Penalty! It Just Had To Be, Didn't It?
Apr 8th, 2008 by 'holic
I have to get one thing straight from the start. We might have some justifiable grumbles about the deal we got from the officials over two legs, but Liverpool played their part in a tremendous contest and good luck to them. I hope they ride the luck I’m sure they appreciate they got over two legs of this tie.
For half an hour we bossed the game totally. Abou Diaby would not have been in my starting line-up. I was wrong, of course, but in my defence I would not have selected him on the left wing and he appeared in the inside-right channel to score a wonderful and deserved opening goal.
I championed the selection of Senderos, and with a heavy heart accept his lack of concentration brought about Hyypia’s equaliser that had never looked likely. All of a sudden Liverpool were back in the ascendancy. Instead of walking in comfortably ahead we were all square, and the early signs of uneven treatment from the Swedish referee were already evident. Senderos was booked for just two fouls while Mascherano was pinged with regularity.
The loss of the lead was nothing, however compared to the loss of Flamini, caught by Gerrard off the ball. Please let him be fit for Old Trafford at the weekend. Gilberto brings something different to the side, but for a while we lost fluency and momentum in the centre.
The home side clearly started the second-half stronger. An absorbing contest was about to become a thriller. Torres showed wonderful ability to turn and drill home a second for the scousers. Arsenal responded magnificently when substitute Theo Walcott showed just why he will make it at the highest level, outpacing the entire left flank of Liverpool’s defence to set up Adebayor for what looked like the goal that would take us through to the semi-final.
We had reckoned without the award of a penalty, as undeserved as the one we didn’t get last week was deserved. There was contact between limbs as attacker and defender went for the ball. There was not a Kuyt-like tug on the shoulder. Babel went down, not a dive I hasten to add, but not put there by any foul either. Gerrard finished from the spot.
The final goal from Babel came as we besieged the Liverpool goal looking for a miracle. The feeling of being harshly done to was palpable and sickening. Two very different views of clashes in the box determined the outcome of a scintillating coming together of two giants. Neither side deserved to lose, and certainly not Arsenal.
So now we know we face just five more matches this season. There may be something unexpected at the end of those games, but in all honesty we are unlikely to overhaul both United and Chelsea, even with a win at Old Trafford this weekend. Second place, and avoiding the qualifying round in August, would be just desserts for this incredible squad. That will require a miraculous recovery by the walking wounded. Let’s hope, eh?
94 Responses to “Penalty! It Just Had To Be, Didn't It?”
GUTTED…absolutley gutted…that amazing run by walcott deserved to win the match…beating 4 players and than picking out ade…class…i had just finished celebrating when babel fell…i was like get up mate same thing happened to us twice and they were probably worse tbh…and the ref gives a pen…and yellow card…great…i knew it was goin too well and the bad luck always comes lookin for us…why can’t the refs be consistent…they give 2 decisions against arsenal in the previous 2 matches and both were stone cold pens and this one was a doubt and he gives it…
well thats the last thing we could have won this season gone…unless both manure and chelski go on a really bad run which i really really doubt…
why was theo not on from the start. I honestly do not know what wenger sees in eboue.
It is also a shame that as usual the rest of the team did not pass him the ball when he eventually came on. In the last 15 minutes every ball was just hoofed up to ade who as usual lately made no real attempt to challenge for it.
I agree totally with goonerholic it was never a penalty, but babel should never have been able to get through in the first place….if only sagna was not injured.
It was so so obvious that would happen. I hope Barcelona win and titi scores the winner
sour grapes, that’s all what I can say
Great report. If our defence will play like this. We’ll be playing for UEFA Cup next season. Not being able to keep a lead in big games is sickening. Just how did we even get into a position in which Babel was making that run with the attentions of 3 players?
Gunner till I fucking die!!!!
Then you haven’t read the article Daley, you thick cunt!
So gutted, honestly you have no idea how gutted I am.
Specially as me and my arsenal mate were on the floor hugging celebrating Adebayor’s goal.
To then get that penalty against us, which was soft, just very very gutted, you have no idea.
I honestly think today the guilty party was not the ref, but once again Eboue.
After that Hippie (Hyppya) or whatever scored, we struggled to get our passing game going, but whenever we got 3-4 passes together, who was the player that would give it away? Eboue.
Every single time we needed to keep the ball the player that would mess it up somehow by either failing to control it or making an awful pass or cross was Eboue.
I blame Senderos for the first goal, I blame Eboue for loosing the game, had he kept the ball better things might have been very different tonight.
He needs to go and someone should start a petition to get rid of him.
Please stop blaming people it’s been doing my fucking head in for the last 5 weeks
fair play to you. Could so easy have been a rant about “lucky Liverpool” but you didn’t so hats off to you. Great tie. Shame there had to be a loser but the beauty of football is there is always next season. Trust me we’ve been winning the league next season for years. Heads up lads and spank them Manc ********
we’ll never be as good as liverpool? the team thatbis out of the league in october every year. you lucky cunts
Yes we should have had a pen last week but being fair about things Babel deserved a pen tonight. It is hard to take and I can’t see us doing anything against ManUre at the Theatre of Wet Dreams. All I can say is hats off to the scousers, they played far better than I thought and at the end of the day 5-3 aggregate score can’t be argued. Great game, shame about the result. “there’s always next season” !!
hope lpool play great and lose to a dodgy decision
one can only dream
Walcott should come on at 60.
Eboue should not be attcker
Arse need width and to bring Song into the mix.
