only one Devil, that’s good. I guess that would be because it was a cynical foul rather than an aggressive one. Hope you are right…
Kelsey, could just be a blip in defence after the break. We’ll soon see I guess but we certainly look good going forward, albeit missing a few really good chances to bury the opposition. Sort that out and we could be out of sight before we start conceding… lol
But we’ll face a stronger attacking unit than Swansea over the next few months and our defensive unit will seriously be put to the test..
He did see them Rico, but like 99% of the biased scum bag refs in the PL they hate arsenal
I was being ironic Mg… lol
Folks…..do you know that yesterday’s two goals we conceded were the first ones in open play since Mustafi and Kos began playing together? all the goals conceded previously were from set pieces.
Should we be pleased Devil?
I don’t think so Rico…..but that means that there is good understanding between the two.
Both goals could have been avoided with better communication.
Can’t be that good if they could improve with better communication… lol
To be fair, the first was down to Xhaka, the second could have been prevented had Monreal had a bit of help imo..
Rico. If we were better equipped to make subtle dynamic changes in real-time during the game I think it would make us better. Like an earlier realisation that we were getting killed down our left flank and actually doing something about it rather than leave it happening for about 70 minutes.
As for Xhaka. I have seen many, many fouls like that and I cannot recall a single red. Mind you, I have also seen players get smashed in the face with not even a foul being awarded too. Moss, Mason, Dean, Taylor and the rest of their ilk are going to prove decisive for us this season. Wenger knows this I would imagine.
Adam, agree. Said the other day in a post that Wenger sits on his hands and watches too many problems go by when a simple substitution would improve us. Seems he hasn’t learned anything from the Swansea match when Chambers was being targeted and exposed..
Little will convince me that Xhaka deserved a red card. It’ll be interesting to hear what Dermot Gallagher thinks about it tomorrow…
Tommo, reporting on Sky Sports said it was an outrageous decision, or something like that and he’s no fan of Arsenal.
Hi All:
Monreal problem yesterday was not because of Iwobi or anyone tracking back. He simply took the wrong angel each time by turning Barrow outside rather than inside where his help was. And Adam you are right AW should have subed him much earlier especially after Ozil’s goal.
Btw, there must be a memo that refs should not call elbows to the face of Arsenal players, watching MID vs WAT, and Chambers just got assault too… and no foul.
Rico….some stats
Up till now we have scored 19 goals, with 3 coming from defenders, 7 coming from midfielders and 9 coming from forwards.
Theo is top scorer with 5, Alexis is 2nd on 4. 8 different players have scored the 19 goals
Anthony Taylor- another unless and weak referee!
Afternoon guys.
Let’s hope it continues Devil.
I had to laugh the other day when on SS’s they were trying to justify Rooney being selected for England and compared his stats to other strikers in the England squad. Rooney is far superior to Walcott they said…
Twits, Walcott is a winger!!
I think another problem is that like Pers, Monreal has lost a yard and that is being exploited.
A friend who went to the game said Mustafi is good but not tall and high balls into our box will be a problem and IMO though Cech is still good he peaked at Chelsea.He appeared to take his hand away for the first goal.
The sending off Xhaka ??
Not sure but seems rules have changed this season in regard cynical/professional fouls.This days it is a straight red i guess the punishment.
Otherwise the club should appeal with no advisory on this one.
Some referees is easy to read where they are going.I mean Santi was fouled continouly and Moss gave a shit all afternoon.When it comes to Xhaka or arsenal players was different to say the list.
I bet had the Swans equalised the talk definetly would have been the ref.
Not sure I agree re Monreal, he’s never been a sprinter imo. Just those ahead of him need to give a bit more when it comes to defending. Last season, when Alexis played wide, we didn’t have such a problem as he defends…
As for Mustafi, did he and Kos make Costa look like a Championship striker?
Imo, it’s more about what Wenger does rather than the players ability…
Alex, did you by chance watch the Watford game? A totally different way of officiating by Taylor…
Ox wants more playing time !.
http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/10619891/oxlade-chamberlain-on-arsenal-future
Any idea when these new rules kick in at Chelsea rico, that Championship striker might be prone to the odd one or two red cards I reckon.
The problem as we hung on was height. they finished with 5 forwards all taller than Mustaphi and Koscielny. As we couldn’t stop the centres we were losing everything at the back .Might have been better to bring on Holding to shore things up. ( Was he on the bench ? ).
The way I see it, Xhaka made no attempt for the ball and could be considered premeditated assault of the ankles or GBH of the ankles and he is lucky not to be banged up in a cell with a sexually frustrated lifer !………………..so straight red was spot on even if the reff` in question has dubious parentage !.
🙂 Micko. He’s due a few eh…
Don’t think he was potter.
Must say that Xhaka was a merited red card.
Leaving heart aside and judging things by facts not by sentiments Xhaka he ran aggressively to the player not the ball.The winger is hurted badly and he cannot stay in the pitch.
There is no question in my mind it is a red all day by the book.
Question is referee Moss in this case apply the rule on Xhaka
Will he or other referee be consistent ??
Obviously the answer is no as we can see the treatment of Santi at the hand of the same referee on the same game as well Theo incidents.
Rico i am not watching game.
Anything interesting
Totally disagree Alex re Xhaka… mind you, if Sanogo had made that tackle, I may agree…
Just comparing the refs, Taylor let worse things go without punishment than Xhaka’s little incident.
