Gunners Given Opportunity To Go Second
Jan 21st, 2017 by 'holic
What a Saturday that turned out to be. Liverpool beaten and there were draws for Manchester United, Manchester City, and the neighbours from Middlesex. I only watched two matches, at Stoke and the Emptihad, and in both matches massive penalty shouts were denied by officials who must surely have seen them. Enough of that, other than to say my well-known view on the standard of refereeing in the Premier League has not improved today.
All of which means we have an outstanding opportunity to reclaim second place in the Premier League with a home win against Burnley in the second of three Sunday fixtures. To do so may require a better first-half than we have produced for a while now. Our slow starting threatens to take root, and this is not the Burnley team that went straight back down to the Championship two seasons ago.
The Clarets were in the top half of the table until today, mainly thanks to their excellent home form. Only Swansea on the opening day of the season and ourselves a couple of months later have claimed all three points at Turf Moor. On the road they have been consistent too, but in the opposite way. One draw and just three goals scored suggests a degree of travel sickness. Those three goals came at Southampton, Tottenham, and Manchester City, interestingly. The draw was at Old Trafford. Let’s not be complacent.
For the visitors Marney, Barnes and Gudmundsson could be available after missing their midweek FA Cup win through injury, but Arfield looks likely to miss a third successive game with a hamstring problem. It’s also likely that recent re-signing, the odious Barton, will feature at some point. Referee Jon Moss was quick to send Granit Xhaka off for a stupid but trivial trip against Swansea, and makes his first return to the Grove since that day. His application of the laws will be under great scrutiny, particularly where the malicious Barton is involved.
The Arsenal welcome Hector Bellerin, Kieran Gibbs, and Francis Coquelin back into the squad. The former is likely to reclaim his place from Gabriel and his attacking threat will be welcome against what is likely to be massed and organised defence from Burnley. Olivier Giroud has recovered from his ankle knock last week and given his current record, eleven goals in his last nine starts, it is hard to see any change from the midfield pairing and attacking quartet that ended up winning convincingly at Swansea.
The bench is starting to provide lots of quality options too if we need to break down a stubborn opponent. Lucas and Danny Welbeck provide striking alternatives, and the availability of the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gibbs to inject some late pace, if needed, is an attractive prospect.
The ‘holic pound
Burnley’s away form and an attack that includes Giroud and Alexis would suggest a big home win. However our inability to get going from the off of late has me erring on the side of caution. The bookies have a 2-0 home win as favourite and I am not inclined to go against them. Grab the 13/2 at Paddy Power while it lasts as most others are going 11/2.
A win would put us in second place just five points behind Chelsea, if only briefly. The bus stop in Fulham plays host to relegation-threatened Hull City in the final match of the day. I’m not expecting that we will be the only winners in the top six this weekend, but we do have to take full advantage of others misfortune today.
So that’s it. There are a couple of birthday celebrations going on tomorrow as well, so it could be a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Have a great one, ‘holics.
114 Responses to “Gunners Given Opportunity To Go Second”
Thirst? I mean First?
And second?
I second that emotion. ?
Right. Time to stuff Mr Alistair Campbell’s (a gentleman for whom I have the utmost political respect) bagpipes firmly where the sun don’t shine.
Come on you Gunners!
ok
politics
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZCWAwnSAtY
As I keep reminding people, we never lose under Jon Moss, so welcome back to The Ems I say.
2-0 seems extravagantly cautious to me, ‘holic. 3-0 minimum, more likely more, and quite possibly with the odd one for them too. So … how about 4-1? And if we can get the midfield moving from the start maybe more.
I hope Lucas gets a start on one of the wings, while he has the chance before Theo’s inevitable reclaiming of the right. I’d really like to see if he’s better than I think he is, and if he can’t star against Burnley he never will.
Otherwise the team surely picks itself.
Second place looks a formality, unless the team believes it’s a done deal of course.
I pray gunners wil not be heartbroken 2moro
It is a very good opportunity
Thanks for the erudite preview Holic. I’m still disgusted by the inability of Marriner to see Walker’s push on Sterling and it sums up the amazing luck the LWCs seem to be having this season. Are we surprised that a man who can’t distinguish between Gibbs and the O can’t see a clear push in the area? Two rivals dropping two points is better for us than one dropping three and we have a great chance tomorrow to claim second in a weekend when we might have feared Liverpool and United would win .