Diaby can cover for Fabregas
Guys
We didn’t deserve to lose tonight but to blame Eboue who wasn’t even on the pitch when the penalty was given shows you Erik that it is easy to have a pop without knowing what you are talking about. Yes he goes down to easy and yes he moans but he wears a red shirt so how about getting behind him for a change
Unlucky mate, nice post. I’m a Scouser and I can honestly say that neither team deserved to lose. Both pens were contentious. Great entertainment though. Good luck for the league Gooners, rooting for ya. Just hope the red men can do Chelski again!
babel fell over
heads up lads get ready to do the mancs on sunday ye played well tonight, how the f**k does that Eboue get a game, he is sh**e../
lee lfc
Great game! – both sides can be proud, both played better than boring crappy Chelski. come on Arsenal, from a passionate Liverpool fan, please please beat the mancs this weekend and win the league. Anyone but United !!
Goonerholic: Great report.
Erik: I am too extremely gutted!!
Michael: I agree with u. The blaming game is making me sick too. Let’s get behind our team instead. I’m sure Wenger knows who is good enough to play for Arsenal.
SCOUSERRR: Press the caps lock key mate.
Gooner till I die!
Firstly, I’m a Liverpool Fan… And i say thank you Arsenal for such a great quarter final…
I must admit i do have a bit of a soft spot for the gunners and i think your gaffer does a top top job with the restraints he’s had (maybe a victim of his own success here).
I thought it was pretty fuckin close over the 2 legs… think you were much better in the first leg and for 30 minutes tonite i thought we were shite… I’ll be honest, we got lucky with Hyypia’s goal (although what a fuckin header!). after that we stuck it to you and i think that made it pretty even.
I know you’ll all be gutted about our Pen and the lack of yours… Trying to remain as unbiased as i can about it (yeah right) I think it was a pen for us… i can see why you all say it wasnt because Kuyt’s offence was worse and you got nothing… but be honest guys, 2 wrongs dont make a right. they both shoulda been Pens!
I just wanna say that I’d love you to win the league this year (Man U are gettin too close our record for my likin!) and good luck against the Scum at old toilet this weekend… After a long week, i’ll be cheerin on the gunners
You’ll never walk alone
P.S really wish we got Walcott when we had the chance!!! GUTTED!
Unlucky goons, I’m not here to gloat. For the first 20-25mins we couldn’t get near you. Deserved lead for you. Hyppia equaliser was crucial, poor defending by Senderos. Torres finish was class and when you got to 2-2 I thought that was it. The penalty was 50/50 and given the first leg I can understand you feeling aggrieved. The final goal was always on the cards with everyone up.
Fantastic game and respect to the Goons. Excellent team and different style to us; I’m not ashamed to say easier on the eye.
Now Goons! Pick yourselves up and go to Old Trafford and do the nation a favour.
Good luck in the League and if I had to choose between you, the Scum or the Chavs, you guys everytime.
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
What an emotional rollercoaster! Jumping in utter joy one minute and throwing the remote at the ref next minute.
If anybody saw the Times article about Arsenal’s spending, Wenger has spent £54M since 2004! What a joke, Liverpool have spent £160M.
Where is the fans’ money going Mr I’m too fucking arrogant to buy a player that costs more than £3.47! Why the usual transfer policy rant….well…because the player that finished us off tonight (Babel) was our target for £6M but as soon as his price went above £10M Wenger said no. The same way he said no to Tevez just because Man U were going in for him.
Well give the fans their fucking money back cos the shareholders are pocketing the difference. Fuck you Edelman and Fuck you all those that are supporting Wenger’s transfer policy because you’re ripping off the fans you greedy fuckers. Nobody who pays £60 for a ticket should have to put up with Eboue, Diaby as a left winger and Toure as a right back. Buy some fucking players.
The main reason we lost is because of arsene wengers short sightedness. I mean how do you expect to win silverware with such a slim team. One injury and kolo toure has to go rightback defend. We dont have a team with options, period
How you gonna sell diara and keep gilberto or ebue? Wenger is losin it. He needs someone to tell him. Three games with liverpool without a win says much. Give man u or chelsea liverpool in three games and they will come out with two wins.
He should buy players and stop moaning about injuries. Man u and chelsea have stars sitting games out and we should be no different with them. Buy big name players and let them sit the bench. Its sad to put stars on bench but thats football now. You need a team that can last all season.
lot’s of nice stuff from the scousers except the one in caps that has now been taken off (and my reply) god I’m drunk. Proud to be a Gooner though. Theo is going to be the best player this country has produced for a while.
If Sagna had not been injured, Kolo would not have played on the back.
then Sanderos would not have played and I am sure we wouldn’t have gotten two goals against us he gave them. If Kolo had played CB and Sagna was there, I am sure we wouldn’t have seen that goal either.
Its a bloody bitter pill to go out on a penalty that wasn’t a penalty. :////
It was funny seeing Kuyt get no luck at all during the first half. Then that had to happen. It was a penalty, just like Hleb’s was – it is so cruel on Hleb really because he can’t shoot so he has been relying on trying to win penalties lately.
Eboue isn’t good enough for Arsenal, but it’s not his fault – he doesn’t pick the team or buy the players.
It was strangely nice seeing Babel score – a player we were offered last summer, a young guy who can keep his nerve in a one-on-one. Another such guy was Tevez – young and able to score goals (and change games). But we start with Eboue (0 goals this season) and Hleb (4 goals this season) and Diaby (3 goals this season) behind Ade-barn-door (2 goals in the last 12 or something). No wonder Fabregas looks knackered if he’s thinking he’s going to have to do it single-handed.
To be fair, Diaby played really well. Ade worked hard. Eboue was good for 10 minutes. Hleb did OK. I thought Gilberto played well. Apart from 2 or 3 moments, the defense did well. Theo was superb, but nobody wants to pass to him, especially Fabregas.
Overall the game was great and we ruled it, but that is the problem – it was there to be finished off, and we couldn’t.
The last few weeks have been really annoying. After every draw or loss someone comes out and says ‘we can still win it’ or ‘we are still the best’ rather than keeping their mouth closed and saving there energy for the next game.
