Cheated out of it..

[Bablemikey]

Regardless of what else happened in the game, it was a completely unnecessary foul by Waselewski that lost us a point. 

We take it on the chin, learn from it, and go on. 

[Captain...]

Regardless of what else happened in the game, it was a completely unnecessary foul by Waselewski that lost us a point. 

We take it on the chin, learn from it, and go on. 

 

We can't  put it all down to that one incident, Simpson was naïve for his sending off, you can also look at Drinkwater late in the game we have possession in the corner and he puts an aimless cross straight out of play rather than keep the ball. Gray running the ball out of play for no reason, our whole game management after the sending off was poor.

 

I wouldn't have taken Mahrez off, he can keep the ball better than anyone else in the team, I wouldn't have brought Was on, at least not immediately, drop Albrighton into right back, Okazaki into midfield. Give it a few minutes to calm down, then get Was on for Okazaki, go 5 at the back, either play 540 bring on King for Vardy, or 522 bring on Ulloa to give us a chance of keeping the ball. Just lumping the ball to Vardy was pointless he was dead on his feet.

 

I can't help wonder if  it would have been different had RDL been on the bench, slot straight in at RB, keep our shape and give us some extra pace, but he is out on loan at bloody 'Boro.

 

Yes it was Marcin that gave away the foul, but that came about as a result of the pressure we put ourselves under by not dealing with being down to 10.

[Fox Ulike]

We can't  put it all down to that one incident, Simpson was naïve for his sending off, you can also look at Drinkwater late in the game we have possession in the corner and he puts an aimless cross straight out of play rather than keep the ball. Gray running the ball out of play for no reason, our whole game management after the sending off was poor.

 

I wouldn't have taken Mahrez off, he can keep the ball better than anyone else in the team, I wouldn't have brought Was on, at least not immediately, drop Albrighton into right back, Okazaki into midfield. Give it a few minutes to calm down, then get Was on for Okazaki, go 5 at the back, either play 540 bring on King for Vardy, or 522 bring on Ulloa to give us a chance of keeping the ball. Just lumping the ball to Vardy was pointless he was dead on his feet.

 

I can't help wonder if  it would have been different had RDL been on the bench, slot straight in at RB, keep our shape and give us some extra pace, but he is out on loan at bloody 'Boro.

 

Yes it was Marcin that gave away the foul, but that came about as a result of the pressure we put ourselves under by not dealing with being down to 10.

 

Agree. We really didn’t deal with it well.

 

Drinkwater trying to cross the ball rather than just keeping it in the corner was really just as bad as Wasyl's foul. Plus Vardy tried a first-time shot from about 40 yards when he should have just kept the ball.

 

I think this game did show our short-comings as a title challenger. We need to be more disciplined and more ruthless.

It was a tough lesson to learn - but if the lesson is learnt in the right way, then this could benefit us later on in the season. We should be thankful that it's come at a time when we're still top, and still have everything to play for...

[Captain...]

Agree. We really didn’t deal with it well.

 

Drinkwater trying to cross the ball rather than just keeping it in the corner was really just as bad as Wasyl's foul. Plus Vardy tried a first-time shot from about 40 yards when he should have just kept the ball.

 

I think this game did show our short-comings as a title challenger. We need to be more disciplined and more ruthless.

It was a tough lesson to learn - but if the lesson is learnt in the right way, then this could benefit us later on in the season. We should be thankful that it's come at a time when we're still top, and still have everything to play for...

 

Agree, and I hope that we never end up with 10 men again, but if we do we need to be able to handle it better, it is a hard ask as our whole success is by playing as a unit of 11 you take one away then it becomes so much harder for us, more so than other sides who don't function as a unit in the same way we do.

 

Vardy's shot is another example, although I think he was just too knackered to run with the ball, but he could have stopped, held the ball up, drawn the foul or passed it backwards.

 

A lesson learnt and whilst it was costly, we are still in the driving seat, we have the most points and fewest tough games to come, and the fewest games for that matter.

[SpinneyHillRanger]

Team definately need to learn a few tricks when playing these continental type teams that love flashing imaginary cards at refs and roll around on the floor.

 

Some of what Giroud, Sanchez and the others did left a very poor taste.

 

Now I know, why Mourinho used to say what he did about Wenger. ....on a day like this where Arsenal were so desperate to win they tried everything.... Wenger moaned about Costa getting one of his players sent off even when his player clearly was the last man and brought Diego Costa down... post match wenger was moaning about how Costa got his player sent off.... Yet, his team did much worse during this whole game.... I'm just happy we have a classy guy like Ranieri who didn't pull him up on it.... it would have made him look like a sore loser like Wenger.

 

I'm sure Arsenal players will get paybnack though when the likes of sergio busquets and Suarez start rolling around... The only sad thing about seeing them get wiped out by Barcelona will be they will have less games to play during the title run-in.... but by then we should be 12 points clear anyway....