I think your 2-0 is about right. Apart from Hector he will play the team that started last week unless Giroud’s ankle is still sore in which case he might start Perez. If he does he will show Chris what a good player he is.
Hoping Hector makes a bigger impact than Moss, but nothing is guaranteed so give me a 2-1 home win with Moss accounting for theirs.
Wouldn’t mind a thumping 5-0 to improve on last week, though.
Correction to #6 above: We were of course beaten 4-0 by Southampton when reffed by Jon Moss, but that was the only loss. Under Moss our full record reads P16, W14, D1, L1. And Xhaka’s was the only red card he’s waved at us.
Ned may correct me, but I’m guessing no other ref has a better record for us.
3-0 to the Ars-en-al. No problem.
UTA.
Cheers H! Have a pint with Dubs for me.
Will miss it live, as my boys (Worthing CC U13 Indoor League Team), have a double header starting at 2.30.
Up THE ARSE!
Good luck in the cricket Esso. 🙂
Fine preview Guvnor. The usual request from me.
Three ponits please.
COYG
Morning all.
Nice preview H. Your fears about the way we start games are shared here. Again, it’s all about which team turns up today. On paper it should’ve convincing but we seem to find playing on grass becomes a great leveller at times. That said, I don’t think there should be any excuses today. It does amuse me when I read comments about the officials before the kick off. Almost a preemptive strike in case it all goes wrong.
Sadly another game that I miss due to the TV schedule being far more important than the average. I will be watching an U13 rugby match in the County Cup. That therefore means I miss out on raising a glass or two at the after match Birthday party. I will make it up to you H if I ever manage to get to another game.
-5 here at the moment so if you are going, wrap up warm. Especially you pensioners.
?
I’ve just caught up with motd and listened to Fat Sam after the Palace defeat. I hate everything that twat stands for in football. The man takes buffoonery to new heights. His views on why the game should have been stopped when they had a player injured have made him look an even bigger bellend than previously. I had no idea that was even remotely possible.
Good preview, ‘Holic.
With those around us dropping points yesterday, all three for us today is a must.
Enjoy your day out and collective birthday celebrations.
3-0 to the Arse!
Looking forward to a Xhakaboom?
COYGs!!
Federer three games away from taking the fifth set from Nishikori. Are you watching Delia? 🙂
COME ON!!!!!
Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Xhaka, Ramsey, Iwobi, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud.
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Bellerin, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck, Lucas
No changes, Bellerin not starting.
Just get a win and three points.
Looking a bit rubbish so far.
This has gone just as expected, Burnley difficult to break down. COYG.
So typically Arsenal. 77% possession and hardly troubled the keeper. We look so lacklustre at times.
Ozil and Sanchez are both a class above anything else out there at the moment. We need a few more to step up to the plate and show some urgency in the second half or we are in danger of another missed opportunity.
Off to put the kettle on. Might need a caffeine infusion to stay awake if it’s more of the same.
Need a dose of Bellerin to put more pressure on their left side.
C’mon boys we need 3 points
Come on Arsenal wake up and smell Steve T’s fresh coffee!
Milk no sugar Arthur???
?
That’s the one Steve ?
Why wasn’t that a penalty?
Bollocks!
Mustafi well done
Steve they are officially awake he he
Come on get in!
Finally, Mustafi, get in!!!
Mustafiiiiiiiiiiiii!
BrilliIANT Header!
GET IN!
Fuck me. Not only have we scored but we’ve scored from a corner????
Now finish the job…
Oh my word what an idiot that lad!
That’s a red card all day long.
We paid £35m for a player with no brains.
Well..correct red!
Time for Xhaka to have a rest.. we all knew it would happen sooner or later.
Let’s see how much mental strength we have now …
Come On!
Xhaka sent off. Burnley have made worse challenges but we get the red card. Fucking ref.
Xhaka definitely needs to get his head examined.