The saddest thing is that it would only have taken 2 players last summer. Maybe Tevez and Babel. Maybe Ribery and Torres. Maybe Anelka and Robinho. Instead there’s 35m extra sitting in a bank account and a load of demoralised youngsters. They will have more experience next year – more experience of losing.
It was a gamble and it is unlucky that the three most natural finishers at the club (Van Persie, Eduardo and Rosicky) have all been broken most of the time. I hope that next season is different, but I wouldn’t be sure. As long as we’re getting better every year (71 points already) then the situation is ‘acceptable’. But you have to seize the day – like United and Chelsea do.
Anyway, good luck to Liverpool. I hope you can win it now – you or Barca!
can you shut up about spending and blaming people. you all think you can run a football club. you are seriously doing my head in big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NO you will NEVER EVER be as good as liverpool u clown.
Check the record books and then comment woooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
chelsea don’t seize the day they bore the opposition to death
I’m glad to have you here too michael. Can I ask two things. Don’t use tha same abuse as the odd renegade scouser. All but one of them has been fair and I would like to go to bed and mope now!
Secondly, if you think I’m blaming individuals then my writing is poor. I assume you mean my allocation of fault to Senderos tonight? Read back through the weeks and see my support for the big man. He made a mistake to let them back in the game was my point. I think that was a fair observation. Feel free to correct me where you think I’m wrong. I’m only deleting the abuse.
Cheers.
Oh right I see michael, we’re all wrong but you know exactly what you’re talking about! well you’re outnumbered in that argument, go on every blog and you will find every arsenal fan cursing our lack of quality all over the pitch. We can’t all be wrong. In fact we’re not as you can see from this season’s progress.
As Alan Hanson patronisingly points out every weekend, ‘you can’t win anything with kids’. So you know more about football than Alan Hanson hey, apply for a fucking job at the BBC then.
Great report. I’m so gutted I can hardly type this, so I don’t know how you managed a whole article! I’m proud of the team, especially with the added blow of losing Flamini, they really gave everything. Theo’s run was pure brilliance because he found the perfect pass at the end of it, it deserved to be the defining moment of the match.
No matter what anyone says, this has been a great season & we should all be proud of what our young team have achieved.
Hosman, you are the one who needs to read more and appreciate the other side of the argument you fucking plastic. “Lack of quality’, what a fucking clown you are. Fuck off and support Chelsea.
Alan Hanson is an anti Arsenal arsehole. And that famous quote about kids reffered to United who won the treble ( united fans wore t shirts with it on) that year so don’t throw that at anyone. I didn’t say I knew anything. I just said I’m sick of everyone thinking you have to spend big. liverpool are average. They beat us obviously but they needed the decisions against a weakened arsenal team. And I’m not talkimg about senderos It’s the blaming of Arsenes transfer policy. How can United finish 21 points above us spend 52 million plus loan tevez then see the gap shrink? Don’t tell me Wenger doesn’t know what he’s doing. And that twat upset me and I praised the other Liverpool fans for the good stuff.
Go on the young guns site and get a reality check
Actually I think I know more about anything than Alan fucking Hanson. You must be a muppett to quote that twat. Why don’t you quote Ferguson or maybe wendy ramos?
Fair enough michael. In that case I think we are singing from the same hymn sheet. I’m as annoyed as you at those who are using a few bad results to turn on Wenger and the club. Very short sighted, but I can understand younger fans who have not seen us struggle upset when we don’t win things.
I’m off. G’night all. Don’t forget I have IP addresses for all posts on here, so keep it civil. Cheers.
Tony:
The reason why I blame Ebout is simple, I know he had nothing to do with the Penalty but you must understand simple time mechanics….
The fact the Ebout kept loosing the ball created attacking moves by Liverpool, each attacking move increased confidence in the Liverpool players.
If Eboue had kept the ball and passed it back even if it was to Almunia then we would have kept the ball, made Liverpool get more tired chasing it around and not letting them create chances, at the same time building more self confidence.
This would have given us more time to slow the pace down and get our passing game back together, but what happened? 2-3 players would get a passing move going, the ball would reach Eboue and then he would try a stupid pass, a shit cross or would just get the ball taken away from him.
What has Eboue done this season? almost NOTHING, 1 assist so far and no goals.
Gallas has done more, Toure has done more, Clichy has done more (assist wise) and even Sagna has done more in his first season that Eboue has in his last 3.
And I am comparing him, a winger, to DEFENDERS!
Man Utd have this player called Ronaldo on their right wing, if we are meant to be as good as Man Utd shouldnt we have a player that is at the very least creating assists?
Eboue is simply not good enough, I know he isnt to blame for the penalty but he is to blame for the team’s lack of possession after Liverpool scored their equaliser, dont beleive me? watch the game again.
Man Utd are probably going to win the league and the champions league because their Right Winger has scored 37 goals and has set up a lot of goals for the team, our right winger has set up 1 goal and scored none.
IF we are meant to be as good as Man Utd dont you think our right winger should be doing at least 1/4 of the work Ronaldo does?
A winger which is 1/4 as good as Ronaldo would have chipped in with 9 goals and a couple of assists, has Eboue done this? no, does he have the potential to? no.
I know when we have a full squad and play 4-4-2 then Hleb is our right winger, but when we play 4-5-1 then Hleb is usually behind Adebayor (like today) and Eboue is on the right.
Oh yeah, people seem to like saying: “Do you remember Eboue’s cross for Van Persie when he scored that stunner against Charlton?” erm… if you hadnt noticed that was a SHIT cross, just happens that Van Persie ran his arse off and managed to hit the ball, but even Van Persie thought that was over the bar.
Eboue is our weak link, maybe he is amazing in training and thats why Wenger trusts him, but honestly if he doesnt improve next season then I doubt anyone (even Wenger) will want him at the club.