If Xhaka deserved a red card then we should be watching regular 9 v 9 games this season. Southampton and Burnley for starters.
Haha love that…Rico
I dont dispute the rule but referee as i said they take matters into their hand …sad
Agree Adam.
For sure they do Alex. They all have their own interpretation of the laws and it’s wrong.
As is Sanogo still being in the Arsenal squad… 🙂
Dreadful mews about Tyson Gay’s daughter- what a ghastly world we live in….
I must correct my earlier. Roger East was the terrible ref for the Boro game, not Taylor. He’s in charge of the Utd v pool game……
Sanogo one day will be an excellent striker .Walcot is given a decade and still work in progress .
Hear the Ox want to flee the nest.How many odd chances needed and i do not see any progress and frankly speaking i will not miss him.He should have ask himself what have i done so far at his personal/footballer level rather and stay grounded and fight quietly for his place he come up with this nonsense talk.
He believes is better than anyone there and expects to be on the first eleven automatically.
Is he better than Iwobi ? Hell NO
Give Sanogo all the chance that this spoiled brats are getting it and then there will be different discussion.
The Ox is gone and i would not be surprised if he vanish somewhere by January but i cannot say of Sanogo
Sanogo an excellent striker…. ?? keep that for April 1st…
OC didn’t say he wanted to leave, he said he is 100% focused on Arsenal. But he wants to play football, and not sit on the bench.
I’m off guys. I have stomach stitch just think about Sanogo and the words excellent striker being in the same sentence…. ?
Nighty folks…
I have just taken a look at the League table. Note where Leicester are….just two points above the bottom three. And just 8 goals scored.
With the same players except Kante.
Vardy and Mahrez stayed there.
Suddenly they are being found out.
I will keep on saying it……last season was a fluke……or bent
and they added Slimani for a hefty sum as well.
Devil @8:35 not only Slimani but also Musa , Mendy, Amartey, Gray and the polish kid. Mahrez, Kante, Morgan, Huth, Simpson, Drink water etc were average players who played above their abilities last year. I believe it was a little of both they started well n then the bent/ fix came in.
Nacho had a shocker.
That’s one in how long???
We are being harsh, imo.
Love the Sanogo comment from Alex . 😆
Are you Obi ?………………….are you Obi ?………………are you Obi in disguise ? 😆
Ok !……….first thing Monday morning make appointment for Alex and Obi at SpecSavers ! ………………………..then phone Doctors about sorting me and Rico`s stitches !………………………..then phone Sanogo !………..I want the same money Alex and Obi are on to promote him !………..I`ll say anything for a couple of quid or dollars ! hahaha
A bit like the 2003/04 season, I’m beginning to think that was a fluke or bent as well.
There’s a lot to be said for swallow your pride, it’s not fattening lol.
Lol LC @10:30… I reckon Alex has eyes for talent…. Sonogo is a diamonds in the rough; he is the Arsenal starting CF for the future.
Micko am I missing the sarcasm? The invincibles were stack at every position with ecxeptiomal quality players. I think given a chance with the soft rules of today they might repeat the feat. I will bet that LC with the same players, given the chance, will never win another title.
Can I say this, I enjoy Romford Pele & Alan Brasil on Talksport, but the down side are the constant adds. Thats it, thankyou 🙂
You having a moan about the HH adverts George…? 😉
Morning to you and all….
Haven’t heard the HH adds rico 🙂
Oops sorry. How rude, good evening to you!
Morning all.
Think I said something along these lines yesterday !. 🙂
https://twitter.com/Macho_Grande1/status/787405572924641280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Me neither George.. 😉
Morning All
Morning Rico
6 wins on the trot is pretty good form, but I can’t get away from that feeling of us being here before and messing up…
So I’m not gonna get too excited, but it’s positive…
Hey Rico, your boy has done good, 2 more goals, should have been 4, could have been 5, 5 in 8 games, despite the negatives if you was told at the start of the season that Theo would have 5 goals in 8 games I think we’d all settle for that…
Very harsh on Xhaka, but if that’s the new rule, then so be it. Let’s see the same punishment for everyone and that’ll be fine but somehow Rico I can’t see it, can you?
So when Theo is past a defender and is grabbed by the arm and pulled back, that’s deliberate yeah?
A red card yeah?
Yeah, right, let’s see….
I guess it’ll depend on the opponent Rico…
Anyway Xhaka gets a 3 game rest now, domestically, so he can still play in the CL.
Le Coq steps back in for M’boro…
Xhaka misses Reading, Boro and Sunderland…
So he’ll be nice and fresh for the tricky November programme Rico…
Ramsey, Giroud and Jenkinson could all get run-outs vs Reading?
Morning LC and Kev.
That’s the problem Kev, we have all been here before, so like you, my feet are on the ground.
Yep, so many things wen’t unpunished on Saturday for Swansea, but Moss couldn’t wait to get the card out for us. Chump!!
Coquelin, Santi, Elneny to choose from, and for Reading, perhaps Bielik too.
Plenty of options for once Kev…
New post up now..
Buongiorno Lovelies and Hunkies
Kev…..1 match ban or three match ban??? I have heard both.
it would be great to have those three back again….they need minutes to see if they have recovered from knee, toe and hamstring problems.
I would go with this line up for Reading…..
Ospina
Jenkinson, Gabriel, Holding, Gibbs (C)
Elneny, Aaron
Reine Adelaide, OX, Perez
Ollie
I don’t think I am far away from the correct line-up.