Agree totally. I think Xhaka has real quality but if his decision making continues to be that poor then I see very little point in playing him. He needs to wise up and he needs to wise up rapidly.
Dumb dumb dumb Xhaka
what arthur said
Jon Moss is the most sodding useless ref in the universe.
Xhaka you muppet. Stick him in the reserves if we don’t win this.
Xhaka isn’t very smart but Moss takes the cake
Xhaka’s two sending offs have to be two of the silliest, and unnecessary dismissals that I can remember?
Solid. How can you blame the ref for that????
Politics, cba?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2KcHfoFnJ4
Marney takes himself out…!
Steve T, the red card was deserved according to the letter of the law but Moss denied us a stonewall penalty and willfully ignored several acts of thuggery by those bloody bruisers
Just don’t think he’s up to scratch as a pro ref
Don’t agree Solid. Not at all.
The pen should have been given by the Lino. He was only yards away and it was straight in front of him. Don’t think Mosd has got much wrong apart from that.
7 mins???
hahahah
That’s a penalty.
Oh dear
Was that a penalty?
What a useless team
I hope Wenger doesn’t go after the ref post match, but he will.
He should be raging at Xakha and nobody else.
Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What the fuck was Le Coq playing at?????
Another brainless challenge.
Wenger pushing the fourth official in the tunnel now. Class behaviour… he has only his players to blame.
Thank you Xhaka. Bye bye title.
Now both managers will be cursing the ref!
HAHHA!
Studs to the face of kos!
Hope he’s ok!
Never in doubt
Alexisssssssssssssssssss!!
GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never in doubt : – )
COYG
That one was slightly questionable for the offside but you can’t kick someone in the head.
Haters can suck one
Neverrrr in doubt.
Say what you will but Burnley were well organized…
They’ll give the other teamns a run for their money for certain.
Arsene’s in the shit, no doubt. Can’t see him wriggling out of this one.
I thought the referee was perfectly fine, but both sides will be all over him in the pressers. Who’d be a ref
(answer – only a cunt)
Hello title
Only Arsenal can split one’s emotion like this.. shit
fan fuckin tastic
Not good for my heart.
I think i need a drink now….
😀
I concede that I may have been a tad harsh on Moss, but he does have a way of rubbing me the wrong way
Moss was ok… compared with the other refs we’ve seen lately.
But I still think Mustafi should have been awarded a penalty… just before he scored that brilliant header!
All in all, job done.
😀
amen BB
Never in doubt! COYG!
Ps: Go Hull!
heart and drink
that is
Rode our luck in a performance that wasn’t great. Three points is three points and Burnley much hate playing injury time against us.
Kos a fraction off side for the pen but marginal enough to be given the benefit of the doubt. Alexis took the piss with the pen.
Can’t wait for the fall out. Could be fun.
Definitely CBA !
😀
We were pretty poor by all standards. Just hope this win is a kick up the backside, we need to do better
So ..Hull to win this one then?
🙂
Amen @89
indeed steve
wanted the afterburn
but the blue shirts are on
fuckin class act
shower o shitheads should be shot wi balls of their own dung
If the letter of the law is followed, Xhaka lunged and it can be given as a red card. But there are far far worse tackles which get away with only a yellow card and sometimes not even that… So I just don’t get this holier than thou attitude of some of our own fanbase in defending Moss. The terrible part in that decision of the red card is that Moss consults the linesman and the angle that the linesman had was the one which showed that despite the lunge, there was no damaging contact and whatever contact happened was very low and with just Xhaka’s leading foot(not both feet). So it was surprising to see the linesman give the nod for a red.
As for the offside on Koscielny for our penalty, the freeze frame shows a marginal offside but Koscielny is moving towards an onside position so in real time it would have been even tighter for a linesman to pick up.
Xhaka is perhaps the most crucial cog in the midfield for us right now and he will be sorely missed for the crunch games coming up.
In the end I just loved the fact that everyone in the team went bonkers including Wenger. That ape shit anger was probably the reason we created the pressure and ensuing melee that led to our penalty. In past, the project youth teams might have felt dejected and sorry for themselves but not this one and that was fantastic.