Stats:
C.Ronaldo:
Apps: 41 (2 as sub)
Goals: 37
Eboue:
Apps: 30 (4 as sub)
Goals: 0
I’ve stopped reading the paper sites and listening to talksport. This is worse than terry fucking christian
Ronaldo IS united. Eboue is not in the same class. But he is not the reason we lost. I think he’ll be gone next year or at least relegated to a squad player but he wasn’t that bad tonight. He could have squared the ball but fell (or maybe he is useless)
trully this hurts. gud luck to he scousers. as a tru gunner i can only say we let ourselves down. the hyppia header was supposed to have been dealt with as i believe that players ought to attack the ball than chase after anothr player since its football and neither basketball or netball. i dont know what senderos was doing there. on the third goal we can defend Kolo but anybody who has played football or has an understanding of the game will tell you that the momentyou touch a player whilst in full flight and in the penalty box its a penalty unless you win the ball, therefore Kolo wasnt supposed to have done as he di as Gallas was just covering hat area. also i failed to understand Eboue when he tried to go for goal instead of cutting the ball back in from the byline as one can only score by fluke or bad goalkeeping. i just hope wenger can give us a convincing answer as to why eboue is preferred to Theo since the latter is much more effective than the former. stats are there to prove my point.
Ronaldo Is a first choice eboue isn’t
Yeah Eboue should be first choice… serving pints at half time so that maybe the fans get back to their seats quicker (he does have the pace).
Looking ahead to next season…On balance Sagna & Clichy should do; must strengthen the middle as neither Kolo or William seem to play well at the same time…and poor Senderos should be gone. He’s just a tall Oleg (looked terrible on the first two Liverpool goals)…in midfield Cesc & Flamini will only get better (some on the club should sign over their paycheques to these two – it drives me mad that they run their backsides off week-in week-out and the Mancs have the likes of Hargreaves resting on the bench)…on the outside Tomas & Hleb will never be Freddy & Bob *but* I’ll reserve judgement if they (a) stay healthy for a season (b) learn to play wide (c) learn to either shoot or cross the bleeding ball…As for Diaby & Eboue I wouldn’t pick either for a Sunday league. For the balance of the year please, please start Theo so that going into the start of next season we’ll know whether or not he’s part of the first team picture…otherwise he could be gone and become the next Defoe. And up front we don’t need another good striker. We need a great striker, a lethal inside the 18 stick it in the back of the net striker. Adebayour, Robin, Eduardo can add another 20 between them if healthy but as it is now other clubs know that if they blanket Adebayour the rest of the club might contribute a goal-per-game if lucky…*and I’m not getting down on the club*…I’m a pensioner who’s lived through the late 70’s, early 80’s and mid 90’s.
Well done to Arsenal..great game and a pity one of us had to lose but if I am honest rather you than us. Yes you should have had a pen last week and tonights was a bit weak but thats the game. Thought you played us off the park for the 1st 30 mins but looked really tired towards the end.
Anyway a great advertisement for our league and I hope you go on to beat ushited…
great night good luck
I am a Liverpool fan, and almost apologize with Gunners fans.
I think we got through, but in the 2 legs Arsenal were the best team.
You were unlucky first of all because of not having had Van Persie during the whole season, then not having Eduardo becuase of that butcher in blue who almost ended his career (Eduardo, we are waiting for you soon back on the pitch!)
I am happy for being in the semi, but I can’t really be happy for the way we won: for too long Arsenal outclassed us: Arsenal is the best playing team in Europe, not Man U!!!!
Hope you will win the league!!!! Let’s start defeating United in the weekend!!!
You’ll never walk alone.. Ivan
Most of the fans can’t be bothered
As a Liverpool fan I have always had healthy respect for Arsenal and that has not changed over the tie. You played the better football, wheras ours could be described as more effective, although we played some pretty good stuff at times.
The only issues I have is with the double standards regarding the penalty claims. There is absolutely no doubt we got the rub of the green with the way the decisions went but that was down to the refs differing opinions on what is a foul and not whether they were legitimate penaltys.
To be honest they were both pretty soft claims with minimal contact but if tonights wasn’t then nor was last weeks and if last weeks was then so was tonights..you can’t have it both ways!
Kuyt PULLED Hleb down. It wasn’t soft at all. Don’t say it was minimal Even Souness said it was a penalty.
THat may not be why we lost but don’t try to justify yours.
Kuyt didn’t pull Hleb down at all, he grabbed his elbow and Hleb fell over like he’d been shot…soft, just like tonights. Live with it!
If Liverpool won’t win the CL, I’d really liked Arsenal to win it.
The game is over and no matter how we complain about the refs it’s all over. I can seem to see that all decisions are working for Liverpool, 2 reds for Inter and 2 pens for Liverpool (one which was not).
In 2-2, I can see Arsene on the cam asking the players to calm down, calm down and what did they do? They went on to concede a penalty.
Arsene was right, one dodgy pen and inexperience def. But one thing he forgot to mention, Arsenal were really tired in the last 10 minutes. If it wasn’t for Walcott, the game was already over.
Anyway credit to both sides which saw us another classic CL. I don’t think Arsenal were in much control in the 2nd half, they looked jaded tired and out of ideas. Liverpool were more effective and hardworking thanks to rotation.
thanks for a great tie arsenal.
it was an incredibly close contest and our win was probably down to a number of things
some luck?
yes.
babel’s was a penalty and hleb’s probably was too, flamini got injured, you dominated for periods and probably had the chances to atleast make the overall score level but we took ours on this occasion and scored at crucial moments (straight after your opener at the emirates, torres goal when we were under increasing pressure and the penalty straight after your equaliser)
anything else?
yes.