[Benji]

if you watch it the foot bounces off the ball then hits his leg complete accidental

Agreed but it's the bottom of his heal that hits the top of the ball. Your foot already has to be pretty high in the tackle to manage that.

[The Doctor]

We weren't cheated, you can't say the ref got anything categorically wrong, but we did seem on the wrong end of harsh decisions in the second half, but we got lucky in the first that Morgan wasn't penalised in the build up to our penalty.

Simpson was naïve, he should have known he was on a yellow and he has to be careful to not give the ref a decision to make, tugging someone back can be a booking, don't do it. The rules of football mean it is all at the ref's discretion, you just can't give him a decision to make.

Disagree with anyone saying Mahrez dived, he is twisting and turning and his balance is off, when his knee makes contact with Monreal's leg, or the other way round depending on how you look at it. It is hard to stay on your feet.

The referee doesn't have to have given anything obviously wrong to have cheated, we were cheated in the the ref was very selective in his application of common sense. Sanchez could have gone for two bookings in the first ten minutes for card waving (supposed to be a yellow), but quite rightly Atkinson let sense prevail. Second half in particular he didn't in our case, giving bookings for tame fouls, but let similar challenges slide with just warnings for them.

[Captain...]

The referee doesn't have to have given anything obviously wrong to have cheated, we were cheated in the the ref was very selective in his application of common sense. Sanchez could have gone for two bookings in the first ten minutes for card waving (supposed to be a yellow), but quite rightly Atkinson let sense prevail. Second half in particular he didn't in our case, giving bookings for tame fouls, but let similar challenges slide with just warnings for them.

 

It's the nature of the rules  though, it is so subjective and open to interpretation, the fact that the ref is allowed to use common sense just means that the definitions of a foul aren't clear enough.  What's a foul, what isn't, what is a yellow what isn't is all down to the ref. Look at persistent fouling. You can't just let the ref interpret what number constitutes persistent,  2, 3, 5. Players just don't know where they stand and so are constantly either playing on the edge or just not making any tackles.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

The Arsenal players waving imaginary cards around are a disgrace to the game

Disgraceful advert for football

Shocking double standards by the referee

Shocking outcome for football

Back to the boring big clubs getting everything their own way

Boring boring boring

Yes we were cheated by double standards refereeing and unsporting Arsenal cheating bastard players

**** the lot of them

[Guest ttfn]

It's interesting to read Arsenal fans' comments on Atkinson yesterday. To a man they think Simpson should have been sent off, Drinkwater should have been sent off (he should have), Vardy dived, Mahrez dived and Kante should have given away a penalty for a handball blasted straight at him.

There's no acknowledgement at all that the game was refereed poorly generally and that perhaps every single decision didn't go our way. We might have our share of one-eyed commenters on here but the lack of sense, dignity and class amongst the Arsenal fans is baffling.

[Babylon]

It's interesting to read Arsenal fans' comments on Atkinson yesterday. To a man they think Simpson should have been sent off, Drinkwater should have been sent off (he should have), Vardy dived, Mahrez dived and Kante should have given away a penalty for a handball blasted straight at him.

There's no acknowledgement at all that the game was refereed poorly generally and that perhaps every single decision didn't go our way. We might have our share of one-eyed commenters on here but the lack of sense, dignity and class amongst the Arsenal fans is baffling.

Just point them in the direction of ex players like Henry and Dixon, who disagreed with much of what they thought was wrong.

[ScouseFox]

It's interesting to read Arsenal fans' comments on Atkinson yesterday. To a man they think Simpson should have been sent off, Drinkwater should have been sent off (he should have), Vardy dived, Mahrez dived and Kante should have given away a penalty for a handball blasted straight at him.

There's no acknowledgement at all that the game was refereed poorly generally and that perhaps every single decision didn't go our way. We might have our share of one-eyed commenters on here but the lack of sense, dignity and class amongst the Arsenal fans is baffling.

 

think there's 4 main decisions in the game and he got one right and three wrong. of the three wrong two went in their favour, one in ours. 

 

vardy penalty - blatant, got it right. 

mahrez penalty - blatant, got it wrong, they benefit.

simpson red card - debatable but i think he got it wrong, they again benefit.

drinkwater challange - blatant red, got it wrong, we benefit. 

 

however it's worth noting when in the game they took place. if he gets the mahrez penalty right the other two don't happen because we're 2-0 up and we've won the league. 

 

as you say, he was just awful from start to finish in pretty much everything he did for either team. 

[SpinneyHillRanger]

It's interesting to read Arsenal fans' comments on Atkinson yesterday. To a man they think Simpson should have been sent off, Drinkwater should have been sent off (he should have), Vardy dived, Mahrez dived and Kante should have given away a penalty for a handball blasted straight at him.

There's no acknowledgement at all that the game was refereed poorly generally and that perhaps every single decision didn't go our way. We might have our share of one-eyed commenters on here but the lack of sense, dignity and class amongst the Arsenal fans is baffling.

Arsenal fans and Spurs fans are not much better TBH.