And Alexis ‘ penalty in that nerve jangling moment was just too cool to be true…
Desi. It’s a clear red. It doesn’t matter who the ref is. Xhaka had no need to make the tackle and if he doesn’t know by now that he can’t tackle like that then he is thicker than a whale omelette.
This was the second time we came so close this season to dropping points against Burney who are a well organised team and play decent football. A great win in the end and Sanchez took the penalty brilliantly. The result means it is worth watching a second time.
Xhaka needs to learn his lesson from these sending offs but in his defence this ref seems to have something against him. There were worse tackles from Burney which went unpunished. We are going to miss Xhaka.
Will there be some action against Wenger for pushing the fourth ref. Cannot understand Wenger’s petulance as it was a clear penalty.
At least the team turned up today and played well though they took their own time to score the first goal.
All in all a great weekend.
Steve T@93, I mentioned right at the beginning that by the letter of the law it is a red card offense but I think both the reds that Moss has dished out to Xhaka have been harsh. Many worse tackles happen in the league every week and very few are red carded. If there was consistency in giving red cards to such a fouls then I am perfectly alright with it but there is just no consistency on the part of referees. Don’t you agree with that?
Anyway I am elated with the three points…
The red was for the lunge nothing else it’s Xhaka decision making here that was a real disappointed he didn’t have to do that end off.
A win is a win and I ain’t complaining and I agree that consistency should be across the whole of PL not just when we play. I have seen Barkley get away with nothing the other week and his tackle should have been a red!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j507PjoewZA
It just goes to show how inconsistent the Ref actually are!
I hear Wenger moaning about the way Alexis took the pen?
where’s the after game wenger interview
can’t
resist
?
you are a tonner among tiddlers , my son
*flips jersey over head and runs back to the 70s *
A Xhaka-like ton from cba.
Chelsea winning but not a convincing performance and a blatant penalty in favour of Hull not given. Refereeing is a big issue (Steve T may not agree) and Spurs and Chelsea are the main beneficiaries and we are generally at the receiving end.
?
a c-booom pan G
?
I’ve just returned and thawed out after the game. Not the best ninety minutes but a barnstorming last seven. I’ve not read all the reaction on here. I imagine Moss will take a lot of stick but I think he got most of the big decisions right. He failed to give Mustafi what looked to me a stonewall penalty just before he scored.
Xhaka should have been sent off. He’s not a malicious player but he is hotheaded and will now have four games to review his playing style. It’s a great pity because there is a super footballer in there who is adjusting to the pace of English football gradually . Coquelin is also hotheaded. About this time last year he got two yellows against the Totts and today he made a stupid tackle on Barnes and in between he looks like a booking waiting to happen.
Moss was right about their penalty and I think we got the benefit of the doubt on the offside as Kane did yesterday and the challenge on Koscielny was a definite pen. I can’t lipread Wenger from where I sit but I’m guessing he wasn’t inviting Moss round for dinner. If anyone doubts that Wenger cares passionately today would have convinced them how much he does .
As for the performances I thought most of the team did ok. Iwobi was bright until he went off , Mustafi and Koscielny dealt quite well with the Burnley attack and always threaten danger at the other end. Ramsey wasn’t brilliant but worked hard and had some nice touches. The biggest disappointment was Giroud who underlined why we play better with Alexis upfront because he is slow and static and was well marked today. Alexis has balls of steel and just as I was telling everyone around me about his record of penalty misses he took his spot kick beautifully.
Finally a question for Ned- has the same ref ever sent the same player off twice at the same ground in the same season?
Failing that, Ned, what about a referee sending off the same player three times in a season? Or twice at the same ground in a calendar year?
cynic
i can not countenance
even in jest
that cunt
that vulgar dead nazi
may she rot in hell
KSN. Surprisingly I do agree that refereeing is a big issue. But I struggle massively with some of the comments on here and elsewhere. There are those that are happy to blame a ref, 48 hours before kick off. A ref has one chance to make a decision and to get it right. Whilst he has that one chance we are treated to hindereds of different angles and numerous other “expert” opinions.
As I’ve said here several times before, all players are prepared to cheat. There are those here happy to hang guilty parties in opposition shirts and take the “one for the team” approach when it’s one of ours. We have had more than our fair share of decisions go in our favour this season. Most seem to forget that.