‘the 12th man’ might be a cliche, but results in recent years and unseemly comebacks make it a reality.
the dreaded pejorative ‘rotation’ was the stick that we were constantly beaten with in the first half of the season when all above us were being praised, yet undoubtedly our superior fitness was a factor tonight.
anyway, the point is that when we play chelsea and man utd. they always play negatively and the results are usually bore draws or won by single goals (even though they have by far the greatest resources in the league), but we have much better games against you (which WE also deserve respect for). i thank you for this, wish you luck for the rest of the season and genuinely think that, like us, you will be a stronger force next season with a few additions and some more luck with injuries/key decisions (something that man utd. and chelsea seem to be respectively monopolising this year)
Thanks Gooners!
YNWA
I am living with it! Every pundit said it was a nailed on penalty. The ref apolgised to Wenger,. I also said that may not be why we lost the game. If Ronaldo goes dives for a penalty in the final should I have any sympathy for you?
Babels was a penalty and hlebs PROBABLY was too. You arseholes. Can’t you go on a scousers site?
Night night all. I want Barcelona to win it, Henry to score a hat trick And the diving mancs and scousers to have dodgy decisions against them, then we can go on thier sites and take the piss. (or be patronising)
Unlucky lads you played really well and it was a shame that we didn’t meet in the final. I think a lot of reds have a soft spot for the Arsenal and would rather they won the league than Man Ure or Cheski. Will be supporting you at the weekend!
i’d prefer the open discussion michael.
on the penalties, in my opinion
babel’s would be given 80% of the time
hleb 60%
i’m not sure whether it is the most pertinent issue though?
surely it has to be weighed up alonside questions of
who took their chances?
who were better prepared physically?
you know chelsea fans still go on about the luis garcia ‘goal’ of 2005.
the funny thing about that is that i don’t think it should have been given, BUT it should have been a penalty and Cech should have been sent off, therefore probably giving us the better deal.
don’t let yourself become like those chelsea fans. arsenal fans are better than that and your team played openly and honestly and could easily have won this tie.
If Garcia’s goal wasn’t given it was a penalty and Cech was off so I always thought there was no argument for the chavs. I also thought the final against milan was brilliant and I cheered when you won. But please don’t tell me babel’s was more of a penalyy than hleb’s. try to be a bit objective.
i’m saying that they were both more likely to be given than not.
on the basis of what i have seen over the years, babel’s type is slightly more likely to be given because Kuyt’s tug was ‘clever’ where as toure’s jump (though it may not have made that much contact) was clumsy. BUT, it’s a small distinction and it doesn’t mean that kuyt was less guilty than toure or anything like that.
they were both more likely to be given than not, but yours wasn’t and therefore that has to be considered as unlucky.
I would have rather it had been settled by walcotts run or torres goal than the penalty. But it for me I knew it would end like this. You all need to watch out though because we are on the verge of great things.
Sadly not this year
like i say, with a few additions i think we could both surprise man utd and chelsea in their complacency next year.
good luck for the rest of the season and going into the next campaign.
we need to buy two top top quality wingers and a great center back and good cover for full backs but guess what wenger will not buy anyone because he is a fuckin coward as it will put pressure on him to win that what he really don’t want trust me and fabregas will leave us if wenger doesn’t buy big players just like henry leave us this season in 2006 wenger told henry we will buy big players but they didn’t and next season he leave because he believe he can’t win anything at arsenal with fuckin sick mentality manager
Gunners shouldn’t get their hopes up about any big singings this summer. Wenger will probably emply his old rhetoric that the return of Eduardo and Rosicky will be “like a new signing with proven quality”. Even Flamini extending his contract will be spun as “like a new signing of real quality”. A fit Van Persie might even be promoted as “like having a brand new signing of exceptional quality”. So be prepared for half a dozen ‘new signings’ over the summer, even if they are already technically part of the team.
Look lady luck didn’t smile on us in both legs but this has been coming. The lack of squad depth has cost us big time! too many players have been giving away individual goals that you can’t legislate for since the birmingham game.lets be honest….think? birmingham, villa, BORO, chelsea, LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL, there were individual errors in each and every one of those games. Too many of the same players have been able to play in the arsenal line up, in and out form for example adebayor, …on fire for most of the season but then hits a wall…..where’s the player of SERIOUS quality to come in and relieve him of that pressure? fabragas and hleb have had way too many games for their own good, constantly creating creating creating….it can’t be healthy. Everybody wants to lynch eboue, yes eboue’s shit! but if we had a SHIT hot squad he’d only be having 5-10 games a season MAX, not 40+. KOLO’s form in general has been shocking since he went to africa and yet he came straight back into the arsenal side because there was no1 else? let alone playing out of position? Sagna gets injured and it exposed the weaknesses because there was no1 else? the penalty against us tonight and a few weeks back against birmingham weren’t because of the contact, it was the lack positioning & panic leading upto the event that fooled the ref into giving it. Gallas didn’t put a foot wrong tonight playing torres but that didn’t stop him from being on the losing side, but what can you do when both players either side of you are time bombs waiting to go off! and they did tonight! and some of you guys actually ridiculed him for his strop at birmingham “sir alex wouldn’t stand for that” i heard alot of you say, but truth is in roy keane sir alex had the biggest winner/enforcer/cry baby out there and keane went as far as to name individuals, but the truth is…..sir alex would’ve holted the rot from the begining by….BUYING PLAYERS! even when he got them wrong eg taiby, chadwick, veron, kleberson, djemba djemba, he didn’t waste time in washing his hands of them come the off seasons. we aint even buying big let alone getting rid. WE AS ARSENAL FANS NEED TO SHOW MORE CONCERN IN THE MATTER OF PLAYERS WE WANT TO SEE AT THIS CLUB. IT’S LIKE POLITICS….NOTHING SAID….NOTHING GIVEN. We find it hard to critisize wenger because of everything he has done for us over the years, but the truth is he’s too comfortable and doesn’t give himself any selection headaches or dilemas? how do u test your tactical knowledge or stop yourself from going stale (just like players) without overcoming dilemas. IN 2008-09 i will be calling for the managers head if our season fails because of a lack of squad and experience to see it through. And if he does buy i’ll be calling for the heads of certain players. If this was our business or major company….WHICH IT IS! then failure isn’t an option…PERIOD! i’ll leave you lot to stew on that
http://anotherarsenalblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/tale-of-two-penalties.html
bollocks scousers
hleb was taken down cynically last man, pen and red card
toure barely touched babel and he could have stayed on his feet
soft soft penalty
Ben Arfa, Robinho, Quaresma, Schweinsteiger. Geovanni, Benzema, David Villa, Frey, Lescott, Micah Richards….these players will not be purchased by Wenger. Ever.