 

Total disgrace.... That's why Mourinho used to say what he did about Wengers cheats. Surprising he managed to see any of the incidents yesterday anyway. Man City fans are much better at being realistic on the whole.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

It's interesting to read Arsenal fans' comments on Atkinson yesterday. To a man they think Simpson should have been sent off, Drinkwater should have been sent off (he should have), Vardy dived, Mahrez dived and Kante should have given away a penalty for a handball blasted straight at him.

There's no acknowledgement at all that the game was refereed poorly generally and that perhaps every single decision didn't go our way. We might have our share of one-eyed commenters on here but the lack of sense, dignity and class amongst the Arsenal fans is baffling.

No way Drinkwater should of been sent off, if you see the challenge from all angles it clearly is accidental

[MPH]

We're top of the Prem by 2 points after losing in the last minute AWAY to Arsenal after being down to 10 men for most of the second half in only our third defeat with 2 thirds of the season gone.

 

 

 

#perspective

[Guest ttfn]

No way Drinkwater should of been sent off, if you see the challenge from all angles it clearly is accidental

Don't disagree that it was accidental but it's reckless and it does endanger Ramsey's safety.

We've all had a good laugh at Ramsey's ridiculous reaction but it was a poor tackle.

[Manwell Pablo]

Don't disagree that it was accidental but it's reckless and it does endanger Ramsey's safety.

We've all had a good laugh at Ramsey's ridiculous reaction but it was a poor tackle.

 

Very bad tackle could easily have walked for it.

 

It was not an easy game to referee and I thought he did ok to be fair. I think the main decision is Danny Simpson, who for me deserved to go, silly challenges but there we are,. After that it was a hold out job.

[Guest ttfn]

Very bad tackle could easily have walked for it.

It was not an easy game to referee and I thought he did ok to be fair. I think the main decision is Danny Simpson, who for me deserved to go, silly challenges but there we are,. After that it was a hold out job.

I don't agree about Simpson but I can understand why he's been sent off.

I think if you look at Simpson's catalogue of 4 fouls there's not enough there for him to go.

[Bob Weasel Fox]

I don't agree about Simpson but I can understand why he's been sent off.

I think if you look at Simpson's catalogue of 4 fouls there's not enough there for him to go.

I think it is also the double standards of Arsenal players not getting 2 yellow cards

Ridiculous for the simple reason clearly double standards

Awful advert for the game that IMO

[Countryfox]

Just about getting over it now and am consoling myself with the points haul we got over 3 matches.  Some of the refs decisions were wrong and certainly influenced by the players and the crowd but he made mistakes for both teams.  Still think refs should be getting some video help as when they get it wrong it really can fvck the game up.  To me its odd that a park game on a Sunday is reffed exactly the same as a multi multi million pound game in the prem. 

 

Just 2 questions ....    Did Simpson say FO to one of our staff as he walked off ??  and what was that all about  ? ......     and is the 'Moose" from Bentleys roof mentioned in the Mercury THE Moose from FT ??? ...       Anyone know ?

[Manwell Pablo]

I don't agree about Simpson but I can understand why he's been sent off.

I think if you look at Simpson's catalogue of 4 fouls there's not enough there for him to go.

 

One's a blatant yellow isn't it, stopping a counter attack.

 

And then one he walked for ridiculously soft but again, stops a cross in a good position coming in on purpose when he was never going to win the ball. I think it's safe to say persistent fouling was not that much a factor (unless ref has stated it was post match if so ridic)

[Countryfox]

One's a blatant yellow isn't it, stopping a counter attack.

 

And then one he walked for ridiculously soft but again, stops a cross in a good position coming in on purpose when he was never going to win the ball. I think it's safe to say persistent fouling was not that much a factor (unless ref has stated it was post match if so ridic)

 

How do they give a foul for that when at corners its a bloody free for all and nothing happens ....    its like watching a wrestling match !

[Manwell Pablo]

How do they give a foul for that when at corners its a bloody free for all and nothing happens ....    its like watching a wrestling match !

 

You can argue consistency, but unless your saying that players should be able to wrestle each other to the floor in open play just because there is a bit of pulling and shoving during corners it's not really a valid point. Plus at set pieces it is normally left as it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. This clearly wasn't.

[SpinneyHillRanger]

Giroud and others were grappling with shirts.... i though hands raised was automatic red.... why wasn't coqalain sent off for pushing Mahrez?

 

If he rolled around on the floor and held his nose like he had been headbutted it might have worked.... but then again he'd lose the respect of the fans.... something Arsenal fans don't understand - RESPECT

[Manwell Pablo]

Giroud and others were grappling with shirts.... i though hands raised was automatic red.... why wasn't coqalain sent off for pushing Mahrez?

 

If he rolled around on the floor and held his nose like he had been headbutted it might have worked.... but then again he'd lose the respect of the fans.... something Arsenal fans don't understand - RESPECT

 

Well that's a different matter, he probably should of been, but pushing opponents making their way off the pitch when they are taking their time getting off does seem to be something that goes unpunished quite a lot for some reason.