I don’t think Moss had a bad game today. I’m sure you could analyse every decision and still find people with different opinions. Do the officials get everything right? Of course not. But I would suggest that the error of judgement displayed by Le Coq and Granit was far greater than any error the officials have made.
Unless we are going to stop cheats and allow officials to use technology then there will be mistakes. Personally I would prefer that than seeing a 90 minute game lasting close to 2 hours.
As a club I feel that we have many shortcomings. Shortcomings of our own making. The reason I get frustrated at the constant slaughtering of officials is that too many use this as an excuse when we should really be looking closer to home.
If people would rather spend the whole 90 minutes analysing the officials every move then crack on. Whatever floats your boat. Me? I’d rather look and see what we are doing as a club. We can debate all day the various potential errors that the officials may have made. My guess is that our players made far more, and will continue to do so.
The game does not go ahead without the officials. We will always have opinions and they will still make the odd howler. But until we actively do what we can to eliminate the cheating and until we make the decision to use technology then for the main, we just get on with it. For me, there are far greater issues at this club to worry about than the odd dodgy decision.
Now, was Kos offside or not? Still think you are hard done by?
Drinks on the bar for everyone still up.
I’m with you Steve on the ref issue ? Some referees have shockers as do players and occasionally managers but Moss wasn’t bad today. He was being pilloried before kick- off because of the Swansea game but he performed solidly today. I think he did miss what looked to me in real time a penalty but he got most of the big decisions right.
In fairness we are second to a team that have won fifteen of their last sixteen games and we are above teams who have invested a lot more than we have so let’s be proportionate with our criticisms . We are unlikely to win the league partly because Chelsea have a much easier programme than us without Europe but as ever Wenger has put a good squad together and we are competitive with the best teams and are good at beating teams below us. We could be better but I feel the board may be responsible for our inability ( unwillingness) to match the spending of the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea. We will realise how good these times were when after Wenger’s demise his successor struggles to replicate his success.
My biggest complaint is that we sustain so many injuries and manage many so badly
TTG. It might well have been a penalty. But there will be numerous cases just this weekend alone where the mysterious stadium sniper has appeared from nowhere to fell a mighty oak of a player when there appeared to be no contact? Then the experts give their opinions. The worst comment I’ve ever heard? “There was contact, he’s entitled to go down.” Really? Is that what it’s all about? And we then blame the officials when they get it wrong?
Let football put its house in order and then there might be some justification in blaming refs? If you want any further evidence look at Fat Sam yesterday and his ref rant. Totally pathetic.
Ttg, Pangloss: Twice in a season? A mere bagatelle. In a Borders Amateur League match in 2010 referee Andy Lyon red-carded Paul Cooper six times in the same match. The first one was following a second yellow for dissent. Then came five other off the field reds for verbal abuse. Cooper got a two-year ban.
Steve T @108 & TTG @109 Spot on, a major part of the problem is that the media (mainly the broadcast ones, both TV & Radio) need to create controversy so that people watch/listen to them and phone in to sprout off and it’s easier to blame officials rather than players. There have always been errors, but a while ago there was some investigation into the number of errors that officials make and apparently the decision making is around 97 – 98% correct, compare this with the percentage of completed passes by any team anywhere!
By the way Cynic @78 I don’t think I am!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
No problems with Moss. As the rules are being applied this seasn Xhaka’s was a straight red, no question (he now has more red cards this season than anyone else in the Euro leagues). Coq was a total cock and their pen fullt deserved. And we were lucky to win a pen with Kos clearly offside, the offside ruling surely coming before the high foot? As a result we won again with Moss officiating (that’s 15 wins out of 17 games now).
Apart from losing his cool Mustafi had a decent game. Mesut was relatively quiet, but welcome back from illness. Alexis needs to brush up on his shooting. I counted about 9 shots from him with maybe 2 on target. That doesn’t include the pen, which is the first he’s actually scored for us after two previous misses. But my motm was Rambo who looked keen and threatening every time he touched the ball.
And Cech … as someone suggested in a previous drinks, try just standing still for a penalty occasionally. Alexis’s similar dink notwithstanding!