17 year old Gilles Sunu on the other hand is a distinct possibility, as is Dentinho, although at least he is older and might enhance the team immediately rather than being ‘one for the future’.
If I could have one wish….please dispense with Eboue this summer, for goodness sake.
Interesting how we’re still feelings the ripples from the loss of Eduardo. 3 players were out of position tonight, but if you incorporate Eduardo back into the team the starting line-up would probably have been:
…………………….Almunia……………………..
Eboue………Toure………Gallas………..Clichy
Hleb……Diaby…..Flamini….Fabregas….Eduardo
…………………..Adebayor……………………..
Whilst that puts a different complexion on things – indeed one can well imagine that side winning by a couple of goals difference – it also underlines how vulnerable this squad is to any losses. One player out and the whole line-up goes askew.
This is very dissapointing. Wenger is to blame for me. He has burned out: Cesc, Flamini, Hleb and Adebayor and thats because we have one of the poorest benches in Europe. We didnt take the initiative after 1-1, we looked very tired in the 2nd half and in Eboue Liverpool had an extra man! Liverpool rode thier luck but penalty decision or not we bottled this game and gave it to Liverpool conceding goals to them for fun.
Too many players are too comfortable in this team, we need a shake up. Toure has played himself out of the team but Wenger refuses to drop him. Eboue has been awful for a while now. Did Van Persie even touch the ball? Many Arsenal fans dont seem to like Gallas, I think that we need more of his type in our team, Finding a partner for him should be our priority in the summer, Senderos will always come short.
Gilberto played well but Liverpool were not pressed high after Flamini’s injury so it was a turning point. Overall I feel Wenger bottled it tactically. Benitez made afew mistakes like starting with Crouch but Arsenal were in self-destruct mode
What a run by Theo Walcott!
Can’t quite tell whether all the scousers on this page are just being patronising or are genuinely gracious winners…
Absolutely gutted by tonight, I hate banging on about refs but we really have had a rough deal recently. we’re not the victims of a conspiracy, just alittle bit of cowardice and some massively different interpretations of the rules of football.
‘holic, your post is quite magnificently balanced and reasonable, especially given how soon after an incredibly emotional match it was written. I salute you, and say fair play to all the scousers who came here with genuinely decent motives. can’t blame them for being smug.
Where to start? The article itself is pretty good, and there’s little I could find to fault it. But some of the comments here truly astound me.
Losing is just as much a part of sport as winning. When Liverpool lost the league to Arsenal at Anfield in 1989, Liverpool fans stayed to applaud their rivals despite having just lost the double (the FA Cup, perhaps more important to Liverpool that season, had already been won by then). Liverpool fans showed that: 1. they recognised Arsenal’s quality and resilience, and 2. that they could be gracious in defeat?
Are Arsenal fans really as bitter and twisted as michael and 1979gooner when they lose?
Yes, Arsenal were unlucky with their penalty shout in the first leg – but, apart from the set-piece goal that was handed to them on a plate, they didn’t exactly take their chances, did they? What Nicklas Bendtner was doing keeping out Cesc Fabregas’s shot is anybody’s guess. Are you going to blame him forever for that error? Had Arsenal made the most of their opportunities then the tie would have been in the proverbial bag by the time Abou Diaby had scored in the return match.
Arsenal looked tired and jaded on Saturday, but they were astoundingly fast out of the traps last night. Normally, Liverpool are way too much for teams in the first 15-20 mins of a game (without always making it count though) but Arsenal outdid them at their own game for almost 30 mins, and deserved the lead. But as soon as Liverpool scored, via Sami Hyppia’s fantastic header, Arsenal heads seem to fall. The passing deserted them, the willingness to chase lost causes and even 50-50 balls disappeared, and the belief just didn’t seem to be there. Yes, Mathieu Flamini’s injury was unfortunate for Arsenal’s cause, but Gilberto wasn’t at all shoddy as his replacement, was he?
Fernando Torres got one real chance and scored. That’s what world-class players do: take their limited opportunities and make the most of them. Emmanuel Adebayor, please take note.
By the time Theo Walcott worked his wonder, it was practically all Liverpool, and a 3-1 scoreline at that point wouldn’t have been flattering.
Walcott, of course, should never have gone to the World Cup. (Please, if you think he should have ahead of another forward, while England had two crocked strikers in their squad, then you’re not being rational.) But now, he should be getting his chance to regularly shine in an England shirt – and in an Arsenal one, too.
His amazing run deserved a goal at the end of it (why, Fabio Aurelio, didn’t you just take a yellow card for the team?) and it got one. But only a fool discounts Liverpool at Anfield, and while Arsene Wenger was desperately telling his players to keep their cool, Kolo Toure lost his. Was it a penalty? Yes, between them, he and the other Arsenal defender shadowing Ryan Babel made more than enough contact to bundle down two players. Unless your some sort of circus act contortionist, it’s impossible to move your body the way that Babel’s did as he went down without outside help, and Toure provided plenty of it. If it had been at the other end on, say, Fabregas, then would you be even questioning it?
Of course, Babel’s goal was the icing on the cake. But even if the penalty hadn’t have been given, I would have fancied Liverpool to snatch the tie back. Arsenal’s players, Walcott aside, just looked too tired and jaded then, and i don’t think they could have withstood 10 minutes of Liverpool attacking the Kop.
On the whole, Arsenal played the more attractive football. But Liverpool played the more determined game, and the determination won through. Had Liverpool lost then Arsenal would have my support for the rest of the competition but the attitude of some of one or two of the Arsenal fans reminds me of those classless fans that Chelsea seemed to have acquired over the last four years.
(michael, how can you possibly bad-mouth one ex-Liverpool player while using another to back up your arguments? Does the logic of that escape you, mate? You think you “know more about anything than Alan fucking Hanson”, eh? Well, for a start, you don’t know how to spell his name, and I bet he does, so bang goes your belief system…)
Good luck to Arsenal in the league. I for one hope that you get back that top spot. You deserve something from a season in which you’ve played such positive, attractive football.
Oh, and Arsene Wenger has my utmost respect as a manager but some of the stuff he says…
“With three minutes to go, we were qualifying against a Liverpool side against whom we’d created more chances over the two legs. Now we are out.”
Adebayor scored in the 83rd minute. Sorry, M Wenger, but even if no injury time is played, matches don’t end after the 86th minute.
It’s small things like that that dent your reputation with neutrals. You’re a football genius, so why the constant need for half-truths and lies?
Harry, the average Arsenal fan never thought that Walcott should have been at the World Cup. Much as it pains me to say it, it should have been that Spudcunt Defoe.
frankly, i have to say i’m glad to see the back of Liverpool for now, and almost glad not to have to endure another 180 minutes of the Chavs. ‘Til next season…
After the Eduardo injury, and the thin squad (which is a stage in blooding youngsters, and so was a decision taken a long time ago; I don’t think he should have even bought in January), the third biggest factor in things falling apart was Wenger’s decision to bench Senderos after the African’s Nations Cup. Toure needed a rest, and Senderos needs consecutive games. Nothing else really mattered, except a few refereeing decisions, but even there I agree with Gooner_B [the lack positioning & panic leading upto the event that fooled the ref into giving it].
Still, with regard to the thin squad, over the next few years they will now recognize tired legs and tired minds and adjust their approach to games accordingly. Something postive will come of this debacle. Doesn’t mean we’ll win anything, but it’s something.
BTW, anyone else disappointed in Torres, Kuyt and Babel going down so easily (the latter two in the box)? It’s one thing to go down to emphasize illegal contact. It’s another to conjure illegality out of thin air. Just thought that if we were giving Eboue such a hard time of it lately why hold Merseyside to a different standard?
I thought Babel dived. Toure hardly brushed him and he went down. The contact wasnt significant enough to being him down.
Should never have been a penalty !
To the scousers claiming arsenal ought to have taken all chances – no team takes all their chances. Arsenal did well enough to compensate for Hleb’s penalty not given, to come level at 2-2 after 170 mins and go through on away goals, despite poor finishing and terrible defending.
Only for the ref to fuck it up – that was not a penalty.
i hope chelsea do them in the next round, i’m sick of all the uefa handouts liverpool get
To be perfectly honest I couldn’t care less if you have any sympathy or not if Ronaldo dives for a pen, most players go down at the slightest contact in the box these days and often it’s how convincing the fall is that wins the pen.
It was probbaly Hlebs theatrical dive that convinced the ref not to give the pen. We have had enpough go against us and if contact in the box is now a dead cert pen then one would be given at evry corner given in football…like I said you can’t have double standards and claim yours was and ours wasn’t, that just sounds too much like sour grapes for me!
All the talk after an incredible tie is about 2 pens which is a shame. I totally understand that you feel hard done by but if I was an Arsenal fan I’d be concentrating more on wht a Championship defender like senderos keeps getting picked than thinking there was some conspiracy theory against you.
Anyone who can be outmanouvered by Sammi Hyppia like that has no place as a top class defender!
I am convinced we can still get second in the EPL
Why did you delete my comment you prick
Gooner_ahook
Where shall I start?
Firstly I was saving you from making a complete mug of yourself for trying to start a Wenger out campaign.
Secondly, I am possibly responsible for racist ravings made on this site so rather than share your IP with the police I thought I would just ‘unapprove’ (not delete) your bile.
Thirdly, from the way you talk about the ones who you called by the y word I assume you support them and not Arsenal anyway.
And last, but by no means least, it is my site you mongoloid. Get it?
oh and please enlighten me on the nature of these racist comments
prits, sometimes teams do take all their chances but, if you actually want to look at chances created, I bet Liverpool edged it. They may not have all been chances that came at the end of 20 passes but they were genuine chances.
Passing the ball around beautifully is both Arsenal’s greatest strength and greatest weakness: you can’t always pass the ball into the back of the net. Possession (which last night was mostly Liverpool’s) also means nothing if you don’t make it count for something.
The only thing that matters is actually putting the ball in the back of the net, something that Arsenal should have done more.
Certainly Arsenal’s first leg goal (and their goal on Saturday, as well, for that matter) was handed to them on a plate. If that gift hadn’t been presented to them then where would they have been?
You said yourself that Arsenal displayed “poor finishing and terrible defending”. How then is it not their own fault that they didn’t progress? Surely if they couldn’t score and couldn’t stop the opposition from scoring they can’t complain about going out?
By the way, if it wasn’t a penalty then how come there weren’t any protests from Arsenal players? Perhaps because they knew and could accept what you can’t?
Again, good luck in the league. I hope you bounce back to beat United soundly but, please, whatever you do, don’t let Chelsea in the back door to “win” it. If you want to talk about a team that’s always getting dodgy decisions go its way then it’s those guys.
Hey ‘holic,
You were so busy beating yourself up about Senderos and Diaby you forgot to mention a great call you made about bringing on Song instead of Gilberto in your preview. We should have done. We lost the midfield when Bert came on, bless him.
Its very refreshing to see someone write an article that is able to take defeat on the chin and go as far as wishing Liverpool well in the future.
There has never been the same type of anomosity between Arsenal and Liverpool that exists between the rest of the top 4 clubs and I just think thats down to both clubs having a genuine respect for one another.
I do think comments by made by Toure sums up just where you guys faltered
“The referee gave the foul against me, but I just moved away from him [Babel] and I think Cesc caught his hand maybe, which was outside the area anyway – but that is the game and the referee has given the penalty. What can you do?”
The fact that Toure admits Fabregas was pulling at Babels hand is a possible indicator to where Arsenal are failing. Why at such a crucial point of the game would Fabregas even put the referee in a position by trying to catch Babels hand. The ref then has to decide if Babel has been fouled and secondly whether it is in the box or not. Its a dangerous game to play on Fabregas’s part and I know 9 times out of 10 he will get away with it but last night he was taught a pretty harsh lesson.
Its a very tall order but I would love to see Arsenal go on to hammer the mancs and then on to win the league
im waiting for the day we get a decision which goes our way. it will be like one of those jfk/diana/911 moments.
I think Arsenal have exceeded our initial expectations this year, even if we DO fail to win a trophy again. Penalty decisions have cost us the semis and possibly the Premiership too, however, and in the short term will affect us financially and in the long term could potentially cause key players to want to move on to a team that gets the rub of the green. I have no doubt that Wenger will take a measured view of the squad and make some quality signings early in the summer (especially with the talent on show in Euro 2008). And, please, no more Senderos: he often plays quite well but always seems to lose concentration or make a mistake in a critical game – he couldn’t deal with the strength of Drogba and looked slow and ponderous against Torres. Let’s hope we come out fighting against Man U, and say well done to Liverpool for a great game and a fighting spirit, even though it took them a dodgy decision to end victorious.
Whats all the talk on Eboue for. Would we have all this rubbish talk if Walcott was not an englishman not making it to the first team because of Eboue. Walcott is better when he comes off the bench. Too often when he started games, it was a pain to watch. He is not good enough to start and thats why he is on the bench. I hope that he starts ONLY when he is good enough to. Eboue would not be an AC Milan target if he was shit. Milan won the cup many times in the past few years and from next year they will refresh their team to achieve the same objectives. So, why would Milan want him if he is so shit. If you like locals so much, then get rid of all the foreigners starting from Wenger. Then look at how you play and how much you win the next ten years. Those who were in Italy for the match could see the Milan supporters applauding the beautiful football of Arsenal. Last night some of the football played was breathtaking. Liverpool won but Arsenal was the team who gave joy. This is not football, its art, so just shut up with your rubbish. If Manure of even Chelski had so many injured players, they would be out lot earlier.
Second place, and avoiding the qualifying round in August, would be just desserts for this incredible squad.
“incredible squad” – you are absolutely wrong there…
But an incredible 1st 11 team???(with the best players in- eduardo-rosicky) then YES it is !
Our squad – the strength & depth – the lack of it – has definetly played apart in the loss of the Carling,FA, champions league & maybe(hope not) the Prem league
So man u won against a formidable 2nd placed Italian Side without Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Rooney, Nani and Scholes…
hmm..so there you go !!!!!!!!!!
Harry
Part of the blame must surely lie with Arsenal. However, despite the poor finishing and defending, the team still did well to make it 2-2, which was a good effort to compensate for the Hleb penalty anyway. Pool also defended poorly (Ade goal in 1st leg, Diaby goal in 2nd leg). How come that isnt being talked about ? Did Pool take all their chances ? Surely, they missed some as well.
Then came the ref decision. It was never a penalty in my eyes. I’ve seen countless replays from different angles. I dont care whether the players were protesting or not – I have my own view / opinion.
If Liverpool had scored a genuine goal (without a poor ref decision) in the 85th min, there would be less complaints, and more acceptance of the defeat.
Justice for Gooner_ahook!
No, it is not just the keeper, even Lehman could have let in the goals as at FA Cup with Manchester United. The problem, rather, is Toure -who has never recovered since his injury at African Cup of Nations (CAN). The same Toure wasted off Ivory Coast Chances to qualify for the Finals.
The soccer he played was hard to rate given his recklessness thatled to four goal’s scored against his team (Ivory Coast). In spite of CAN messes, Wenger only thrived on the past and brought him straight to play in crucial games, moreover in the sensitive part of the season where discipline was key. From Midesbrough away game, till now, it has been horrible experience for Arsenal FC Community.
If Toure was playing in Italian League of mid-nineties, he could have been shot down by mafias, especially after the Liverpool game, for forgetting that he just doesn’t play for himself, but for the club, and global fans.
prits, even without the penalty award I would have bet money on Liverpool scoring again.
Arsenal just looked tired and jaded: aside from Walcott who looked like they had anything real left in the tank? Fabregas gave his all trying to prevent the fourth goal and look how dead he looked. He’d looked knackered on Saturday, on Tuesday he looked even worse.
Credit to them, Arsenal played some beautiful football over the two legs, but, as I said, they should have put the ball in the back of the net more often than they did.
As the Sunday papers talking about this Champions League tie pointed out last week, in 1978 the Argentinian coach said “We congratulate Brazil on their moral victory. Now we hope they will congratulate us on our actual victory”, and, as they predicted, it’s Liverpool’s turn to play Argentina to Arsenal’s Brazil.
Like I said before, Arsenal played the more attractive football but Liverpool were the more determined of the two teams.
Perhaps thats a bet you would have won, Harry.
Perhaps not ;).